Community
29 January, 2025
New citizens are proud to be called Australian
More than 20 people took part in a Mount Isa citizenship ceremony on Australia Day.
Seena Moolan Poulose was raised in the bustling streets of India while Ylenia Coquille and Stephan Miraillet spent their childhoods on the long beaches of French Polynesia.
But no matter the contrasts of their native countries, they shared the stage at the Mount Isa Civic Centre on Sunday as they pledged an oath of loyalty to their new Australian homeland.
Twenty-six new Australians took part in the citizenship ceremony that followed the Australia Day awards.
Ylenia said she felt pride in being able to make her pledge on Australia’s national day of celebration.
“This is the country we want to be part of, and we want to be able to give back to Australia wherever we can,” she said.
Ylenia is a secondary maths and science teacher at the Mount Isa School of the Air and the family are now firmly settled in the city, with their nine-year-old daughter Lola, who also became an Australian citizen on Sunday, and Kian, 2, who was already a naturalised citizen. Ylenia’s partner, Stephan was previously employed as a scuba diving instructor and admits he had not even seen a mine before he sought work in Mount Isa, where he eventually found a job driving trucks at George Fisher.
“When I came to Mount Isa, I just applied for any job available,” he said.
“I did not know anything about mining, but I agreed to take on the role and they trained me.
“It was not something I planned, but it has worked out well.”
Originally from India, Senna had worked in Dubai for 15 years as an operating theatre nurse before arriving in Australia and taking a position at Mount Isa Hospital.
She took the citizenship pledge alongside her 15-year-old son Brice.
“I have lived in Mount Isa for five years and I enjoy living here because it is like a small city,” Senna told North West Weekly.
“I spent some time reading about Mount Isa before I arrived, and I liked that everything was only a five minute drive away.
“Everything was so convenient.
“I like the work culture at the Mount Isa hospital and I like the people that I work with and I really enjoy living in Mount Isa.”