AFTER a lifetime of living in the lucky country, well-known librarian Anne Schumacher has become a naturalised Australian citizen.
The Scottish-born Millicent resident pledged loyalty to Australia at a citizenship ceremony last week.
Wattle Range Mayor Peter Gandolfi conducted the ceremony held in the Millicent Library History Room while Ms Schumacher’s friends and work colleagues looked on.
Ms Schumacher was born in Dingwall, located within the mountainous region of the Scottish Highlands, and migrated to Australia with her family in 1961 at five months old.
“I never thought I wasn’t an Australian because I was a baby when I came over and I’ve grown up here,” she said.
“I went to school in Australia, I was married in Australia and I had my kids in Australia.
“It wasn’t until I went overseas I thought I should become naturalised so I can get an Australian passport.
“I didn’t get a passport in time, so I needed to get a re-entry visa to come back to Australia, even though I’ve lived here all my life.”
The Wattle Range Council employee joked she was concerned about failing the Australian Citizenship Test, which requires a pass rate of 75pc.
“I was very concerned I would fail to be honest,” she said.
“There were 20 questions that I had to answer and I got 100pc.
“I was pretty happy about that.”
Ms Schumacher said while unable to hold an Australian passport as a permanent resident, she enjoyed many of the rights and privileges of citizens, including the right to vote in elections.
“There’s not really many differences between a permanent resident and a citizen, except I can’t stand for parliament or serve as mayor,” she said.
“I can still vote in elections and I’ve even done jury duty before.”
