PR-23-2024
One of the important tasks that the Philippine Consulate General has embarked on recently is to reach out to Filipinos and Filipino-Australians in regional Victoria.
On 21 to 22 September 2024, Consul General Maria Lourdes M. Salcedo traveled to Shepparton some 189 kms north of Melbourne CBD. She attended the 42nd anniversary of the Filipino Australian Friends Association (FAFA) and the official launch and oathtaking of officers of the Community of Filipino Australians in Shepparton (CFAS), led respectively by Cathy Javier and Yolee Cuizon. The Consul General also administered the oathtaking of those who availed of dual citizenship under the Philippine Citizenship Reacquisition and Retention Act or RA 9225.
The city that saw major transformation in the mid-19th century as a railway town is now a thriving agricultural and manufacturing center that hosts one of the largest irrigation centers in Australia. Many migrants, including Filipinos, have settled in Shepparton since the post-war era. As of the 2021 Census, many first-generation migrants are from India, Afghanistan, England, Malaysia and the Philippines.
According to the Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District, Inc., there were around 1,350 residents of Filipino ancestry in 2019. However, we know that the number has since grown to include newly arrived young skilled and semi-skilled workers with their families. They mostly work in dairy farms, automotive industry, fabrications and in healthcare as nurses and doctors.
At the iconic St. Brendan’s Catholic Church built in 1924, Consul General Salcedo saw the thriving multicultural community of Shepparton offering a lively mass service on Sunday. “Wherever I go, I only have to visit a church to see Filipinos,” she said.
During the CFAS event on Sunday at the RSL Shepparton, Yolee Cuison introduced Consul General Salcedo to Minister Wendy Lovell, MP for Northern Victoria Region, and Sam Atukorala, CEO of Ethnic Council of Shepparton.
At the FAFA event on Saturday, 21 September, Thomas Ryan, son of a Filipino and Australian couple, was recognized for his athletic success as a runner in the USA and Canada.
FAFA was founded in 1982 by Edith Dizon Fitzsimmons, a music teacher, writer and pilot who was awarded Victorian Senior of the Year in 2002. Mrs. Fitzsimmons moved to Shepparton in 1973 and together with her husband Ray, they helped build the Philippine House in the erstwhile International Village. It was renovated in 2015 through grants from the Building Multicultural Communities Program, the Multicultural Community Infrastructure Fund and the Greater Shepparton City Council. It has since been the venue of many community events. END
