For Sharon Risse, becoming an Australian citizen was never about paperwork or passports. It was about a dream that began when she was a little girl standing in her grandparents’ backyard in Germany, imagining a future on the other side of the world.
“My journey to Australian citizenship is not dramatic or extraordinary, it was just a dream,” Sharon said.
That dream took shape early. Sharon grew up in Germany, listening wide-eyed as her mother told stories about her time in Australia as a young woman in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
“For me as a little girl, it was a wonderful place with its own magic,” Sharon said.
One small book became a powerful symbol of that magic. “The story behind the book Skippy to the Rescue … this was my very first book about Australia. I received it in 1970 from friends in Melbourne. I was just two years old,” she said.
Those early impressions stayed with her. “I still remember standing in my grandparents’ backyard in Germany and telling my cousins that I would be moving to Australia when I grow up,” Sharon said. “And it did happen.”
After visiting Australia several times to see her mother’s friends, Sharon made the leap that would turn childhood imagination into reality.
“I migrated to this beautiful country at the age of 23 by marrying my mother off to an Australian,” she said smiling. “And I have not looked back. They haven’t either.”
Australia quickly became more than a destination. It became home in the deepest sense. “It is the country I call home,” Sharon said. “Where when you land at the Brisbane airport, you smell the eucalyptus which tells you you are HOME.”
Despite feeling Australian in her heart, taking the final step towards citizenship took time. Sharon admits nerves played a part. “I know it has taken a while to take the step to become an Australian citizen, but the dreaded test put me off as I get really nervous doing any kind of test,” she said.
On Australia Day, 26 January 2026, Sharon finally crossed that line, taking the Australian Citizenship Pledge at Noosa Council’s citizenship ceremony. Too nervous to read her speech herself, she was supported by MC Ian Mackay, who kindly read her words aloud.
“But in the end, I did [do the test],” Sharon said. “And here I am on this special Australia Day … taking the final step in making a little girl’s dream come true nearly 50 years after the dream began.”
The ceremony, held as part of Noosa’s Australia Day celebrations, officially welcomed new citizens into the community. Citizenship ceremonies are invitation-only events conducted by council on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs, marking the final legal step in becoming an Australian.
They are often deeply emotional occasions, and for Sharon, the moment carried the weight of decades. “For me as a little girl, Australia was a wonderful place with its own magic … and here I am on this special Australia Day 26th January 2026 becoming a citizen of this beautiful magical country.”
Noosa Council holds citizenship ceremonies throughout the year, with further ceremonies scheduled in April, July and November, but Australia Day holds a special significance, woven into broader community celebrations including events hosted by the Tewantin Noosa Lions Club and the Rotary Club of Noosa Heads.
For Sharon, however, the meaning was simple and personal.
“This is the country I dreamed of,” she said. “And today, it is officially my home.”
From a two-year-old clutching a book about Skippy, to standing proudly among fellow new Australians, Sharon Risse’s story is a reminder that belonging can begin with a dream – and end with a heartfelt pledge.