CITIZENSHIP GOAL FOR SOCCEROOS FAN

David Scholes, one of 286 new Australian citizens from 43 countries to be welcomed at a ceremony in Brisbane on Sunday (15 October), credited the Socceroos for his decision to apply for citizenship.

British-born Mr Scholes said he decided to apply for citizenship after watching the Socceroos qualify for the World Cup.

“It mattered more to me than England qualifying – that was when I knew I wanted to become an Australian citizen,” he said.

The citizenship ceremony will be hosted by Minister for Multicultural Affairs Lindy Nelson-Carr as part of the Queensland Multicultural Festival at Roma Street Parkland.

Ms Nelson-Carr said she was pleased to welcome people from such a diverse range of backgrounds who would contribute much to local communities.

“Australians don’t like to be pigeon-holed,” she said.

“We take pride in our differences and have a lot to thank migrants for.

“Bits of their languages and customs have helped shape our culture and way of life.”

Ms Nelson-Carr said this year Queensland welcomed new citizens from as far away as the Sudan, Britain, South Africa and India.

More than 16,000 Queenslanders have become Australian citizens at hundreds of ceremonies around the state in 2005-2006.

The Queensland Multicultural Festival was developed by the Beattie Government to promote the importance of cultural diversity and to provide Queenslanders with an annual event focused on multiculturalism.

For more program information visit www.multiculturalfestival.qld.gov.au

The Walpole family, Highgate Hill

Gerard and Mary Walpole and their six daughters – Caitriona (19); Marie (16); Anna (15); Fiona (14); Patricia (12); and Margaret (11)

The Walpoles, of Highgate Hill, arrived in Australia in 2000. Gerard Walpole, a doctor, was born in Ireland and his wife Mary was born in Britain. All their children were born in Northern Ireland, except eldest daughter Caitriona who was born in Saudi Arabia. The family first lived in Gladstone before moving to Brisbane in 2003. They love Australia’s outdoor lifestyle but Dr Walpole said the most important reason for the family to become citizens was so they could become fully involved in Australian society. “For both Mary and me and for our girls, this includes having the right to vote,” he said.

David Scholes, Lutwyche

David Scholes is known in Australia’s television and film industry as an experienced director, producer and writer. Originally from Britain, he’s lived in Australia for 21 years. David, who started work at Channel 9 in Brisbane after he migrated, has worked for the past 15 years with every major network in the country and most of our major independent production companies.

He said he decided to apply for Australian citizenship in 2005 when the Socceroos qualified for the World Cup. “Three of us, two Aussies and me, were standing in a freezing cold bar in Dunedin, New Zealand at 1am in the morning with the rain hammering on the window, watching John Aloisi put away the penalty that sent us to the World Cup,” he said. It mattered more to me than England qualifying – that was when I knew I wanted to become an Australian citizen.”

John and Lorraine Walsh of Riverhills; James (“Jimmy”) Walsh of Camira, Ipswich; (James and John Walsh are brothers); Ann Gillespie of Oxley; (Ann Gillespie and Lorraine Walsh are sisters).

The Walsh and Gillespie families always felt “Australian”, said Ann Gillespie; and now just seemed like the right time to turn that feeling of belonging into a more formal commitment. Originally from Ireland, Ann and her sister Lorraine migrated from Ireland to Queensland with their family when they were toddlers. By coincidence, Lorraine later met and married John Walsh; and John’s brother James married Lorraine’s younger Australian-born sister Monica. Ann Gillespie said: “Without a doubt, we all love Queensland - Australia’s the best country in the world, and Brisbane is the best city.”