Like any other dinky-di Aussie, Dilbag Singh loves his Holden.
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Mr Singh, who works for the car company, received his citizenship at Wodonga Council’s Australia Day ceremony in front of some very special guests.
“My parents live in India and got here three days ago just for the ceremony; they’re here for four weeks,” he said.
“It’s really good to have them here and witness this special moment for me.”
Mr Singh left India for Melbourne 10 years ago and has lived in Wodonga for the last four years.
"I work as a motor mechanic for Holden,” he said.
“Many workers in the factories lost their jobs, which is sad, but there are still going to be jobs – cars need to be fixed.
“It’s really amazing here – it’s a better life, better job opportunities – you can’t say anything bad about this country.
“Everyone gets a fair go.”
Thirteen new citizens were introduced to the community at Les Stone Park, many who sought asylum from their countries of birth.
Mayor Anna Speedie presented their certificates and said the achievements of people like Teju Chouhan, the 2017 Wodonga Citizen of the Year, were something to be proud of.
“At every single citizenship ceremony that I conduct, they are all so grateful to become Australians,” she said.
“You hear Teju’s story and most of those stories are similar.”
Mr Chouhan, whose family were persecuted in Bhutan and spent 17 years in a Nepalese refuge camp, said he felt honoured to have spent 2017 as the city’s top citizen.
“I was denied citizenship status in my country of birth, waiting over 35 years where I was stateless, before I was accepted as a citizen of Australia,” he said.
“It was a proud moment and one of the happiest in my life because it gave me so much.
“It gave me an identity and a sense of belonging.”
Mr Chouhan said Australia Day was a time “to come together as a community”.
“For me, today is about sharing our stories, and I encourage you all to talk to the person beside you, because each one of us have a unique story to tell and we can learn so much from our collective wisdom,” he said.
“When I settled in Albury-Wodonga in 2008, it changed my life forever and I must thank Wodonga for opening doors for me and for hundreds of other refugees and migrants.”
Eight-year-old Bina Chauhan has spent equal parts of her life in a refugee camp and in Australia – while she is fluent in English, she also speaks Nepali with her parents.
At Wodonga Primary School, she’s also studying Japanese.
Bina, who received her citizenship on Friday with her parents, said it was "weird being in a new place” but she liked living in Australia.
“My mum and dad tell me a lot about it (Bhutan),” she said.
“I get to meet more people and make new friends.”
Her family left Bhutan for a refugee camp in 1991 and arrived in Australia in 2012.
Bina’s mother, Dammer, said it was a pleasure to live in Wodonga.
“All the people are friendly and approachable,” she said.
Larry and Ruth Turner are Australia Day die-hards.
They’ve lived in Wodonga for 43 years and have been attending Wodonga Council's ceremony for the past 12 years at least.
“We usually have grandchildren along,” Mrs Turner said.
“Every year I add something (to my outfit) – it’s the only time you can go all out.”
And so, the Turners also think Australia Day should stay on January 26.
“We’ve grown up with it and it’s about being together as one,” Mrs Turner said.
Wodonga Mayor Anna Speedie agrees the day is about unity but declined to say whether she supported changing the date.
“For me, Australia Day is about celebrating being an Australian and that’s everybody who makes up the community,” she said.
“I think as a nation we need to be proud of our country and that’s all parts of our country, including remembering and honouring the history as well … start a conversation with our local Indigenous people … I think it’s about respect.
“We’ll wait and see what the federal government decides, but I think today is all about celebrating being not only an Australian but being a citizen of our community.”
More than 300 people attended the Wodonga ceremony but crowd numbers were noticeably down, likely due to the public holiday falling on a Friday.
Friends and family of award winners were strong in numbers.
Young Citizen of the Year and LGBTI advocate Sheridan Williams thanked her supporters, and mentors at WayOut Wodonga.
“It is absolutely amazing to be up here having the previous winners with me … there are so many people I need to thank for this opportunity … thank you to everybody who voted yes in the marriage equality debate, thank you for helping us change the world for the better,” she said.
Citizen of the Year Uta Wiltshire thanked the community and asked for their support in her push to get a museum in Wodonga.
“When we settled here it was the first time I felt I could put down roots to call a place home,” she said.
“Wodonga’s residents welcomed me and I’ve done my best to give back what I can.
“It’s you people out there that hold the history of the town and I’ll be asking for your help to make sure we have a place for the research and historic collection to be accessible in the future.”
