Mackay citizenship ceremony: New Australians welcomed by Queen Elizabeth for the last time
From a rom-com worthy meet-cute on a plane to finding the perfect place to raise kids, here are the stories of Mackay’s newest Australian citizens.
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Like a classic rom-com, Kathleen McGill-Larsen met the Australian man who would become her husband while in adjacent seats on a holiday flight in 2011.
She was one of 73 people who became new Australian citizens on September 19, as well as the last to be welcomed by a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the same night as the late monarch’s funeral.
“I was over here (Australia) on holidays visiting my uncles in Brisbane,” Ms McGill-Larsen said.
“I was travelling on my own (and), on the flight back from Cairns to Brisbane, I sat next to Craig (Larsen).
“It was probably two years to the day after we met that we got married.”
Originally from County Mayo on the west coast of Ireland and living in London at the time, Kathleen and Craig had a long distance relationship for much of those two years.
Ms McGill-Larsen said she and her future husband from Mackay would meet every couple of months in places like Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
“Then we got engaged the following year in Ireland”, she said.
“(Australians) have the same sense of humour as the Irish.”
She married Mr Larsen in 2013 and, having now lived in the region for nine years, said “Mackay’s a lovely place to live”.
Ms McGill-Larsen said she would try to watch Queen Elizabeth’s globally televised funeral as “she was a great lady”.
“She was wonderful, the Queen”, she said.
“Let’s hope (King Charles III) follows in his mother’s footsteps.”
Dr Ali Baghadam
Born in Iran, Dr Ali Baghadam said finally receiving Australian citizenship after a decade in the country was “like being reborn”.
“I definitely can’t remember the first time I was given citizenship because I was so young,” he said with a laugh.
“I will remember this one.”
As a Kurdish man in Iran, Dr Baghadam said he came to Australia seeking “a better life, better freedom, fairness”.
“A fair go, which is a main thing in Australia, I had a dream that I would get it here - fairness,” he said.
“There are good things with Iran, but, I mean, there are some things which are not very good.”
Dr Baghadam said the main reason he left was that he “lost hope”.
“I did not have any hope that I can make any changes for good, both for myself or my country,” he said.
Yet he said “not everything is black and white in Iran”, where he was able to study medicine for seven years subsidised by the government.
Dr Baghadam arrived in Australia on a student visa in 2012 and was able to work as a GP after getting his skilled worker visa in 2017.
He now serves the community as a doctor at Family Healthcare Mackay in Ooralea.
“You as a human being want to always go forward to achieve something better, explore it, then chase it,” he said.
“So that’s what I have been doing.”
Sabrina Probst
After coming to Australia as a 16 year old, German-born Sabrina Probst said she was “happy (the weather was) heating up again”.
“I wouldn’t live in Mackay if I didn’t love the heat,” she said.
As a refrigeration mechanic with AE Smith often working in hot spaces, it’s just as well.
Sabrina even recalled a recent job fixing the air conditioning of Mackay mayor Greg Williamson, who presided over her Citizenship Ceremony.
Her family moved from near Cologne in 2007 as her father, “an underground fitter for too long”, followed the mining boom to Queensland.
“All the underground coal mines in Germany were closing,” Ms Probst said.
“Basically (my parents) came here for a better future for all of us.
“You come over here, all doors are open.”
Spending her final two school years in Australia, she graduated and took a job with her father’s mining company.
With some years in the industry in various roles, she soon met fellow miner and future husband Perus Probst.
“We met underground, and the rest was history,” she said.
The couple, who have been together for more than a decade now, said they shared two dogs, 20 chooks and “about a hundred cattle”.
Sabrina and Perus attended the ceremony with her mother, Heike Lorenz.
The Mtonga Family
Arriving from Zambia nine years ago, Lackson Mtonga and Hellen Maseko said becoming Australian citizens was “amazing”.
“It’s like a dream,” Ms Maseko said.
“We love it here.
“Change of environment, better life, just giving your kids the best - that was the plan.”
Hellen is a nurse while Lackson works as a diesel fitter in Mackay’s mining industry.
They miss their family in Zambia’s capital Lusaka, particularly “to give us a hand with the kids”, but Lackson said they had met “wonderful people” in Mackay.
“We have people who are always there for us, we have our neighbours (and) they’re fantastic,” they said.
The Mtonga’s three children - Dorcas (aged 7), Themba (aged 5), and seven-month-old baby Thandu - were all born in Australia.
Their parents said it was “just so fantastic” to have the kids join them at their Citizenship Ceremony.
“It’s special, because we had to do it all of us together,” Ms Maseko said.
“For me, it’s just everyone, different people, being all in the one place and just having fun (in) this special moment.”
Ms Maseko said she thought Queen Elizabeth had been “a very special person” and that “people don’t know how they’re going to move forward”, but had her “fingers crossed”.
Dr Sally Rodrigues
One of Mackay’s best obstetricians, Dr Sally Rodrigues, wore an outfit of “Aussie colours” that even mayor Greg Williamson admired at the ceremony.
“The green and gold, fantastic,” Mr Williamson said.
Originally from Goa in western India, Dr Rodrigues has lived in Australia for 22 years and moved to Mackay when her son was born 16 years ago.
“Our son was born and we wanted to move to a smaller place,” she said.
“So we thought, all right, Mackay is beautiful - it’s green, it’s next to the sea, it’s lovely weather.
“It’s a beautiful place to bring up kids, I’d strongly recommend people come here.”
She said Mackay’s relatively small community meant “everyone knows everyone, everyone’s so helpful”.
This was readily evidenced by her many friends, colleagues and acquaintances who were there on the night - some of whose children Dr Rodrigues had delivered as babies.
On the Queen, Dr Rodrigues said “she was a great monarch (who) commands a lot of respect” and would be watching the funeral after the ceremony.
“I don’t know where monarchy will go from here,” she said.
“But when she was at the helm people respected her and loved her.”
Dr Rodrigues said “it was a great ceremony” made more special by the diversity of the crowd.
“Very, very multicultural,” she said of the Citizenship Ceremony.
“It’s true that Australia believes in a fair go for all.
“And that’s what I love about this country.
“I’m proud to be Australian.”
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