Mornington Peninsula Shire CEO John Baker and his family celebrated Australia Day this year in the most patriotic way imaginable: by becoming Australian citizens.
Originally from England, the Bakers are now proud to call themselves Australian.
"We were all very excited to be taking the plunge," John said.
"We absolutely love it here. Australia is an incredible country and the Mornington Peninsula is the best bit as far as we're concerned."
He said his family - wife Tess and children Kasia (23), Henry (20) and Molly (18) - had taken to life in Australia with enthusiasm.
"We love the Aussie attitude to life and the spirit of fairness and equality. We've found people here to be very generous and friendly.
"It took us a while to get used to the bright shining object in the sky. Once somebody had explained to us that it was the sun, which we rarely saw in England, we were able to relax and enjoy it."
The Baker family arrived in Australia six years ago from Herefordshire, a largely rural county near the Welsh border.
John started his working life as a social worker, later qualifying as an economist. He gained extensive local government experience in the UK, combined with commercial expertise developed as lead Partner in both Ernst & Young and KPMG.
It was his role with Ernst & Young that brought him to Australia in 2014, which was followed by a stint in the not-for-profit sectors of aged care and disability services.
He became CEO of the Mornington Peninsula Shire in November 2018.
