East Gippsland has welcomed 14 new Aussies at a citizenship ceremony held on Australia Day - Wednesday, January 26.
Staged at the St Mary's Parish Centre in Bairnsdale, 14 people from Bangladesh, the United Kingdom, Portugal, India, Vietnam and New Zealand took the pledge to become Australian citizens.
Mayor Cr Mark Reeves, who presided over the ceremony, said it was wonderful to see everyone wanting to officially call Australia home, whether they had been living in Australia for many years (in the case of some of candidates more than 50 years), had recently moved to East Gippsland, or are new arrivals to Australia.
"Australian citizenship is the common bond which unites us all. Australia respects the diverse cultural inheritance of its citizens and our new citizens add yet another rich layer of diversity and culture to East Gippsland," Cr Reeves said.
"On behalf of Council I congratulate everyone for taking that final step of formalising their commitment to our great country."
Aunty Sandra Patten, a Gunai senior elder, provided the welcome to country, and Member for Gippsland East Tim Bull was on hand to assist the Mayor with the presentations.
The ceremony was livestreamed and can be viewed on our YouTube channel.
