Lithgow welcomed six new Australian citizens at Lithgow City Council’s Australia Day ceremony at Eskbank House and Museum on Thursday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Local Citizenship Awards were also presented to pay tribute to the individuals and groups who give their time and energy to improving the Lithgow community.
Edmil Alfaro, formerly of the Philippines, said he was proud to become an Australia citizen.
“It’s a great place to live, it's good to be here,” Mr Alfaro said.
“I’m planning to bring my family over here very soon.”
The Volunteer of the Year Award in the Open category was presented to Bronwyn Laing of Wallerawang for her work with Rural Pound Aid, rehoming dogs and cats that have been surrendered.
The Young Volunteer of the Year Award went to Gemma Ring of Portland, who has been working with Lithgow Community Projects to combat social isolation.
The Citizen Achievement Award in the Open Category was presented to Tim Le Fevre of South Bowenfels, who has worked for social justice and people experiencing economic disadvantage and disability for many years.
The Young Citizen Achievement Award was jointly given to young singers Isaac Trounce and Christopher Seymour for their outstanding work as principals in the recent Lithgow High School Musical production of The Secret Garden.
The Outstanding Event Award was presented to Lithgow Musical Society for their program of events in the last year. These included an elaborate performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with a cast of 50 singers, actors and dancers, and the Lithgow High School musical, The Secret Garden.
The official Australia Day address was given by the Australia Day ambassador Jeremy Jones AM.
He mentioned how the world is going through period of massive change and how this presented new challenges and struggles for people in our nation.
“We all have to think together as one Australian family how our future is going to look,” he said.
“It’s my hope that Australians will be able to do what so many of us have done for so long, and that is take for granted we live in the best country on Earth but also appreciate that to keep Australia the best country on Earth is going to require thought, effort, hard work and an idea, a spirit that we are the one Australian family.”