When Harry Tang arrived in Australia nine years ago there was a thing about the country that immediately stood out, and has stayed with him almost a decade later — everything is just so much bigger.
Harry (born Hui) will be involved in Wednesday morning’s Campaspe Shire Council’s citizenship ceremony, pledging his allegiance to Australia with five other residents of the shire.
Born and raised near Shanghai, in China, he has stood alongside former citizens of New Zealand, Sweden, India, the United Kingdom and United States to become the shire’s newest “Aussies”.
Harry fondly remembered first arriving in Australia, in 2013, when he spent the first two years of his “down under” existence living with a cousin at Ballarat.
“Before I came to Australia I lived in Japan for a while. So when I arrived in Australia I remember thinking, everything is so much bigger here,” Harry said.
“The street, the meals, even the people were little bit bigger as well.
“The cars were bigger and so were the houses.”
Harry shared his initial impressions of Australia as a child with The Riv, recalling there being a map of the world hanging on the wall of his home.
"In my home we had a world map and I remember looking at this big island, thinking ‘I’ love to go there one day’,“ he said.
When Harry’s cousin told him he was going to work in Australia the interest developed further and he kept in touch with him after he arrived in Australia.
“He worked in a factory, for Mack Trucks, at Ballarat. When I arrived I stayed with him for nearly two years and also worked at the factory — as a welder and on the assembly line,” he said.
Harry arrived in Echuca seven years ago and bought the Chinese massage business, which is in McKinnon Arcade.
He met his wife, Amanda, in Ballarat and the couple got married in 2017.
She will be outnumbered (Australian citizen-wise) in the Tang household come May this year when the couple expect the arrival of their first child.
Harry and Amanda were both born during China’s “one-child policy”, so the new arrival will be the first grandchild for their parents.
Amanda said she had a goal of becoming an Australian citizen, but for now was a permanent resident while she completed her studies to become a teacher.
Harry said the decision to become an Australian citizen was probably made as a result of him deciding this was where he wanted to spend the rest of his life.
He studied his massage diploma at Victoria University and works with his wife in the business, until she completed her teaching degree.
Harry’s last trip to china was in 2018, for his mother’s funeral, and both are hoping they will have excited grandparents visiting them once their child arrived mid-year.
He spent two days studying for the exam which he was required to complete prior to earning his “green and gold stripes“.
But he is a little concerned it will be more complicated to get back to China if, or when, he decides to travel.
“The relationship between Australia and China isn’t that great at the moment,” he said.
Harry explained that he feels strongly aligned to the values that Australian people live by and was looking forward to voting at this year’s election.
“I can express my opinion on something, through my vote,” he said.
The remaining five Campaspe Shire residents involved in the citizenship ceremony are Christine Coventry of Tongala (New Zealand), Stina Karlsson of Echuca (Sweden), Donald McKenzie of Echuca (United States), Fiona Poynting of Rochester (United Kingdom) and Vikranth Racha of Echuca (India).