When French Canadian Karianne Lafrance travelled to Australia on a working holiday in 2015, her parents told her not to fall in love with an Aussie.
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Like most young people, the girl from Montreal ignored her parents' advice and, shortly after arriving in Australia, met Cronulla Sharks rugby league co-captain Wade Graham. Karianne says, over the following year, she fell in love not only with Graham, but also the country.
On Australia Day, Karianne will be among 150 Sutherland Shire residents from 41 countries, including New Zealand, South Africa, UK, Brazil and Thailand, who will become Australian citizens.
Watching on at The Pavilion Sutherland will be her husband, the recently retired Sharks captain, and their children, William, five, and Thomas, three and a half.
"I have been living here for five years now, and I feel like I fit into the Australian culture," she told the Leader. "It makes sense to take citizenship."
The couple planned to live in Canada for a couple of years, but Karianne finds it hard to leave the Australian lifestyle and beaches.
"I like the 'cruisy-ness' of Australia," she said. "We live by the beach and I have actually built a whole business around it.
"I do resin art, which is a kind of an ocean style art. I think we sometimes take the ocean for granted when we live around the corner. I think it's a good reminder to take it easy and live one day at a time and enjoy your life."
On her website, Karianne says, "after graduating from university, I wasn't ready to settle down in a typical 9 to 5 job for the next 35 years, so I figured I'd go travelling around the world in the hopes of reconnecting with myself.
"This profound life-changing experience helped me gain a better understanding of who I am, how I interact with others and how I show up in the world. My lifetime plans changed, when I met my soul mate in Australia..."
After meeting Graham at a party, Karianne continued on her discovery trip around Australia, but they kept in touch. On her return home, they talked again and decided to "give it a shot", and she returned to Australia.
Karianne's number one sport is ice hockey, but she likes rugby league even though she doesn't know all the rules.
The couple are breeding a new generation of Sharks stars, playing football in the backyard with their two boys.
Murray Trembath
St George and Sutherland Shire Leader reporter covering politics, urban affairs, council, development and general community news. Email: mtrembath@theleader.com.au
St George and Sutherland Shire Leader reporter covering politics, urban affairs, council, development and general community news. Email: mtrembath@theleader.com.au
