Siriel Northfield is one of Gunnedah’s newest citizens but she first arrived and fell in love with Australia in 2008.
She came to Australia as an international student at Griffith University in Brisbane.
It was there she studied a Bachelor of Business as a mature student at the age of 27.
Back in Tanzania, she ran a family business in tourism and decided to take additional steps in advancing her career.
Alas, her profession would take a different route, going back to university to complete a Bachelor of Nursing.
She has now been a nurse since 2015 and completed a Masters in Public Health.
Australia was meant to be a temporary home during her studies but had a change of heart after living in the country.
“I fell in love with the country, especially the countryside of Australia,” she said.
“That’s why I decided to call Australia home.”
She met her husband, Scott, and the couple now have two children, Sienna and Skylah.
“I want to raise my children [in Australia],” she said.
A work opportunity brought them to the calm town life of Gunnedah. People may recognise her as staff at Mclean Care.
“It’s nice and quiet, away from the traffic and the big city,” she said.
“I’ve always wanted to live in a small country town with my family.
“I wanted a quiet life.”
She tries to visit Tanzania every three to four years but during COVID times it was difficult.
Even though she loves Australia, she speaks of her former home just as fondly.
“It’s a lovely country,” she said “It’s peaceful.”
She said it is known for its national parks and wildlife which attracts a lot of international visitors, especially for its safaris.
Mount Kilimanjaro is another big tourist attraction being the highest mountain in Africa at 5895 metres. For context, Australia’s highest mountain is Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches 2228 metres.
“It’s something like I would encourage [people] to think about and visit sometime,” she said.
Siriel described becoming an Australian citizen as a “privilege” at her citizenship ceremony last month.
