Australia Day 2020: Melburnians from different backgrounds share their perspectives
It’s a new decade, but the old adage that Australia is the lucky country still rings true for people from all walks of life. In the lead-up to Australia Day, 20 Aussies reveal what it means to them.
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Ahead of Australia Day, Leader Newspapers spoke to 20 Melburnians from all walks of life about what being Australian means to them.
From the charitable small-business owner and sport-loving religious leader to first-generation Aussies carving their futures and a determined 10-year-old battling a rare disease, they all shed light on our nation’s strengths — and its weaknesses.
JUMP TO Egyptian-Australian Imam Alaa El Zokmi
JUMP TO Italian-Australian cafe owner Angelica Mautro
JUMP TO Aussie battler Dave Montgomery
JUMP TO Catholic priest Francis Denton
JUMP TO Transgender activist Georgie Stone
JUMP TO Wurundjeri elder Ian Hunter
JUMP TO Vietnamese-Australian Jerry Mai
JUMP TO New Zealander-Australian Maia Bismark
JUMP TO Teenager and student Michael Sabatino
JUMP TO Sudanese-Australian Peter Kon
JUMP TO Veteran SES volunteer Phil Wall
JUMP TO Indian-Australian Rajni Sagwal
JUMP TO Potato farmer Richard Hawkes
JUMP TO Retiree Russell Warmington
JUMP TO Social entrepreneur Simone Downing
JUMP TO Millennial Thomas Atkins
JUMP TO Chinese-Australian Tom Zheng
JUMP TO Irish-Australian pensioner Walter Magee
JUMP TO Greek-Australian Yianni Poupouzas
JUMP TO Brave youngster Zoe Hanvey
ALAA EL ZOKM
Egyptian-Australia Imam
Meeting his wife and discovering Melbourne Victory have been two staples of Australian life for Imam Alaa El Zokm.
Five years after moving from Egypt, he leads hundreds of worshippers at the Elsedeaq Heidelberg Mosque, regularly attends soccer games and loves Australia’s diversity and multiculturalism.
“I love the multiculturalism of our society,” he said.
“We can know and about the traditions and religions of many people and the common things we share.”
An avid Melbourne Victory supporter, Mr El Zokm and his wife regularly attend home games.
“I love to celebrate wins and goals and sit next to our brothers and sisters in humanity,” he said.
Mr El Zokm leads prayer gatherings, celebrates marriages and promotes interfaith dialogue across Victoria.
“We open the doors for open our local neighbours, to share in a meal with our Muslim and non-Muslim brothers and sisters,” he said.
Mr El Zokm wants his community to lead the way in helping its neighbours.
The Heidelberg Heights Mosque recently pooled its efforts to raise almost $3000 for bushfire relief.
“Home is not just a place where your passport is stamped or you’re a citizen” he said.
“Home is where you enjoy the food and drink, the safety and security of this country. When it comes to humanitarian aid, we need to support everyone.”
ANGELICA MAURO
Italian-Australian
Piccante Café co-owner Angelica – like the rest of her family Vicki, Dom, and Jay – won’t be taking Australia Day off work.
Angelica’s working-class Italian family from Melbourne’s northern suburbs will be up bright and early serving coffee and breakfasts to hundreds of Melburnians coming from or going to their Australia Day celebrations.
There will be just one difference at the St Georges Rd hub in Fitzroy North – Angelica and her family will host a special sausage sizzle with all money to go towards bushfire relief.
Angelica, who will be at the cafe by 5am, believes working hard and helping others is exactly what it means to be Australian.
“The bushfires have ravaged the country, houses have been lost, people have died, wildlife have been killed. The least we can do is raise a bit of money to give the firefighters some much needed relief,” she said.
“Australia Day means a lot of different things to a lot of different people so to play our little part in helping people celebrate the day while helping the bushfire battle is important to us.”
Angelica said everyone and “their dog” was invited to the special Australia Day sizzle.
For more information: www.instagram.com/cafe_piccante/
DAVE MONTGOMERY
Aussie battler
If you ask Dave Montgomery what Australia Day means to him, he will tell you “not much”.
The 64-year-old has been struggling with unemployment and homelessness for 30-odd years and while he is in State Government-owned housing now, he gets by day to day.
Dave says the holidays are the worst time for him.
“Christmas is a shocking time for me. I don’t go out, I stay home,” he said.
“I go off the rails. It’s this whole issue of being lonely.”
The problems started in 1993 when Dave was retrenched from his job at the State Government-owned power company.
He was 38 then, and his decline into homelessness was swift.
Trying to provide for his family after his father’s sudden death saw Dave take more than 20 short-terms jobs, but try as he might, he couldn’t obtain full-time employment.
Soon he started gambling, an addiction which took hold of his life, and something he has not yet been able to rid himself of.
“One of the worst things that can happen to someone is permanent unemployment,” he said.
“Anyone can be homeless in the right situation.”
The things that bring some light to Dave’s life are his job as a school crossing supervisor and a dear friend who has helped keep his head above water.
Members of the school community where Dave works recently visited him in the hospital after a fall, bringing clothes and other items.
FATHER FRANCIS DENTON
Catholic Priest
For Catholic priest Father Francis Denton, Australia Day allows people to be proud of their country and honour their homeland.
Father Denton, the St Gerard’s Catholic Church priest in Dandenong, said when he began travelling overseas it made him “acutely aware” of the idiosyncrasies of Australian culture.
“It helped me to appreciate the groundedness and authenticity that is so quintessentially Australian,” Father Denton said.
“We have a readiness to ‘call a spade, a spade’ which, together with our self-deprecating and irreverent brand of humour, many foreigners find very refreshing.”
He said Christians were quite patriotic, wherever they were in the world.
“This is reflected in the large number of Catholics who, without any obligation, will choose to go to mass on Australia Day – many churches will be packed to the rafters on January 26 even on a weekday.”
Father Denton said he encouraged people to spend quality time with family and friends on Australia Day.
“Speaking specifically to my congregation I would encourage them, firstly, to pray for this great nation and its leaders, and secondly, to be grateful for the many blessings we have received.”
GEORGIE STONE
Transgender activist
Georgie Stone made history when at age 10 she became the youngest person in Australia to be granted access to hormone blockers.
Since then the transgender activist, 19, has fought to change laws so other trans children — with parental and medical consent — no longer need to go to court to access puberty suppressors.
The 2018 Victorian Young Australian of the Year said she had a “complicated” relationship with being Australian.
“There are so many aspects of our country I’m so proud of — our multiculturalism, our diversity, our natural landscape,” she said.
But the Neighbours actor, from Bentleigh, said more needed to be done to “protect those things we love”.
“I think I will be truly proud to be Australian when a treaty has been signed and indigenous Australians are recognised in our Constitution … (and) definitive climate action has to be taken if we are to effectively look after our beautiful country,” she said.
“To be Australian is to look after our land. That isn’t happening and the results are devastating.”
IAN HUNTER
Wurundjeri elder
There is nothing Ian Hunter likes to do more than take a ride around the beautiful Australian countryside.
The 71-year-old Wurundjeri elder, who is a carpenter, pilot and teacher, said his favourite thing about Australia was the huge diversity of scenery.
“I enjoy going to the far north into those vast remote regions in the mountains and being able to drive to them in maybe an hour,” Mr Hunter said.
The Whittlesea resident said he was a proud Australian and was looking forward to taking part in flag raising and citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.
“To me it’s a celebration of the beginning of a new nation and the coming together of peoples,” he said.
“Another reason I like Australia Day is we get the opportunity to talk to people about indigenous history, to tell stories about what happened in history to a person in the street.”
He said more and more youngsters were becoming curious about the traditional owners of the land.
“Where I had the intrigue of American westerners (as a kid), they have the intrigue of the ingenuity of indigenous people,” Mr Hunter said.
Flying helicopters since 1983 has also helped Mr Hunter learn about his ancestry.
“It helped me figure out why and how boomerangs fly — it’s all about aerodynamics,” he said.
JERRY MAI
Vietnamese-Australian
The “seamless” combination of multiple cultures is what being an Australian is all about, according to Jerry Mai.
The Melbourne chef revels in the freedom that her parents did not experience in Vietnam but said this nation had captured the best of both worlds.
Spending her early childhood in a Thai refugee camp after her parents fled Vietnam, the family eventually moved to Brisbane on a refugee visa in 1984.
Learning to cook at a young age because her parents worked such long hours, Jerry had her professional start in St Kilda.
“To me, being Australian means being able to embrace two cultures and seamlessly combining them together,” Jerry said.
“As someone of Vietnamese heritage who cooks for a living, it helps that both cultures love a good barbecue!
“In Australia, my family and I are able to enjoy freedoms that weren’t available to my parents back in Vietnam.
“This country has embraced Vietnamese culture over the years and it’s because of people’s interest in our traditions and flavours that I am able to do what I do and be successful.”
Jerry opened Vietnamese beer hall Bia Hoi at The Glen last year, to go with her other eateries.
MAIA BISMARK
New Zealander-Australian
For Maia Bismark, a trip to Australian when she was 16 “ignited a love for the place” that changed her life.
The New Zealander got her first taste of life down under while visiting a friend whose family had relocated across the Tasman.
Fast forward eight years to 2002 and Ms Bismark had finished studying nursing in Wellington when she crossed the ditch again to a land that now represented opportunity.
“I was straight out of uni and came her for work opportunities. I’d trained as a nurse but didn’t like what was on offer in New Zealand,” she said.
“I think just with a bigger population over here, there are more hospitals and more specialties to choose from.”
In 2009, Ms Bismark was joined by now husband Simon and a year later she took a job as a fertility nurse at Melbourne IVF.
Two children of their own soon followed and the couple decided to apply for Australian citizenship.
“This was home and we wanted the security and to show we had no intention of going anywhere else,” Ms Bismark said.
All three of their children were born in their parents’ adopted homeland, with the third being born an Australian citizen because he arrived after the couple naturalised.
The eldest two will be eligible for Australian citizenship when they turn 10 and their Australian family will be complete.
MICHAEL SABATINO
Student
While January 26 is the perfect excuse for Michael Sabatino to enjoy the succulent flavours of a traditional barbecue snag, he says it is also a time to reflect on the “unique” country we live in.
The 12-year-old from South Morang said Australia Day was one of his favourite days of the year and he is proud to call himself Australian.
“For me being Australian means being welcoming to others, taking care of the environment and respecting different cultures,” he said.
Michael said one of his favourite aspects about the country was the nation’s unique flora and fauna, and Australia’s landmarks.
“My favourite animal is the kangaroo and my favourite place is the Sydney Opera House,” he said.
“All the different animals and landmarks are really special, and you can only see them in Australia.”
Michael said he will spend this Australia Day like every other in the past – on the back veranda and in front of the barbecue with his family.
PETER KON
Sudanese-Australian
Peter Kon was just a child when he was forced into a perilous, month-long walk across Sudan to Ethiopia.
“The Sudan People’s Liberation Army came and they said they were taking all the boys to safety because the Khartoum regimen was coming to harm the kids,” he said.
The children walked mostly at night, often without food or even shoes, and were vulnerable to attacks by wild animals.
“It was a very hard time – some of us were just nine-years-old and we missed our parents.”
Mr Kon spent more than a decade in a refugee camp before arriving in Australia in 2003.
He relished the chance to get an education – including his Masters in finance and business administration – and raise a family.
“Being Australian means a lot to me and my family in many ways,” he said.
While grateful for opportunities here, Mr Kon said he had experienced racism but this didn’t deter him from wanting to help all people feel welcome in the country he calls home.
PHIL WALL
Veteran SES volunteer
There are many sides to Phil Wall.
He runs a small business with his wife Maryann, is an entertainer, a writer and is finishing a 12-month course to become a marriage celebrant.
He has also been volunteering for 17 years with the Chelsea SES.
During that time, until about six years ago, Mr Wall was a fully operational member, but with constraints on time stepped back into a new role as police and media liaison officer.
This position sees Mr Wall co-ordinate the role of his SES team in any situation where police need the SES for assistance.
The media side of the role includes producing all of their Facebook content.
Last year the page attracted in excess of half a million hits and was the first SES crew to produce a Christmas music video.
With Australia Day on his mind, Mr Wall said he reflects on the pride he feels for his volunteer colleagues, who have given so much during the bushfire crisis.
“It may be an overused phrase, but when something like this happens, we see the absolute best of the Aussie spirit, not in words, but actions,” Mr Wall said.
“People willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done, and that’s a pretty good reason to have the privilege to do what we do.”
RAJNI SAGWAL
Indian-Australian
Rajni Sagwal of Frankston wasn’t sure what to expect when she first arrived in Australia from India in 2009.
Newly married and just 23, she said she’d never been overseas let alone spent time away from her family.
Now 33, the mother-of-one said she learned English at school while growing up in Kurukshetra, Haryana state, but initially found Australian accents and slang words difficult to understand.
After a few months she settled into her new life in Melbourne and now she wouldn’t have things any other way.
“I didn’t know anything (before I came here), I said (to my family) can I get milk over there so I can at least have tea and my family started laughing at me,” Mrs Sagwal said.
“At that time I wasn’t ready and I just said yes (I want to come to Australia) because my husband wanted to come.”
She said she loved living close to the beach, which she had never seen before arriving in Australia.
Most of all she said she loved the freedom her new life in Australia allowed her to pursue a career as a chef — a prospect she said would have been impossible in India where her only option was to be a housewife.
“We get to work over here, we can do small courses and get a job. Over there it’s not possible at all,” Mrs Sagwal said.
“I’m proud to be Australian … now I can say that I am an independent woman.”
RICHARD HAWKES
Potato farmer
Farmer Richard Hawkes will be too busy working to celebrate Australia Day.
The Boneo grower says he typically uses the day to catch up.
“It’s not that I have anything against the celebration, I just can’t take time off until the end of the season,” he said.
“If I did stop work for the day I’d only end up feeling guilty.”
Mr Hawkes said his partner Georgie usually took their children to Australia Day activities at Rosebud or Hastings.
“There’s lots of things happening on the day. It’s a great time for the kids.
“We don’t do anything special at the farm because it’s so well covered across the region.”
Hawkes Farmgate shop will be open on the day, selling vegetables from the 56ha property, along with a hand-picked selection of fresh produce from all over the Mornington Peninsula.
The family owned business, which is renowned for its potatoes, holds regular open days to help teach people where their food comes from.
Hawkes Farm won a Gold Award for Excellence in Food Tourism in the 2019 RACV Victorian Tourism Awards.
The farm gate is open every day except Christmas Day at 661 Boneo Road, Boneo.
RUSSELL WARMINGTON
Retiree
Mitcham’s Russell Warmington says retirement has allowed him to dedicate more time to his passion of serving the community.
Mr Warmington, 68, retired four years ago after working for information technology company Hewlett Packard and then as owner of a financial planning small business.
In retirement, he’s had an active role with the Rotary Club of Nunawading, of which he’s been a member for more than 20 years.
“You have more time to do things and, to me, being able to give back to the community is fantastic and we have a lot of fun doing it,” Mr Warmington said.
“You also get a fair amount out of it, like the friendship and the regular activities.”
Mr Warmington said retirement had also allowed him regular travel opportunities with wife Sue.
He said his travel experiences had given him an appreciation of the Australian way of life and its landscape.
“Australia is a beautiful country and often retirees can travel around and enjoy it,” he said.
“Whenever you go overseas, it’s really great to come back here — we don’t have anywhere near the problems other countries have.
“We have a stable and good political system, we are a land of opportunity and, in general, we have great weather.”
SIMONE DOWDING
Social entrepreneur
Social entrepreneur Simone Dowding is eyeing up a world of social change in 2020.
And what better way to achieve that aim than through Melbourne’s most iconic, and flavoursome, medium.
Ms Dowding is the spearhead of a World Vision social enterprise project called Change Coffee, which empowers women by funding life-changing projects across the globe.
The South Yarra businesswoman said having a taste for helping others was what stirred her.
She said Australia Day was always special, but this year was an opportunity to become more conscious of our environment and respect our place on this planet.
“We have seen how the community has responded to the tragedy of the bushfires and the way it harnessed the power of the people and created a collective humanity,” she said.
“This year is a pivotal year, we have a chance to have a real voice to use for a good purpose.”
She said commercial business was a perfect platform to help achieve social change.
“We are coming together as a society, we are becoming more thoughtful about what products we buy and what decisions we make, and how that reflects on our world.”
THOMAS ATKINS
Millennial
For millennial Thomas Atkins, being Australian means the chance to be an individual.
The 28-year-old believes having your own identity and being proud of it is what forges Australia’s shared identity.
A son of New Zealand immigrants, he said he was proud to call himself Australian because he was “proud of the rich history of all our people”.
“Our story is one with many twists, turns and bumps and we can all agree it is not necessarily perfect, however, the fact we can talk about it with openness adds to the very fabric of why I am proud to call this country home,” he said.
“While our opinions can be different and our beliefs various, it is the ability to voice and believe in them, and still come together, that characterises being Australian.
“This is a sacred trait of Australians and one to be treasured for generations to come.”
He said our debates and differences did not divide us but lead our progress and he relished any opportunity for a mild political debate over dinner.
“We should continue to embrace the opportunity to spar on almost anything,” he said.
TOM ZHENG
Chinese-Australian
Freedom, fairness and respect are the words that spring to mind when proud Australian Tom Zheng reflects on why he loves this country.
The grandfather, who was born in a small village in south China, migrated to Australia 31 years ago, attaining his Australian citizenship seven years later.
“Being Australian, it means a lot for me,” Mr Zheng said.
“Australia is wonderful.”
Mr Zheng said there was no freedom in China when he fled the country and people living there didn’t know about the “wonderful world” in Australia.
Shortly after his move, his wife and son emigrated from China to join him.
In Melbourne, he and his wife went on to have another son and he worked to set up the Shanghai Club in Chinatown.
For the past 11 years the Box Hill resident has owned and run three businesses in the suburb’s heart — Second Chapter, Green Asian Cafe and Green Asian Dessert.
He is also the president of not-for-profit organisation Asian Business Association of Whitehorse, which seeks to unite businesses in Melbourne’s east and organises Box Hill’s Chinese New Year Carnival with Whitehorse Council.
Through this position, Mr Zheng is working to give back to the country by organising fundraisers the association is running to support the bushfire crisis.
“We are supporting our country — we have to — because we appreciate Australia,” he said.
WALTER MAGEE
Irish-Australian pensioner
A Dingley Village pensioner says his move to the Australian “Lucky Country” from Northern Ireland in 1982 granted his family with the best opportunity in life.
Walter Magee, 78, migrated from Belfast almost 40 years ago with his wife Adeline and two daughters after conflict during the Troubles rocked his country and made it too dangerous to live.
The pensioner — who worked as an engine room chief for the Royal British navy for 25 years before moving to the land titles office on Queens St — said he feels “proud” to call Australia home and instantly took a liking to his neighbour’s larrikin personalities when they initially moved in at Keysborough.
“I’ve got the best neighbours I could ask for in Dingley … whenever you need something, someone is there to help you,” he told the Leader.
“People here are laid-back, fun-loving, sports-mad and always willing to lend a helping hand.”
Mr Magee recently ditched his car in a bid to get his legs moving around Dingley Village while relying on public transport to take him on trips to visit family in neighbouring suburbs.
He will celebrate the Australia Day weekend at dinner with a cold beer in hand and surrounded by some of his five grandchildren aged between 11 and 23.
“There are much more opportunities for young ones compared to Belfast,” he said.
“(The move) was the best thing we could have done.”
YIANNI POUPOUZAS
Greek-Australian
For Nikos Cakes’ Yianni Poupouzas, Australia is a “special place” for Greeks who have migrated here.
Mr Poupouzas, who works as the general manager of the Oakleigh family-run business that has been serving up Greek specialities for the past 30 years, said he was proud to be part of a country that was fair and inclusive of all cultures.
“Being Australian for me means being able to be proud of the country we live in. It is a country that is fair to its people, and respected around the globe for what it represents and offers,” he said.
Mr Poupouzas said Australia was a country where many Greeks had come over generations to start anew.
“It is a special place that offers its beautiful and unique way of life and culture, while foremost respecting and celebrating the cultural backgrounds of those who have migrated here,” he said.
“To many Greeks it has allowed them to stay in touch with their heritage, beliefs and traditions and at the same time enjoy the freedoms and benefits of being Australian.”
Mr Poupouzas said his family had been “blessed” with success and prosperity through multiculturalism.
“What we offer at Nikos is a very traditional Greek experience, and we feel like this could never have been achieved without the appetite of the community to embrace and enjoy the food and hospitality of many different cultures,” he said.
ZOE HANVEY
Determined youngster
Summer is a tough time for 10-year-old Zoe Hanvey, who was born with a rare genetic disorder where any type of friction causes large blisters on her skin.
Epidermolysis bullosa, a disorder affecting only 0.004 per cent of the population, means her hypersensitive skin peels at the slightest touch, with wounds spanning her body as well as in her throat and nose.
But celebrating summer is a big part of honouring Aussie culture and Zoe is determined to soak it all in even though the heat exacerbates her condition.
“I can go to the pool or beach but if there’s a lot of people I need to be careful if my skin is open it could get infected very easily,” Zoe said.
“The heat makes me sweat a lot, and the sweat causes extra friction.”
She said she loves Australia because of the wildlife and all the places she can visit.
“I like living here, there are some markets we go to a lot,” Zoe said.
She plans on celebrating the majority of the Aussie summer indoors.
“I’ll have the aircon on and do indoor activities,” she said.
Zoe said she’ll have her cat Zachariah, fish Robert, lizard Lashly and her dog Daisy to keep her company through summer.