Melton resident Fran Entena celebrated more than just Australia Day on Wednesday, January 26.
The date will now be the day Ms Entena and her husband, Vicente, became Australian citizens.
“It’s quite sentimental in a way. It’s a major event in someone’s life,” she said.
“We actually wore our traditional clothes just to signify that we will not forget our roots, but at the same time are very happy to be in Australia, finally.”
Originally from the Philippines, Ms Entena said she was drawn to Australia because she had a lot of influence from friends.
“Originally, we were working in Singapore for eight years, and then a lot of our friends moved to Australia,” she said.
“We had this issue in Singapore where we were not getting our permanent residence…it was really, really stressful there.
“We want quality of life.”
The couple decided on Melton because of the options to purchase a home in an estate, as well as the expected growth in the area, allowing for more options for schools, public transport and healthcare.
Ms Entena has found Melton is very focused on inclusion and diversity, which she said is “very important” to her.
“Everyone has their own experiences and when you bring it together, it creates a much better outcome when we don’t have the same opinion about something. So it’s quite refreshing to understand…other people’s culture and have that respect.”
