The grand old lady of Sandgate; the Town Hall. If her walls could talk they’d tell you some stories. Like what happened there on a Wednesday night in December 1955. There was an impressive, and significant, civic naturalisation ceremony at the Town Hall to welcome nineteen new Australian citizens. The new citizens came from all over the world; Holland, Latvia, Greece, Italy, Romania, Estonia, Yugoslavia, Germany, Hungary and Poland. What made the event significant was that it was the first naturalisation ceremony held in Sandgate since the war (WW2). These types of ceremonies were usually held within the precincts of the Brisbane Law Courts however the Commonwealth Government at the time decided to make them civic functions hence the local event. After the “19” renounced their old allegiance and accepted a new allegiance to Queen Elizabeth, they were welcomed as Australian citizens and British subjects. They now had the right to vote and, if they wanted, rise to the highest posts in the land.