Last year’s Stawell Citizens of the Year Neil and Sheila Thornton will be sitting beneath their oak tree enjoying a laid-back afternoon tea on Australia Day.
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Could it get any more Australian than that?
“That’s the way to do it mate,” Mr Thornton said.
“Australia is the best country in the world and it is very important to stop and reflect about our great nation on Australia Day.”
The Stawell couple are so proud of Australia they refuse to go anywhere beyond their home nation’s shores.
“We have travelled all over Australia, done it all,” Mr Thornton said.
“I have had many opportunities to go overseas, but I have no desire to go outside of Australia – there is no country like Australia.
“Why go over and see mountains and snow and whatever else when you can see it all here anyway – we’re so diverse with our weather, you can see a dessert or the snow here.”
Mrs Thornton said the best way to travel across the country, as big and vast as it is, was not to fly.
“We go by car, you see more of this wonderful land and you meet more of our wonderful people,” she said.
“If you fly to Perth or Broome what would you see other than the cabin of the aircraft.”
Mrs Thornton said they had made many friends during their travels, and still remain friends today.
“We would go around in the caravan and we had the citizens band radio – this one here (Mr Thornton) would talk to anyone on there,” she said.
“So one day we were driving up towards Northern Queensland and we were speaking to a couple on the cb radio who happened to be travelling behind us.
“They asked if we wanted to have tea together in the next town and so we did.
“That was in the early 1990s and we are still friends today.
“We even had trouble with the van, so we stopped at a garage in Blackall and they wouldn’t leave us until we were back on the road with them.”
Mr Thornton said all these memories made Australia Day special and made him feel fortunate to live in such a country.
“Growing up I can remember World War II and it makes you think how lucky we are that we are governing ourselves and not being governed by someone else, which could have happened and that’s important,” he said.
Mr Thornton said he appreciated the “laid-back” way of life in Australia and said it was an aspect of life many people would love to experience.
“It separates us from everyone else,” he said.
“We don’t become too upset with things, we accept a lot and get on with our lives.”
