A KENYA woman’s path to citizenship started when she met a foreign Australian safari driver in 2006.
Dorothy was a waitress in her home country when she hit it off with Ronnie Butler who had lunch at her restaurant everyday.
Two years later they got married and settled in Charters Towers in North Queensland.
The couple moved to Jimboomba in 2016.
Dorothy was presented with her Australian citizenship at the Logan Australia Day ceremony at the Logan Entertainment Centre on January 26.
Mrs Butler said she was proud to reach the long-awaited milestone more than 10 years after entering the country for the first time.
“It means a lot to us, especially for my family as Australia is a free country,” she said.
“The mateship here is good and Australia offers a safer life for my kids.”
Mr Butler said he was thrilled to see his wife become an Australian citizen.
“We are excited that we finally did the citizenship. It could have been done a long time ago but we got busy having children and building a house,” he said.
Ms Butler said citizenship would help her study to pursue a career in aged care.
The family later celebrated Australia Day at Jimboomba with friends over a traditional African meal.
Dorothy was one of 150 people from 50 different countries to receive citizenship on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Mount Warren Park resident Dorothy Murphy was announced as Logan’s Citizen of the Year at the Australia Day ceremony
Mrs Murphy founded Palliative Aids for Logan Services in 2002 following the death of her husband.
She regularly volunteers at Logan and Beaudesert hospitals and offers support to Beenleigh Chaplaincy and the Wongaburra Garden Settlement Nursing Home.
Acting Mayor of Logan Cherie Daley said deserved the recognition.
“With 15 amazing nominees it wasn’t easy to decide a winner but Dorothy’s years of service to the community have made a major difference to many people’s lives,” Cr Dalley said.
“Whether it’s giving palliative care patients and their families the support they need or standing up for our veterans, Dorothy is someone who does so much but expects so little.”
Mrs Murphy has also lobbied the federal government to ensure members of the British Commonwealth Occupancy Force received gold cards.
Canterbury College student Charlie Johnstone, 14, from Bahrs Scrub was named Logan’s Young Citizen of the Year.
Mr Johnstone competed at the World Scholar’s Cup Tournament of Champions at Yale University last year and ranked 87th out of 15,000 students.
He has won a unique opportunity to have lunch with NASA astronauts later this year after winning another academic contest.
