No place like an Aussie home
Milan Kramer, Edward Vaseo and Jim Clark (above) were born on the other side of the world, but all say living in Australia is a privilege.
MILAN Kramer, Edward Vaseo and Jim Clark were born on the other side of the world, but all say living in Australia has been a privilege.
They are among dozens of residents at Mercy Place Woree retirement home who took part in Australia Day celebrations yesterday and talked about their love and loyalty to the country they have called home for, in some cases, more than seven decades.
Czech-born Milan Kramer escaped to Germany in 1948 at the age of 18 and lived in a refugee camp before making his way to Australia.
Edward Vaseo’s Russian family emigrated to Australia in 1947 after the unrest of World War II, while Scotsman Jim Clark was part of a peacekeeping force based in Germany in the early 1950s and emigrated to Australia in 1966.
“It’s really wonderful to be an Australian citizen,” said Mr Kramer, who migrated to Australia in 1950 and initially settled in Sydney.
Mr Vaseo said he loved the people and lifestyle.
“What struck me most when I first arrived here was the attitude of Australian people. They are so friendly and I think the way they embrace life is just wonderful,” he said.
Mr Vaseo sailed with his family from Bavaria to Australia and became an Australian citizen in 1957.
Mercy Place Woree service manager Charlene Reyes said Mercy Health had a rich cultural diversity with many staff and residents having moved here from overseas.
“I think we were all very excited about celebrating Australia Day,” she said.
“The Mercy Health team, as well as our residents, are hugely proud to be Australian and at the same time we are very respectful of other people’s culture and heritage.
“We spent the day having a traditional Aussie barbecue as that offered a great oppor- tunity for all of our residents to celebrate living in Australia.”
Mercy Health is a Catholic community not-for-profit provider of care, founded by the Sisters of Mercy and grounded in a 2000-year history of caring for those in need.
Mercy Place Woree is one of two residential homes run by Mercy Health in Queensland, catering for 160 people.