Australia Day: 86 new Australians take the citizenship oath in Mackay
Drawn from nations as varied as Thailand and England, here are some of the Mackay region’s newest Aussies.
Community News
Don't miss out on the headlines from Community News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Nuttaya Kanphookiao and her son Kevin milled about in the foyer of the MECC before taking the Pledge of Commitment to their adopted nation.
“I love this country,” Nuttaya said.
“I like the cities, there is good rain and food and the people are nice.”
Nuttaya and Kevin were two of 86 new Australians drawn from more than 20 countries to take the pledge at the annual Australia Day citizenship ceremony in Mackay.
Amanda Gill, from the town of Gosport in England, works as a midwife at Mackay Base Hospital and said she loved her new Mackay hometown.
“I like the similarities,” she said.
“It (Mackay) is like my hometown except for the weather.”
The Burrows family come from Johannesburg in South Africa and Gardiner, the father, said his family loved Australia’s “lifestyle”.
“We enjoy the country and we enjoy the beach a lot and the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.
Gardiner, who works as a lab technician at the mines, highlighted Australia’s comparatively low crime rate to South Africa as a major attraction.
Nita Asuman from Papua New Guinea said there were “so many things” she loved about Australia as she sat with her son Ethan.
“It is multicultural and we have a good healthcare system,” she said.
“Everything is good for raising kids here.”
The registered nurse has four children and lives in Brisbane’s Brown Plains suburb.
She said she was “excited” to become an Australian and saw it as a “privilege”.
For Ethan, she dreams he will get a good education and be safe and secure.
Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson led the ceremony and spoke about how “generations of migrants” had contributed to modern Australia.
“The national ethos is everybody deserves a fair go,” he said.
The new Australians stood on stage and called out the affirmation and oath, marking their official transition to new citizenship.
Rural firefighters ignite new futures for Qld kids
Two part-time firefighters are trading hoses for hope, launching a cadet program to ignite new career pathways for kids in their mining hometown.
Award-winning Mackay seafood shop bought by new couple
A Mackay seafood icon is changing hands as the husband-wife founders of the Slade Point store sell up to a couple that remind them of themselves 30 years ago.