Crafting of an Australian Citizenship Quilt NSW Contributions

Urquart, Elsa
Dural NSW
The artist arrived from the Netherlands in 1959 as a ten
year old with her parents, brother and sister.
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“We arrived in Sydney in November, a very hot day felt
even more so after leaving Amsterdam on a chilly
October morning. The sea journey took six weeks as
we travelled through Panama City, we saw people and
places one could only imagine. From that day our lives
were irrevocably changed. Not only did our journey
take us thousands of miles away from our birthplace,
but the country, language and culture had changed
from something familiar, to a place and a way of life that
at the time seemed so strange and foreign.
“This country became MY COUNTRY and I love it with
the strength and passion of an Australian-born. In my
early twenties I married a wonderful Australian man and
we had five children and now have five grandchildren. I
became an Australian citizen in the mid-70s when my
children were born. I found it only fitting to become a
citizen of a country, its people and a way of life I had
grown to love. To me it means a sense of belonging
and continuation that also has an impact on my children
and theirs. It means a willingness to work towards a
common goal, and that is a commitment toward the
common good of the country that in return benefits our
children. It gives them the privilege to live in a
prosperous and democratic country, where hard work
and commitment is well rewarded.
“Being a new Australian citizen is definitely more than
just a certificate. It is a whole new way of life. A
wonderful way of life.”