General News
30 January, 2023
Central Goldfields Shire welcomes new residents
Fourteen new Australian citizens were welcomed during last week’s Australia Day celebrations in Maryborough, with an official ceremony marking one of the many highlights of the day. The group of 14 originally hail from as far and wide as the...
Fourteen new Australian citizens were welcomed during last week’s Australia Day celebrations in Maryborough, with an official ceremony marking one of the many highlights of the day.
The group of 14 originally hail from as far and wide as the United Kingdom, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Fiji and India.
Having lived in Maryborough for the past six years since moving from Fiji, new citizen Joseph Vakamino said he was happy to officially become an Australian citizen.
“I was married in 2009 and then we moved to Australia because my partner was very sick,” he said.
“I’ve been in Maryborough almost as long as I’ve been in Australia and what stood out to me is the people, they’re very nice and very welcoming.
“I feel great becoming an Australian citizen, I’ve looked forward to it.”
Fellow new citizen Paul Martin, who has been living in Australia for 41 years, said it was also good to mark off becoming an Australian citizen.
“You eventually get to the point where you need to do something about your citizenship, especially when you’re involved in growing a community,” he said.
“I moved from the UK because Australia was the land of opportunity at the time and I had family here.
“I didn’t intend to stay but the lifestyle and places to be made it hard not to.”
The further 12 new citizens are Kristian Barber, Jherly Carballo, William Thanthrige, Wendylyn Williams, Clarain Tolentino, Aswathi Yasodharan, Deva Kuruvath Binoj, Nirenjan Kuruvath Binoj, Lemuel De Mesa, Alisha De Masa, Rechelle Faraon and Paul Faraon.