Citizenship Celebrations Sealed with a Barbie

One of Edgewater Mercy Hostel’s much-loved team members will be affirming her love and loyalty to Australia this week when she celebrates her first Australia Day knowing her Australian citizen is just around the corner.

Lifestyle Co-ordinator, Lois Brackenridge, who originally hails from Brighton in England, admits she loves living in Australia and is excited at the prospect of becoming a citizen in the coming months after calling WA home for almost 10 years.

“I left my big family in England, including my five brothers, to come to Australia with my then-boyfriend in 2012,” explains Lois, who has worked in aged care for over nine years and says that working at Edgewater Mercy Hostel is similar to being part of a big extended family.

“The original plan was to work and use the money to see different parts of Australia, but I ended up living in Albany for over four years and then moved to Perth for a change after receiving permanent residency.

“Now I feel very proud at the prospect of becoming a citizen, after all what isn’t there to love about living in Australia? My daughter and I are always going on adventures to the beach or new places to go sightseeing or camping. 

“And I’m very much looking forward to celebrating my new citizenship with all of the residents at Edgewater Mercy Hostel. We have Aussie style bingo, a BBQ and also an Australia-themed trivia quiz planned, so there’s some fun activities organised which we’re all looking forward to.”

Edgewater Mercy Hostel Service Manager, Amanda Page, says Mercy Health’s team is made up of many staff members who were born overseas, and as such the aged care home had a rich culture of diversity and comradeship.

“Everyone is very excited for Lois, and residents here at Edgewater now have yet another reason to celebrate our identity and culture on Australia Day and express how proud we all are to be Australian,” she said.

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