Joseph, Jared and Erica Quiling, with Mayor Ashley Hall.
Five community members will celebrate their first Australia Day as official Australians this month, after a jointcitizenship ceremony was held at the Deniliquin Town Hall this week.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Mayor Ashley Hall presided over the event on Tuesday, leading the National Anthem and the official pledges before presenting each new citizen with a certificate and a native Australian plant to mark the occasion.
The ceremony drew family, friends and community members, all gathered to celebrate the newest additions to the town’s growing multicultural community.
Among those welcomed as new Australians were the Quiling family - Joseph, Erika and their son Jared - who moved to Australia from the Philippines in 2021.
Joseph works as administrative staff at Dr Paul’s medical clinic, while Erika is a registered nurse at Orana.
Jared is a student at Deniliquin High School, and is about to start Year 10.
Joseph said the family was embraced by the local community from the moment they arrived.
“All the people in Deniliquin are lovely; they welcomed us as a family when we first came here,” he said.
Adjusting from city life in the Philippines to the quieter pace of the Riverina took time, but Joseph said the change has been a welcome one.
“It’s a lot different from when we lived in the Philippines,” he said.
“We lived in the city, so when we moved here, we thought it was really quiet.
“But really, it’s just more peaceful.”
Sharni, Angus, Thomas and Grant Lundie with Mayor Ashley Hall.
Grant Lundie first came to Australia from Scotland 12 years ago, as a sponsored shearer in Tocumwal.
He eventually settled in the region and built a life with his wife, Sharni, just 10 kilometres outside Deniliquin.
The couple now have their own farm and are raising three children. The youngest, Angus, is just two months old.
Reflecting on the place he now calls home, Grant said the move had been the right one.
“Deni is a nice little country town,” he said, adding that the community and lifestyle have made the transition from Scotland to the Riverina a rewarding one.
Simon and Pat Rogan, Sirapapra Phuangmalai, Mark Rogan and Mayor Ashley Hall.
Tuesday’s final conferee was Sirapapra Phuangmalai, who spent 19 years in Thailand before moving to Australia in 2019 on a partner migrant visa.
Now married to Mark Rogan, she has made Deniliquin her home and runs a Thai massage business in town.
She said the community’s warmth has made it easy to settling in.
“Everyone is like family, they always smile at you,” she said.
Having travelled widely throughout her life, Sirapapra said she has come to appreciate Deniliquin’s welcoming atmosphere and steady pace, describing it as a genuinely nice place to live.
