Crafting of an Australian Citizenship Quilt NSW Contributions

“I would not be here if Australia had not accepted
[my father] as a migrant … his brother went to
America and his parents and sister were not heard
of again. I think Australian citizenship is just the
most prestigious thing in the world to have. We
are really, really lucky.”
Gregory Viazim received his Certificate of
Naturalization on 15 April 1940.
The artist’s husband is descended from the
second “free” Greek settler in Australia, John
Peters (Ioannis Iakoumis), who landed in Sydney
in 1838 and married an Irish woman with whom he
had 16 children. He was a “boatman” on the
Parramatta River before moving with his family to
the “Bedervale” property near Braidwood, NSW,
where he worked as a shepherd and gold
prospector at nearby Little River.
Bloomfield, Philippa (Pip)
Turramurra NSW
The artist is fourth generation Australian of English
and Scottish descent.
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“Australia is unique and a diverse land – both its
landscape and people make it so special to me. I
see Australia as a land of colour, a land of deserts
and plains, mountains, forests and oceans all with
wonderful and strange flora and fauna. The
colours of Australia are also the people. The
Aboriginal people with their understanding of the
land and their ancient culture. People from
European countries, from Asia, Africa, the
Americas and the Middle East all bring their own
vibrant colours of food, language and culture to
make Australia the great nation it is today.”