A Moorabool resident felt ‘emotional’ when she received her Australian citizenship last week at a council ceremony.
About 40 new Australian citizens received their official citizenship across two Moorabool-led ceremonies hosted at the West Maddingley Early Years and Community Hub in Maddingley on Tuesday, June 17.
Bacchus Marsh resident Jenna McConnel and her family were some of those to receive their citizenship.
Ms McConnel said that she felt “surprisingly emotional” at the ceremony.
“It really hit me how big it is to actually take on citizenship of another country … [I felt] really emotional that the kids can finally be citizens of the country that is their home, because they were born here,” Ms McConnel said.
Moving to Australia from Christchurch, New Zealand about 15 years ago, she said that she previously lived in London and moved to Melbourne as she was not ready to settle in a smaller city and knew some people living here.
Now living in Bacchus Marsh with partner and children, Ms McConnel said that she enjoys the lifestyle of the region.
“I love that you feel like you’re in a small town but you’ve got all of the amenities that you need – our children can do swimming, gymnastics, and karate – and it’s all just around the corner – but it’s still got that small town feel,” she said.
According to the council, the Moorabool residents who received their citizenship last week were born in countries across the globe – including Malta, North Macedonia, FYR Macedonia, India, China, England, New Zealand, Philippines, Canada, Iran, Afghanistan, Jersey, Lebanon and Pakistan.
