On the 9th August 2022, I came to Albert Hall at the conclusion of the Citizenship Ceremony to take photos of my daughter and son-in-law. He had just been presented with his Australian Citizenship and now proudly calls himself an Aussie.
He told me that during the ceremony it was mentioned that the first ever citizenship ceremony in Australia was held in Albert Hall in 1949. That got me thinking that it was a good place to put my Virtual Rewards 3.0 cache. So here is a little history of Australian Citizenship.
Australian citizenship was created through the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948, and came into effect 26 January 1949, soon after the post-war mass migration program was launched (in 1945). Prior to 1949, Australians could only hold the status of British subjects.
At the first Australian citizenship ceremony in 1949, seven men (referred to as "aliens") —like the Commonwealth Star on our flag, to represent each Australian state and territory—who hailed from Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Greece, Norway, Spain and Yugoslavia swore their allegiance to this great nation.
Despite their varied backgrounds, they were united by their commitment to Australian values—equality of opportunity, mutual respect and tolerance, freedom of speech and religion, and commitment to democracy and Australian law.
There is short video on this website first-australian-citizenship-ceremony which shows that first ceremony.
Australia’s citizenship legislation has been amended over 30 times, as immigration policies, immigrant source countries, settlement philosophies and notions of national identity have changed. It has been amended many times to remove anomalies and discrimination, and it has been amended many times to make citizenship easier to acquire, reflecting the goal of successive governments to encourage settlers to take out citizenship quickly. However, changes to the citizenship legislation in 2007, which increased the residence requirement from two to four years, and saw the introduction of a citizenship test, represent a departure, and possibly an end to this trend.
Responsibilities and privileges of Australian citizenship
When you become an Australian citizen, you will have additional responsibilities and privileges.
Responsibilities - what you will give Australia
As an Australian citizen you must:
- obey the laws of Australia
- vote in federal and state or territory elections, and in a referendum
- defend Australia should the need arise
- serve on jury duty if called to do so
Privileges - what Australia will give you
As an Australian citizen you can:
- vote in federal and state or territory elections, and in a referendum
- apply for children born overseas to become Australian citizens by descent
- apply for a job in the Australian Public Service or in the Australian Defence Force
- seek election to parliament
- apply for an Australian passport and re-enter Australia freely
- ask for consular assistance from an Australian official while overseas
Requirements to log this cache.
1. Compulsory, take a photo of yourself or something that identifies you, such as your caching name, with Albert Hall in the background.
2. Non compulsory, mention in your log what your country of birth is and if not born in Australia but living here, are you now an Australian Citizen. You can share as little or as much as you like of your journey to become a citizen.
Personally, I was born in Australia to Australian born parents whose parents were also born in Australia. Somewhere in the distant past I have English connections, including abit of convict blood.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.