Forty-two people became new Australian Citizens at a ceremony held at the Tweed Heads Civic Centre last week and for most, it was a labour of love.
The group, the biggest to take the citizenship oath all year, included the sister of current New Zealand Governor General Gerry Mateparae, Eva Smith.
Mrs Smith, who joked she and her famous brother would now be on opposite sides when the Wallabies and the All Blacks met in the rugby, said she and her Australian-born husband had lived in New Zealand together for 25 years before moving here.
“We raised our children there – we wanted to give them a very strong sense of their Maori culture,” she said.
“But my husband wanted to retire here – so here we are.”
She said she had received a lot of support from her collegues at Miami High in her quest to beome an Australian, with two of her workmates’ wives helping with her application and coming along to witness the ceremony conducted by Mayor Barry Longland, with help from Federal Member for Richmond Justine Elliott.
People from all around the world became Australian citizens – from Israel to Thailand, the UK and the US.
