FOUR Loxton residents were officially able to call Australia home on Tuesday after Loxton’s Australia Day free community breakfast event.
Shivam Sharma, Jess Grace, Kai Verlinden and Armand Lacomme stood before hundreds of people at the ceremony and made the pledge to become Australian citizens.
Shivam Sharma, 24, who migrated from India in 2015, said Australia has been good to him.
“I migrated alone to study management at TAFE SA in Adelaide and after I had done my course, I decided I wanted to go to university and do nursing,” he said.
“After my degree, I got offered a job at Loxton’s Riverview Lutheran Rest Home and it was an offer I couldn’t say no to.
“There are lots of opportunities in Australia and I am lucky to call this country home.”
Jess Grace, 26, who migrated from England in 2013, said what started off as a holiday turned into permanent residency.
“I came to Australia in 2013 as a backpacker for a holiday, and I never came home,” she said.
“I love it here in Loxton.
“I’ve made lots of friends, involved myself in the community with soccer and a few other things, and I love seeing kangaroos hopping around.”
Kai Verlinden, 38, who migrated from Belgium in 2011, said landing a job at Loxton’s Venus Citrus gave him a sense of belonging.
“After getting a job at Venus Citrus I called Loxton home,” he said.
“Everyone has been so good to me and I’ve found my own family.”
Armand Lacomme, 32, who migrated from South Africa, said he moved to Australia in 2016 for a wine vintage as an assistant winemaker and “never looked back”.
“My wife and I loved Monash but after spending time in Loxton we decided to live here,” he said.
“My wife’s maiden name was Loxton so it felt like fate that we were both meant to live here.
“I love the lifestyle here, the freedom and the culture.
“Barbecuing outdoors is one of my favourite things.”