WHEN it comes to the question of Scottish independence, Bendigo's Stevie Mowatt is as loud and proud as any backing the 'Yes' campaign.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Ironbark butcher even commemorated the occasion with a special Referendum Pack at his Eaglehawk Road shop. With haggis, black pudding and the iconic Scottish drink Irn-Bru, the packs flew out the door.
Yet he sees the overnight poll to break away from the United Kingdom as more important than merely the imagery of food, flags and football clubs.
He said Scotland has "nothing to lose" from becoming independent.
"All you have to do to see that the English treat us as second class citizens is to look at the hospitals," Mr Mowatt said.
"In London, they're the best of the best. But in Glasgow, the way I see it, we get all of the hand-me-downs."
Living in Bendigo for 14 years, the Scot makes regular trips back to his homeland. Eighty per cent of his family still live in Glasgow.
He said the English were afraid of losing Scottish oil and whiskey, the country's two biggest exports.
"London takes all of our money. It's an embarrassment," Mr Mowatt said.
Scots begin taking to the polls overnight on Thursday, Australia time, with the final result expected at 4pm Friday, or 7am in Edinburgh.
Australian Scots are largely ineligible to vote in the referendum, but that won't stop Bendigo's 11,000 residents who claim Scottish ancestry from keeping a keen eye on the result.
David Keith, who hosts his Scot's Corner radio program each Monday on Phoenix FM, said there were a number of examples as to why Scottish independence would make sense.
"As an example, we have separate education and legal systems," he said.
"One thing I could never understand was why BMC workers in Glasgow were paid much less than those in England."
The Thatcher government's Poll Tax was another example of how the English had been perceived to treat the Scots with contempt, Mr Keith says.
"It was interesting to see that when they introduced it in Scotland, no one was exempt. But in England, pensioners were excluded from paying it," he said.
While Australia's flag would not changes after a 'Yes' vote, a rise in the whiskey price is one way the vote would impact Australia.
Draped in the St Andrews flag, Mr Mowatt said whether it's Yes or No it would always be Scottish blood that flowed through his veins.
"We will never fall, because Scotland will always be on top," he said.