‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!’ The gathered crowd, numbering a few hundred in a section of Sydney's Hyde Park, responded as only Australians would. But this was neither a sporting event nor some pantomime moment. The occasion was a citizenship ceremony, and the rallying cry came from a young man from New Zealand as he collected his citizenship certificate. The people in the crowd, most of them waving miniature Australian flags, were there to celebrate Australia Day 2009.

Everyone watched as one by one the 18 individuals on the outdoor stage received their citizenship documents – official recognition of their naturalisation as Australians. Mostly young men and women in their 20s and 30s, they each wore their distinctiveness with pride. There was a young woman from Sarajevo wearing a traditional white, embroidered Bosnian dress. There was a man from Scotland sporting a tartan kilt. There was a man from Malaysia dressed casually in an unmistakable homage to Steve Irwin: wide-brimmed hat, short-sleeved khaki shirt and matching shorts, a pair of brown boots. All, though, were now Australian citizens. Reiterating the new bond they shared with those watching on from the lawn, the master of ceremonies called on all citizens present, new and old, to reaffirm their commitment to Australia: ‘I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.’ The crowd obliged. Then everyone proceeded to sing ‘Advance Australia Fair’.