THERE were 27 new Australian citizens naturalised at the Mount Isa Civic Centre on Thursday afternoon.
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New citizens originated from the Philippines, South Africa, India, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Spain and Bangladesh.
Mayor Joyce McCulloch led the citizenship ceremony with support from councillor Peta MacRae.
For former Northern Ireland citizen David Beattie, his new Australian title was more than 20 years in the making. Two decades ago he followed his siblings from the northern hemisphere to the mining town. “Australia has got a really good lifestyle so why return?” he said. “It’s been a very happy 20 years.”
He had two daughters, his Scottish wife Alexandria, and “three gorgeous grandkids”.
“It’s just a change of climate and work. I worked in the building trade. The cool winters in Ireland and Scotland were not pleasant.”
New citizen Jayascree Parthasarathy, from Chennai, India, said the rest of her local family became Australian last Australia Day. She has now joined them.
“I really like Australia and the lifestyle here, and the people are so friendly, so we made the decision to stay here.”
