Forty-four residents, including four children, became Australian citizens during a special citizenship ceremony at Windsor Function Centre on Australia Day.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Australian citizenship; on 26 January 1949, the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 came into effect creating the new status of Australian citizen and the first Australian citizenship ceremony was held on 3 February 1949 at Albert Hall in Canberra.
Our newest citizens join us from Britain, Canada, China, Fiji, Germany, India, Indonesia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom and Vietnam. The eldest new citizen is 88 years old, and the youngest just three.
Mayor of Hawkesbury City Sarah McMahon, who presided over the ceremony, welcomed our newest citizens.
"Australia Day is an opportunity for all Australians to come together as a nation to reflect, respect and celebrate. We reflect on our history, its highs and its lows; we respect the stories of others; and we celebrate our nation, its achievements and, most of all, its people," Mayor McMahon said.
As part of the ceremony, a Welcome to Country was given by Erin Wilkins, a Boorooberongal woman of the Darug Nation. Council acknowledged the traditional custodians of the land and showed respect for elders past, present and future and extended that respect to all First Nations people.
