After decades of wearing his Union Jack socks, distinguished English gentleman John Oakey has been gifted an Aussie pair to celebrate him taking the plunge and becoming an Australian citizen.
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The Blaxland resident has been rocking the British flag on his feet for all 55 years of his time in Australia.
He said that after being gifted the Aussie socks at this year's Blue Mountains citizenship ceremony, he plans to acknowledge both his new and old citizenships with a strategy he's used in the past.
"I wore an Aussie sock on one foot and a Pommie sock on the other. So I kept my promise [to wear an Aussie sock], and my faith in the old Pommie sock," the 84-year-old said.
A Scout since he was eight years old, Mr Oakey met his wife, Sue, in England when she was visiting from Australia.
When she returned to Australia he went with her, and has lived here ever since with a permanent residency visa.
It was only after an issue with his visa expiring four years ago (and the ensuing paperwork) that Mr Oakey decided to take the plunge and make his Australian citizenship official.
To him, retaining his British citizenship had felt like a necessity to continue to raise the Union Jack as a scout leader in Australia.
"My idea of being an Australian would be 'well, I've gotta give away the flag then. I can't hoist the flag saying I'm a Pom,'" he said.
"[But] when you do the investiture ceremony, they actually say 'you're still who you were'. So with those few words, I can carry on flying my Pommie flag."
Mr Oakey was not alone in his decision to become a citizen this year. On January 25, 75 Blue Mountains residents from 28 countries received their Australian citizenship at a ceremony at the Blue Mountains Theatre & Community Hub in Springwood.
Another new citizen from the night, Muhammad Ehtisham, moved to the Blue Mountains just over a year ago to join Blue Mountains City Council as the leader of the Megalong Valley Taskforce, focused on fixing issues with Megalong Road.
Mr Ehtisham, who has lived in Australia for five years, said his next goal is to secure citizenship for his wife who remains in their home country of Pakistan.
"It was pretty surreal. I was really excited, it was kind of life another step towards the dream, the hope that I brought with myself here of giving myself and my family a better future than it would have been back home," he said.
Proceedings on the night opened with proud Gundungurra woman, Kelsie King, welcoming everyone to Country, followed by a cultural dance performance.
