Welcome home

THE City of Hobart celebrated both the old and new on 26 January, welcoming new citizens from 27 countries while celebrating the 175-year history of the Sandy Bay Regatta.

New Australian citizen Anton De Silva was one of 76 people from around the world who officially became Australian citizens at the ceremony. He said Hobart had become a hub for migrants living in Tasmania.

“I feel really proud to be an Australian citizen and to be living in the Hobart community,” he said.

“It is great to see culturally diversity being celebrated in Hobart.”

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said the ceremony was a fantastic meeting of the city’s past and future.

“This year marks the 175th Sandy Bay Regatta which began on New Year’s Day in 1849, making it the oldest continuously running regatta in the Southern Hemisphere,” she said.

“To have welcomed our new Australian citizens at the same time as celebrating one of the oldest regattas in the world was a great representation of Hobart – a mingling of the old and the new.”

Welcoming and Inclusive Portfolio Committee chair Cr Dr Zelinda Sherlock said welcoming new citizens was one of the great privileges of local government.

“Immigrants are such an important part of the tapestry of our city,” she said.

“They bring new life, culture and innovation to our community.

“The Sandy Bay Regatta is an incredible representation of the vibrancy new Australian citizens bring to Hobart from around the globe.”