What luck it is to be Australian and live in Australia were dominant themes at Hawkesbury’s citizenship ceremony on Australia Day.
Hawkesbury Mayor Kim Ford and Hawkesbury’s Australia Day ambassador Don Burke welcomed dozens of new Australian citizens as they declared their allegiance at the ceremony at Windsor Function Centre.
‘‘I congratulate each one of you for the commitment you’re about to make,’’ Mayor Ford said. ‘‘I thank you for making Australia your home.’’
Don Burke, of Burke’s Backyard fame, put it more simply.
‘‘I had the dumb luck to be born here,’’ he told the gathering. ‘‘I would not have the courage to leave the land I was born in and go somewhere else.’’
He said new citizens were courageous people seeking better lives for themselves and for everyone.
‘‘But what’s our right to say to them: ‘You made the right choice’?’’ he said. ‘‘Well, let’s look at ourselves compared with the rest of the world.’’
He said most countries seeking independence had fought long wars to achieve it, costing thousands of lives. ‘‘We had some minor skirmishes at the Eureka Stockade and just down the road, at Vinegar Hill,’’ he said, adding that only 37 Australians died in those conflicts.
‘‘We find ways of dealing with issues and getting on with our lives,’’ he said
Riverstone state MP Kevin Conolly said it was a privilege to live in Australia.
‘‘Events over the past 12 months have brought home to us just how lucky we are,’’ Mr Conolly said.
‘‘But Australia hasn’t become a safe haven by chance or good luck. We are privileged by the hard work of people that have gone before us. It’s important we stand up for the principles we believe in; I encourage old citizens and new to stand up.’’
Mayor Ford said the people about to affirm their new allegiance would take away a memory of the day which would last forever.
He expressed one regret however. ‘‘I apologise to those new citizens whose names I’m about to mispronounce,’’ he said. They responded with laughter, demonstrating a sense of humour decidedly Australian.
