By Oliver Lees
Woodend resident Angela Van Dam is one of Australia’s newest citizens.
At a citizenship ceremony held at Kyneton Town Hall on April 20, Ms Van Dam became one of nine people to be granted citizenship within the Macedon Ranges council area.
She said it was special to have the ceremony after the uncertainty of the pandemic.
“The ceremony was lovely and I was so thankful to be able to do it face-to-face,” Ms Van Dam said.
“A lot of friends and family came and I wore a special green and gold dress.”
Originally from the United Kingdom, Ms Van Dam first moved to Australia on a work visa in 2003.
Work opportunities subsequently took her to Germany and Sydney before she settled with her husband and newborn daughter in Woodend 10 years ago to be closer to his family.
She said while making the step to becoming a citizen wasn’t always easy, she now feels even more of a connection to her family and her community.
“Moving to Australia initially was easy, but deciding to relocate here permanently was a bit more of a difficult choice,” she said.
“It was a long and expensive process, from a working visa, to a spouse visa, to permanent residence and now citizenship.
“Having a family, it’s nice to feel more Australian now I’ve got citizenship, being a permanent resident it was always in the back of my mind that that could be revoked.”
According to Australian government data, more than 204,000 people became Australian citizens in 2019-20, representing more than 200 different nationalities.
The second largest number of new citizens came from the UK (25,011) behind India (38,209).
Ms Van Dam said she sat her citizenship test in January this year.
“The most essential questions relate to the values of being Australian,” she said.
“I’m very thankful that English is my first language, I really feel for people trying to do an online test in a language that is not their first language.”
Ms Van Dam she has always felt a strong connection to her community, previously working for Woodend Neighbourhood House, Upper Campaspe Landcare and now Youth Live4Life.
“Woodend really does have a great community spirit and when the chips are down, everybody rallies behind one another, it epitomises the Australian value of mateship.”
