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Over a 12 month period, thousands of inspiring welcome messages were collected across Manningham as four handcrafted Welcome Trees toured schools, clubs, libraries and community groups. The 'trees' generated great community discussion about being welcoming and feeling welcome.
We would like to share some of these amazing messages with you.
To symbolise the welcome that Council and the Manningham community extend to all migrants and refugees, a live welcome tree (a Red Box Gum) has been planted near the entrance to the Manningham Civic Centre.
A sample of the community's welcome messages have been carved onto a long 'Welcome Bench' which sits underneath the (future) canopy of the Welcome Tree. It is hoped that current and future generations will be inspired by the enduring messages of welcome offered by Manningham residents.
In addition, some of the Welcome Leaves have been framed and are on display in Council’s meeting rooms, and some of the wooden Welcome Trees are on display in Council's foyer.
Below is a sample of some of the welcome leaf messages that were collected across Manningham in 2015-2016 as four Welcome Trees toured schools, clubs, libraries and community groups.
| Welcome Tree Messages of Welcome |
|---|
| Welcome to Australia. This is a free country and full of pride and happiness. |
| Hope you enjoy it here, Get used the weather, Have a great time, G’day mate, Enjoy, Welcome to Melbourne, Have a lovely time, You will fit in. |
| I hope you can speak Chinese. I can speak Chinese and I can also speak English. I can speak both. Welcome. |
| Hi. Welcome to Australia. This is a country of love and peace. Australia will adore you so much. Welcome. |
| Welcome (hwang yong-hamnida) to our beautiful country where you may live in peace – where there is no war. May you have a happy life in peace. |
| I would like to be your friend. |
| Don’t worry – you’ll fit in. You’ll be accepted. Feel welcome. Hope you’re comfy. Enjoy your new home. |
| Relax and enjoy! G’day mate. Feel the love in the Aussie air. Get used to the flies and weather. Welcome to Australia – I hope you enjoy our country. I hope you love Australia as much as we do. |
| Welcome to Australia – your new home is the best place in the world! |
| Welcome dear brothers and sisters. We look forward to learning from you and being there for you. |
| Welcome, welcome, welcome. Dear everybody that comes to Donburn Primary School. I hope you choose this school because it’s a lovely school and we can be friends. |
| Home: welcome to the magic place: Australia. We will share with you. Have fun in the magic place. Good luck in the magic place. |
| Good luck. Welcome to Australia. We wish you peace and fun. |
| Welcome to Australia. I hope you always have a good day. |
| Enjoy your new home. Everyone is accepted here. |
| People from other countries... welcome to our country. |
| Welcome. We hope you live in harmony and peace in Australia. Have fun here. |
| We will try our best to make you feel welcome. |
| Welcome to my home. Consider it yours too. |
| Welcome to Aussie land! Australia welcomes you. We love to share. Everyone’s unique in Aussie. |
| Our home is your home. We were all migrants once! |
| Let us know if we can help you! |
| Welcome to a country called Australia, where there are people of all races. A country of freedom and speech. A beautiful place with trees and leaves surrounding suburbs and happiness flowing all over the country. |
| We wish you good luck and peace. |
| Huanying Guanglin! Welcome! Welcome to our peaceful place. You are in luck because Australia is the best country in the world. |
| Love, life, hospitality, happiness, freedom, respect, kindness. Dear refugee – I hope you are enjoying this freedom in Australia. Democracy. |
| Welcome all! REFUGEES = Resolution, Empathy, Faith, Unique Generosity, Equality, Enjoy Salvation. |
| My name is Ryan. I am a new student at East Doncaster Secondary School this year. However I am so lucky to be part of this school and have made a lot of friends here. I enjoy studying here and dancing with my friends here. |
| Peace, love, harmony, kindness. Welcome and greetings. |
| Welcome to this beautiful country. I hope you have a good life. May this land bless you like it blessed our forefathers. |
| Have a happy and safe time in your new country. |
| Welcome to your new family. |
| Welcome to our beautiful country, Australia. We hope Australia brings you health, safety and many long lasting friends. |
| Together we can make a better place |
| Welcome to our peaceful country. You are fantastic and don’t forget it. |
| You have to respect each other because if you don’t, you won’t have any friends. |
| G’day. Welcome to our beautiful, safe and respectful environment. Our country is lovely and I hope you make a lot of friends. Our community is lovely and I hope you love it as much as I do. |
| There is no war here so it is safe. |
| Don’t be scared when you come. |
| Welcome to Australia. I will be nice to you. |
| Be our friend. |
| Hi, I am Sarah. I wish you a really warm welcome. I am so excited to meet you. Serpell Primary School is a great place to be. Everyone is kind and caring. I promise you will make great friends. You can play with me and my friends if you want. Best wishes and have fun. |
| Welcome to Australia. We are so happy that you are here in our community. |
| Welcome. I hope you enjoy a very good country; people will welcome you. You are very lucky to be in our country. You are now in Australia. Good luck!! |
| Welcome. Our country welcomes you. You deserve better than to be poor. Please feel safe. Best of luck. |
| Remember, friendship lasts forever! |
| Welcome, I will be your friend. |
| Australia will give you all the support that we can! |
| Welcome to Australia. We are a community of hope. We are lovely people hoping that you enjoy our country of peace and unique culture. Australia is a safe country and surely, by the end of your adventures, you will have made many friends. |
| Welcome home mate. This is a nice place. In Australia, be safe. This is a happy place. You will make friends. This place will make you smile. |
| Hello everybody. Welcome to Australia! Our schools are the best. We have great excursions and a great community. G’day mate and I hope you have toast and vegemite one day. |
| Welcome. I hope you have a nice home. I will teach you words. |
| Welcome. We live peacefully and we welcome you. |
| Welcome to Australia! Our country is very peaceful and beautiful. Melbourne is a very caring and sharing state. I hope you have a good time here. |
| Welcome. G’day. Here in Australia we will WELCOME you. We will treat you with respect, care for you, love you and be as nice as possible. Here in Australia you are honoured for who you are. |
| Welcome to a lovely, safe country called Australia. Australia is respectful, helpful, friendly, multicultural and is very caring. This is your home so feel welcome. |
| Welcome to Australia – where everyone gets valued and makes friends. Australia has lots of opportunities. I hope you enjoy vegemite. Welcome refugees – Australia is a safe country where we respect cultures. |
|
Merhaba, welcome to our multicultural country where everybody will feel special. Our country holds one big story and now you are part of it. We will treat you with kindness and respect. Everyone has a wish and it will come true in OUR country. |
| You’re one of us. |
| Welcome to Australia. Australia welcomes you, we will sort out everything for you: food, water, everything. Australia respects all religions. Enjoy! |
| I read your welcome messages. Thank you. Welcome new friends and old friends. I will be happy here. |
| Australia is a very safe place and you can learn new cultures. Welcome! |
| G’day refugee. When you arrive don’t worry about your future life. Australia will make your life free of stress because we accept all races – that’s what makes our country special. |
| Welcome. Here in Australia you and your family will learn, meet a variety of cultures, and taste our delicious vegemite. Welcome, make yourself at home. After what you have gone through, you deserve this. |
| Don’t worry – we would like to help you – in the future and in the present. Welcome to Australia. I would like to say sorry for not letting all of you in – so you who are here, welcome. |
| Safe, free, happy, welcome. People killing – people dying – we can hear the children crying – and we want it to end. Here you are free. |
| Welcome to Australia, the world of wonder. |
| Welcome to Australia where you will always be safe because in Australia we respect all cultures in our community. |
| Welcome to Australia. We hope you feel like this is your home. We will always be there for you. |
| G’day refugees – we all hope you enjoy our multicultural country. |
| Welcome. All I wanted to say today is that I hope luck comes to you in the future and you have the best life you can have. Never stop believing. |
| Welcome home, my friend. |
| Hi Refugees. I think that you will find Australia as good as your home. Yuo are lucky that Australia is not a war place. I hope you like Australia. |
| Welcome. Hi, my name is Noshini. I can help you. |
| Don’t be scared because we will be nice to you |
| Welcome to Australia. There’s a lot of chocolate in Australia. |
| There is peace and love here in Australia. It is a place where everyone can laugh with joy and happiness. |
| Welcome to our place. We are a fair country and will welcome you wholeheartedly. We hope you will find businesses to join and fulfil your dreams. Wherever you go we wish you luck. |
| Best wishes for you and your family. |
| My family migrated to Australia 10 years ago. We’re Aussies now. You can be too! |
| Welcome to Australia. Enjoy vegemite, kangaroos, deadly spiders and snakes – but seriously have a great time here. |
| Don’t have fear, the coast is clear. In Australia it is safe so don’t worry about the danger. |
| Welcome. We will welcome you with pleasure. |
| Welcome to Australia. Good luck. |
| I wish you the best. Good luck friend. Welcome to Oz. It was worth the struggle to get to this wonderful place. |
| Welcome to Australia. Have a safe stay, Syrian refugees. |
| Australia is a great place. You will be safe here. Live long and prosper. Peace is with you. |
| Welcome to our community. |
| Welcome. I hope that you achieve all of your goals. You will be safe here! |
| Dear people. Welcome to Australia. We are all equal and you are part of us. After all, we are one big family. |
| We all hope your life here is full of fun, laughter and happiness. May you follow your life long dreams. |
| Welcome to Australia. We are a country with respect and freedom. Live your new life to the fullest and I hope you have a great time. |
| Welcome. Because you are beautiful and don’t ever forget it. No matter what – go and live an amazing life. You are the best you can be and nothing can stop you. You are wonderful and don’t ever stop believing. |
| You’ll always be welcome in Australia and at my house. I cannot wait until I am your friend. |
| Welcome to Australia. Australia is safe and I have been here for yours. I hope you enjoy it. |
| Welcome to Australia. Don’t say SOS. We will try our best. We are here, have no fear. Australia is safe and fair. |
| Welcome! Our country is your country! Welcome to Australia! |
| Welcome. A new start, new life, bless you with luck, health, freedom, safety and friendship. |
| Welcome here! I love you. Don’t be scared. We are kind. |
| Welcome refugee. Have a nice time and a happy time, also, get a good home. Sorry about the war and loosing stuff. |
| Welcome. Hello – finally you’ve got freedom. Trust me, you don’t need to be scared – we don’t bite. We will respect your cultures. |
| Peace, diversity, welcome |
| Friendship, love, kindness, care, welcome, joy – welcome to Birralee Primary School. |
| Welcome to the land down under. |
| Welcome. Come in. Really... come in, please. |
| Welcome. You are a part of this family. We will take care of you in this beautiful country. |
| Welcome to Victoria. Respectful, safe, cultures, healthy, calm. |
| Welcome to Australia. I hope this place will keep you smiling. |
| Welcome to Manningham. We will lend you a helping hand. Here we are happy, friendly and generous. I hope you have a great time here! |
| We would like to welcome you to the area. |
| Hi. Today you will get welcomed to this area – Melbourne, Doncaster and Manningham. We hope you enjoy this area and the local people. |
| Welcome to Australia. Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi! |
