Meet Murray Bridge’s newest Australian citizens
Twenty-seven migrants have made their pledges of citizenship at Sturt Reserve on January 26, 2022.
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Twenty-seven new Aussies have taken their pledges of citizenship on Australia Day in Murray Bridge.
Almost half of the migrant families came from the Philippines to live in the Murraylands, continuing a recent trend.
Others came from China and Taiwan, Canada and New Zealand, Iran, Sudan and Cambodia.
They were welcomed by guest speaker Anthony Fioravanti, the officer in charge of SA Police’s state intelligence branch, who encouraged them to keep dreaming big as they made their lives in a new country.
His own grandfather had migrated from Italy with next to nothing in 1927, he said, but had wound up managing his own market garden.
His father had grown up without speaking a lick of English but had become the first mayor of the City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters.
“Australia is a land of opportunity, a land where dreams come true, a land where you can make a difference,” he said.
“You only have to set your mind to it.”
Another new citizen unfortunately had to miss out after testing positive to COVID-19 in the lead-up.
Overall attendance at the 2022 Australia Day event was slightly down as people exercised caution about the current COVID-19 outbreak, and many wore masks despite the outdoor setting.
