“In a country town we need to all work together, know each other,” says Tamworth resident and refugee advocate Eddie Whitham.

“We need to find a common ground. It’s not going to work if we have isolated people. We want to make our town work. The hope is that this will become a natural thing – that there will be no us and them.”

On the traditional lands of the the Kamilaroi people, Tamworth in New South Wales is now home to people of more than 80 different nationalities and has an estimated population close to 43,000.

Yet as recently as 2006, when it was proposed that the area resettle five Sudanese families fleeing from war, hunger and persecution, there was such concern from the community that a quarter of those who took part in a residents’ survey expressed their disapproval and the plan was voted down by the council, attracting national criticism.

Whitham, the founder of Multicultural Tamworth – an organisation with the ethos of being good “neighbours to newcomers” – says a lot has changed with the help of open and honest discussion. The region is now welcoming and celebrating diversity.

Here are the stories and portraits of those who have joined the community.

Shalini Pratap and family

A third-generation Fijian Indian, Shalini Pratap came to Australia in 1999 with her husband, an air-conditioning and refrigeration technician, who was issued a skilled worker’s visa.

Tamworth is very much home, a great community

“Our first move was to Alice Springs,” she says. “It was a great move, a beautiful connection with Australia. A chance to experience real Australia.”

The family decided to move to Tamworth in 2003 to be closer to family. At the time there were no other Fijian Indians in the region.

“My husband started his business in Tamworth and it has been very successful. This is a reflection of the community, how welcoming they have been to us. Tamworth is very much home, a great community.”

When asked about maintaining a connection to her culture, she replies: “We owe our ancestors to maintain some of our culture and teach our daughter about her family history. We have a great sense of pride in being Aussie and Fijian Indian.”

Shalini’s daughter, Vineesha Veer, 15, is excelling at school and dreams of studying medicine. “Australia has given me everything,” she says.

Vineesha often wears traditional dress and joins her mother in regular Bollywood film nights. “I love to wear clothes from India,” she says. “Fashion is one of the strongest links to my culture.”

Nicole Li and family

Chinese couple Nicole Li and Charlie He arrived in 2014 as skilled migrants and have now applied to become permanent residents. Li, an engineering surveyor, and He, who has a background in IT, are settling into their new home with their nine-year-old son, James.

Li says the decision to migrate was tough on her parents, owing to China’s one-child policy.

“We’d never been [to Australia] before so coming here has been a total adventure for us,” Li says. “Coming from Beijing, we love the quiet and less-stressful lifestyle. We feel very free.”

David Thon and family

David Thon and Deborah Manyang came to Australia from the Kakuma refugee camp that is home to thousands, many known as the “lost boys of Sudan”.

We can’t hear guns or see soldiers. It’s a new future for our children

Thon was resettled through the United Nations in 2007, along with his cousin. “I was so happy to be coming to Australia and definitely felt some comfort knowing my cousin was with me,” he says.



Manyang arrived in 2010 and, as a family, they moved to Tamworth in 2015. “It’s safe here,” she says. “We can’t hear guns or see soldiers. We’re happy. It’s a new future for our children, they are adapting well and the local people have been very helpful.”

Thon, who comes from a farming family, says it feels wonderful to be in a regional area. “Sydney was very busy, so it’s nice to be in the country.”

Like many migrants in the area, Thon and Manyang work at Thomas Foods, a meat-processing company, while also studying. Thon’s brother Daniel Atuich, now living close by, arrived in 2015 with his family and is studying English at Tafe.

Po Ko Ko and family

The journey to Australia for Tamworth’s Karenni people was a lengthy one, many of them having spent most of their lives confined to refugee camps on the Myanmar-Thailand border.

Po Ko Ko was born in a refugee camp and, with his wife, Christer Bell, through the help of the UN, resettled in Australia in 2009. After spending time in Wollongong they moved to Tamworth and, since then, other family members have joined them.

“The language and cultural differences have been difficult but we are all learning English and working,” Bell says. “The children are settling in very well and learning fast.”

Their social circle, including fellow Karenni people, are pictured here.

Tamworth’s growing multiculturalism was reflected on Australia Day, when 37 Tamworth residents became Australian citizens. Two days later, Multicultural Tamworth and immigrant families decorated floats and took part in the Tamworth country music festival cavalcade along Peel Street for the first time.

This article was amended on 18 April 2017 to replace the main photograph.

