(Minghui.org) Labor Day is celebrated on March 10, 2025 in Victoria. Ballarat, the third largest city in Victoria, celebrated Labor Day and held its annual Ballarat Begonia Festival from March 8 - 10. Falun Dafa practitioners introduced the spiritual discipline at the event and were warmly received.

Ballarat is 113 km from Melbourne and the largest inland city in Victoria. It earned the nickname “The Golden City” due to a gold rush period 150 years ago. The city is known for its iconic 19^th century architectural heritage and has become one of Australia’s most popular tourist destinations with its fusion of arts, culture, good food and wine.

Falun Dafa practitioners took part in he annual Ballarat Begonia festival parade held on March 10.

The three-day festival was held at the Botanical gardens next to Lake Wendouree over the long Labor Day holiday weekend. Besides various forms of entertainment, markets, and food stalls, there was a display of 500 unique flower varieties including begonias at the Robert Clark Conservatory in the botanical gardens.

The parade was held on the last day of the festival and was the highlight of the event. Community groups representing various ethnicities joined in the celebrations, drawing residents and their families from Melbourne and surrounding towns.

The parade started at the botanical gardens at 11 a.m., and spectators of all ages lined both sides of the route. This was the first time Falun Dafa practitioners have participated in the parade. Their entry consisted of a float, exercise demonstrations, a fairy maiden team, a waist drum team, a fan and dragon dance team and a Vietnamese bamboo hat performance.

Practitioners were greeted with applause and cheers. The mayor of Ballarat introduced Falun Dafa and said he felt tranquil energy. Photos of the parade were published on the front and second page of The Courier – the largest paper in the area. The front page featured a photo of a Falun Dafa practitioner performing the fan dance.

A photo of a practitioner performing the fan dance was featured on the cover page of the largest paper in Ballarat – The Courier (Photo courtesy The Courier)

Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance Are Important

Graeme Gemmell and his wife Catherine Howard brought their children to see the parade.

Graeme Gemmell, a yoga teacher, and his wife Catherine Howard, who manages a center providing many services including yoga classes and podiatry in North Melbourne, watched the parade.

Graeme exclaimed, “The Falun Dafa group is amazing! The dragon performance and all its choreography are outstanding, the colors are excellent, especially the many yellow colors. The visual impact of the float, a boat, is wonderful.”

As a yoga teacher, he said he felt positive energy, “I felt great and it truly makes people happy.”

Having taught yoga for 30 years and following a form of spiritual practice, Graeme knows what Falun Dafa is. He admires practitioners for their tireless efforts in promoting the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance in today’s society where moral values are declining, and said, “It is unfortunate that the world has come to such a state, we are losing a lot of these values.

“We should preserve traditions. Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are important, they bring hope but it’s indeed difficult for people to realize how precious they are. The only way is through continuous efforts to transmit this message.”

His wife Catherine said, “I’m from Ballarat, and my father’s side of the family has Chinese and Irish heritage from the gold rush period, so I have some connection with Chinese culture. My grandmother has some Chinese lineage, that’s why we love Shen Yun and took our daughter to see the show after COVID.”

She also agrees with the importance of practitioners passing on the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, “It’s extremely important in this current moment because these values are lacking in the whole world. It’s sad. If you read the news and see what’s happening, you will be at a loss. I think if everyone continues to do good deeds when they can, it will have a chain effect and bring hope to one’s family and society.”

Eamon and his wife Alice Devlin took their 18 month old daughter to watch the parade.

Eamon Devlin, who is a technical manager in a multinational company, and his wife Alice Devlin were impressed by the practitioners’ performances. “The dance and music were amazing, I loved it.” Eamon said.

His wife Alice is a kindergarten teacher, and she agreed with her husband, “Everyone was great, the colors were bright, all the performances were amazing.”

As a young father, seeing several children and young people in the Falun Dafa contingent, Eamon said, “It’s great that children are taking part in this.”

Both of them said the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are “extremely important” in today’s world. Eamon said, “Every one of us should follow Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. These values bring people hope and peace.”

Falun Dafa Practitioners Have Become Part of the Community

Ross Humphrey, a retired police officer, said:,“If everyone follows Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance, how great people’s lives would be. This is exactly what we all need, even if it is just a bit of kindness and tolerance, we’ll be able to get along well with one another. This important, universal value should have resonance in Australia and the whole world.”

Ross Humphrey, a retired police officer, praised Falun Dafa’s principles.

He was glad that practitioners can practice their belief freely in Australia, “I think Falun Dafa practitioners have become a part of the community in Australia. They can practice cultivation freely here, and it's obvious that, as a member of the community, they are strengthening people’s awareness of these important values [Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance].”

Jinu Mathew manages a Bollywood dance workshop and teachers yoga. She’s also a mental health teacher in a secondary school in Ballarat. She brought students from her dance class to attend the parade that day.

Jinu Mathew said the world needs Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance.

As a teacher, Jinu believes the values of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance are especially important to the younger generation. “I think the whole world longs for kindness because this element is lacking between people, hence we are no longer happy. Falun Gong practitioners teach the exercises for free and share the benefits of following Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. If this catches the attention of the younger generation, it will be great because people have truly forgotten how to care for, help and support others. Knowing and putting this traditional value into practice is something we hope will happen.”

She added, “Practitioners’ efforts are very important.”