Well done: Sam Birrell MP and Mayor Rob Amos congratulate Bea Esparon on her citizenship. Photo: Aidan Briggs
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
For Bea Esperon, who has lived in Australia since she was a young child, her citizenship ceremony was merely formalising something she has always known.
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“I always felt like I was from here. This has always really been my home,” she said.
“I grew up here, but it’s nice to officially be an Australian.”
A nursing student hopeful, Ms Esperon said she was grateful for what growing up in a country like Australia means.
“It’s very different from the Philippines. I think it’s just you’ve got more opportunities here than there is there,” she said.
Gathering: Uncle Rick gave the Welcome to Country at the beginning of the ceremony.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
The local MP who attended the event, Federal Member for Nicholls Sam Birrell, said seeing people like Ms Esperon become citizens was inspiring.
“I can tell she’s an incredibly hard-working person. She’s going to study nursing,” he said.
“I mean, what an amazing contribution Bea will make to Australia. So it is a great day for Australia that someone like Bea is becoming a citizen of our nation.”
Welcome all: Ten people attended the ceremony celebrating their new citizenship.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
Ms Esperon was joined by nine other people who also got citizenship last Thursday.
Mr Al-Hameli, originally from the United Arab Emirates, said he was glad to have settled in the area with his boyfriend.
“He wanted to be a flower grower and I didn’t know what I wanted to do yet. So actually, when we moved up here, I went back to uni and did my masters of teaching,” he said.
On song: Indi Gilmore sings the national anthem.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
He moved to Australia as an adult after coming out as gay to his mother.
“I came out to my mother and her response was literally, ‘we need to get you out here’,” he said.
During the ceremony, Uncle Rick gave a Welcome to Country, where he talked about his journey moving to different places in Australia and the challenges of living somewhere new.
Despite her nerves, Ms Esperon said she was glad to see the day happen.
“It’s exciting. I was a bit nervous. I don’t like big crowds, but it’s been a beautiful ceremony.”
Mr Birrell shared in Ms Esperon’s excitement for the event.
“It’s the most enjoyable part of this job … to see people who will make a wonderful contribution to this country become citizens,” he said.
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