James Laurel and his family hadn’t even arrived in Australia when they decided to move to Melton West.
“I have two sisters and a brother here and they encouraged us to come and see the country,’’ he says.
“We just knew straight away that Australia was for us.”
Laurel, his wife Cleofe and daughters Chloe, 13, and Shannon, 8, will become Australian citizens at Melton’s Australia Day celebrations on Sunday.
The family is originally from the Philippines, but they lived in Dublin for six years before moving to Australia.
“The environment is good, as is the weather, and there’s a lot of good places to go,” Laurel says about why his family decided to become citizens.
The Laurels will be among about 180 Melton residents becoming citizens this year.
The celebrations, at Willows Historical Park in Reserve Road, Melton, will include the presentation of community achievement awards from 9.30am.
Moorabool’s Australia Day event will be held at the Mechanics Institute in Ballan from 8am. Recipients of the council’s community awards and mayoral awards will receive their ‘gongs’.
Dr David Stewart is Moorabool’s citizen of the year and Jack Simmonds young citizen of the year. The Bacchus Marsh Strawberries and Cherries Trail weekend is community event of the year.
Dr Stewart, a GP in the area since 1968, was nominated for his contributions as a doctor and volunteer in Darley and Bacchus Marsh.
