SWAN Hill Town Hall hosted a fresh group of the region’s newest Australian citizens yesterday morning.
Among them was Anh Chien Nguyen, who said he had been full of anticipation waiting to receive his citizenship.
“I couldn’t get to sleep last night because I was so excited,” he said.
“I’ve been waiting for a long time for this moment and it’s so amazing that it’s happened.
“I was a bit scared and nervous to get up on stage, I hadn’t been this nervous before in my life.”
But Mr Nguyen said the welcoming nature of Swan Hill had made the day even more special.
“I love the Swan Hill community,” he said.
“When I go down to Melbourne, it’s so crowded and noisy, but Swan Hill is so lovely.
“I always enjoy coming back to Swan Hill wherever I go.
“It reminds me of my home back in Vietnam. It’s very peaceful, and I feel very safe living here in Swan Hill.
“It’s a wonderful town, and the people have been so nice to me.”
The citizenship ceremony was attended by a large group of family and friends, and Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh was the special guest.
Before the new citizens were introduced to the community, attendees were treated to a taste of First Nations culture.
Aunty Deb Chaplin performed a welcome to country, before a passionate didgeridoo performance from her son Parja Pettit wowed the crowd.
Aunty Deb said inclusion was an important way to stop division.
“As Aboriginal people we carry our culture wherever we go,” she said.
“Whatever your culture is, we’ve all got a unique role to play in this beautiful country of ours.
“It was also fantastic for council to acknowledge that our First nations people should be a part of the ceremony.
“I feel like it’s a fantastic way to break down any barriers between cultures.”
Mayor Les McPhee said citizenship ceremonies were among his favourite parts of his job.
“Being able to swear these citizens in is one of the real privileges of my role as mayor,” he said.
“It really makes you appreciate how lucky we are to be born in this country, and what some of these people have had to go through to get here.”
Mr McPhee said the inclusion of First Nations culture was something the council hoped to include more in the future.
“It was the first time that we had invited the First Nations to share their culture at a citizenship ceremony,” he said.
“It’s something that we are looking at implementing into our future citizenship ceremonies.”
