Esther Watson and daughter Angelica receive their Australian citizenship together at the Weipa Australia Day Awards and citizenship ceremony event. Photo: Supplied.
Community support and standing side by side with her youngest daughter is what made the final step to Australian citizenship so special for Esther Watson.
Ms Watson was one of five new Australians welcomed by the Weipa community at last Wednesday’s Australia Day Awards and citizenship ceremony.
The Philippine-born woman arrived in Weipa in 2016 on a tourist visa, and wanted to call the first place she landed in Australia home. But the journey to citizenship was not the easiest one.
Going through an agency was going to be incredibly costly, so she set out to take on the process for herself and her two daughters, one of whom is still waiting on approval.
“I was scared to submit, because I thought there’s something wrong [with the application],” she said.
“I put it away for two years, but last year, I needed to finish it, otherwise my visa is expired.
“I’m so happy, because we’re not worried about travelling, like getting a visitor visa to go somewhere. Next week, maybe [we’ll] apply for a passport.”
Ms Watson, who came to the western Cape York township to be with her now-husband Glenn, said she was proud to raise her daughters in the community.
“My eldest one graduated from WCC (Western Cape College) in 2021. She went to JCU for nursing, she’s finished now, and she’s working at Cairns Hospital,” she said proudly.
“My youngest one, she just graduated last November, and she’s going to JCU too next week for teaching.
“The community here is good.”
Weipa Town Authority chairperson Jaime Gane said it was an honour to be part of their citizenship journeys.
“Citizenship ceremonies are one of the highlights of my job; I feel very privileged to be able to do that for people,” she said.
“I feel like it’s not enough of an event to recite a few lines and that’s it, they’re good to go.
“I’m sure it’s not a quick or easy process, so I feel it’s an honour to complete that final step for them so they can get their citizenship.”
She said it was always positive to see the tight-knit community welcome new citizens with open arms.
“Weipa is a great community; the many different cultures we have here is a really big part of what makes it such a great place to live,” she said.
“It’s a very welcoming community for people from other cultures, other countries.
“The people getting their citizenship will always bring some of their local friends to witness and support them, which is really lovely.”
Ms Gane congratulated the new citizens on 21 January, saying they truly understood what it meant to be Australian.
“I think citizenship, for those who choose to come here and make this they’re home, is so much more special,” she said.
“I think a lot of Australian-born citizens take Australian citizenship for granted.
“Those who come here by choice and through effort are often some of the best examples of great Australians because they make the most of it and really value and appreciate what it means.”
Cooktown Shire congratulated new citizens Jenni James, Paul Caumban and Kate Smith at its citizenship ceremony and Australia Day Awards on 26 January.
Weipa Town Authority chairperson Jaime Gane (left) congratulates Weipa’s newest Australian citizens – Esther Watson, Angelica Dialogo, Lucas Henriques, Reboucas De Oliveira, Juanita Ceballos and Blessing Mapfumo. Photo: Weipa Town Authority.
