Gunnedah welcomed four new citizens to the shire with a ceremony on Saturday evening at The Civic.
Among those choosing to permanently call Australia home was Ammar Qaiser Choudhary.
Born in Saudi Arabia, raised in Kuwait, he moved back to Pakistan for his engineering degree before weighing up options to obtain a master’s degree.
“I was looking for an opportunity to pursue higher education. That was when I [found out] Australia has really good universities,” he said.
Ammar was accepted into Monash University in 2017, where he completed a master’s degree in engineering.
After he completed his degree, he obtained a two year permit to work in Australia.
From there, he received permanent residency and was successful in receiving a job at Whitehaven. That was when he moved to Gunnedah and applied for citizenship.
“I like [Gunnedah]. It is nice and peaceful,” Ammar said before admitting he doesn’t love the weather, as someone who spent multiple years in Melbourne.
“I am doing good at Whitehaven, and I can see myself working there for the next few years.”
His wife is a dentist who will soon undertake an exam to practise in Australia.
Ammar’s experience in Australia had been one of ups and downs but he can confidently state he is witnessing the outcome of his persistence.
“Australia is a land of opportunity,” Ammar stated. “It rewards you for the hard work that you put in.
“Everyone’s journey is different. I have seen days when I struggled to get a job … I have applied for probably 100 to 200 jobs at times but that is a part of life.
“Just put your head down and keep moving forward and an opportunity will come knocking at your door.”
A familiar face to Gunnedah since 2011 is Lynette Chivers, hailing from Northern England.
She had originally moved to Newcastle with her ex in 2007. The young family was motivated to move when he was offered a job in Narrabri.
But the town would never be a home for Lynette.
She knew when driving through Gunnedah, that was where home should be.
“It was a deal breaker if he took the job – we had to live in Gunnedah and he had to travel to work, we could not live in Narrabri,” she said.
It was AgQuip week when they had moved to Gunnedah and the young family had no idea what was causing the chaos.
“And then all of a sudden everyone was gone,” she said.
“That was a taste of Gunnedah life straight up.”
They had a six-month rental and in two weeks she had requested they buy a house and stay in Gunnedah.
The children grew up in Gunnedah, attending St Xavier’s primary school before her daughter went to St Mary’s College while the boys moved to Queensland with their father.
Lynette went into nursing and also worked at the boarding kennels. When it went up for sale in 2019, she and husband Brian bought it.
“My husband says I travelled halfway around the world to be with him,” she said.
Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with brain cancer in July last year, in which they made the decision to close the kennel.
“We are selling the kennels and looking for a place to buy in Gunnedah,” she said.
She has since seen the quality of people in Gunnedah, as many came together to donate or fundraise on their behalf.
“This is what I am talking about, in Gunnedah, we only knew about three people who [organised fundraising] and all these other people have said ‘we’ll donate’,” Lynette said.
“People just help people they don’t even really know.
“I picked the right place.”
Shadow Minister for Western NSW Sarah Mitchell, Gunnedah Shire Deputy Mayor Kate McGrath, Member for Parkes Mark Coulton, Ammar Qaiser Choudhary, Lynette Chivers and Gunnedah Shire Mayor Colleen Fuller.
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