While Tuesday was a day of formal recognition for Anuja Kulasooriya, her husband Maharaba De Silva and their children Sarah, Sasen and Seyon, their Australian story started years ago.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The family first moved to Australia four-and-a-half-years ago before moving to Launceston in 2021 for Ms Kulasooriya could start working as a doctor at the Launceston General Hospital.
Meanwhile, Mr De Silva continued studying his PhD at the Australian Marine College.
The couple decided to move to Tasmania because it was "a good place to raise kids, and a good environment".
They had not looked back since. Their children had started school locally and the family were looking to buy a house.
So being involved as part of the Launceston public citizenship ceremony on Tuesday was just another chapter in their increasingly storied life in Tasmania.
"After I finish my PhD and as my wife gets a permanent job at the hospital, we are going to settle permanently, buy a property and contribute to Tasmania in the long-term," Mr De Silva said.
The family were part of 148 new citizens, with the whole cohort already part of the fabric of the Northern Tasmanian community.
At least 38 countries of origin were represented at the public citizenship ceremony, highlighting the diversity of the community they remained part of. Row-by-row the conferring cohort strode to the front of Albert Hall, often flanked by family, or with family beaming from the sidelines.
Colours were a feature of the ceremony, with nations brightly represented by traditional garb.
Bright-reds paired with gold, turquoise, greens and piercing blues lit up the room as each row received official certificates from City of Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten.
Mr van Zetten read out an oath each new citizen then repeated with gusto, eager to get the formalities out of the way and celebrate their newfound standing.
He said the day was one that "united us all while respecting our diversity".
"We are privileged to live in a city that has such a rich cultural fabric and our new citizens will add to the diversity of our community," Mr van Zetten said.
"Although some of the conferees have already been contributing to our community for some time, it gives me great pleasure to be able to officially welcome all of them as new citizens."
What do you think? Send us a letter to the editor:
