THIRTEEN Campaspe Shire and Murray River residents (pictured) were made Australian citizens on Australia Day.
They included Echuca’s Chayna Haddon (Thailand), Leandra King (New Zealand), Carmela, Dave, Dana and Dovie and Dave Lluz (The Philippines) and Phani Gurram (India).
Others include Moama’s Emily Holmes (New Zealand) and Pederita Roberto (The Philippines), Lockington’s Grace and Daniel McCreadie (Scotland) and Rushworth’s Jeserince Jiheng (Malaysia).
They were all presented with their certificates and a native Australian plant at the combined Australia Day ceremony at Echuca’s Aquatic Reserve.
Twenty-year-old Emily, who moved to Australia with her family in 2012 and was dux of Echuca College in 2016, said becoming an Australian meant everything to her.
‘‘It means having the same opportunities, it means I can go to university and have the same support when I’m at university,’’ she said.
‘‘To not be able to go to university straight away was quite hard but now it’s an opportunity so it means a lot.’’
Emily said she loved living in Moama.
‘‘I just love the people here, the family environment, everything about it,’’ she said.
‘‘I am extremely proud of becoming an Australian citizen.’’