The year 2010 saw plagues of locusts, devastating floods and the Gibbs family arrive to Australian shores. 

“It was pretty interesting, arriving to a new country with all that going on,” David Gibbs said. 

But Mr Gibbs, Jill Wilkie and their four children stuck out the natural disasters and, on Australia Day this year, the family of six officially became citizens of their adopted country.  

The Gibbs came from Buckinghamshire, on the outskirts of London, looking for a new chapter in their lives. 

Dr Wilkie is consultant radiologist and, at the time, Bendigo was an area of high need for medical specialists. 

“After the interview we came to visit Bendigo in May 2010 and we just loved what it had to offer, especially for the children,” Mr Gibbs said. 

“For the kids there was the usual suspects – the sporting options and the outdoor lifestyle. 

“For Jill and I there was the great food scene… and honestly, what’s not to love?

“Bendigo has just about everything to offer and, for anything else, Melbourne is just down the road.

“The die was cast.”

The four children, Matilda (17), Harvey (16) Frank (14) and Solomon (12) have all attended Girton Grammar School with Matilda graduating last year.

She has accepted an offer from the University of Melbourne to study a bachelor of science. 

Mr Gibbs is a soccer fan – though he calls it football – Dr Wilkie a “mad runner” and all four of their children have inherited their parents’ love for sport.

For Matilda it was netball, Harvey runs cross country, Solomon plays basketball and Frank has represented Victoria in the round-ball code. 

Which may well lead to some soul-searching if the representative call ups continue in the future. 

Mr Gibbs said his son was “keeping his options open” in regards to a national call up. 

“Don’t take this the wrong way… but it would probably be easier for him to play for Australia though,” he said. 

Mr Gibbs is also involved in the local sporting scene – coaching the Bendigo City FC under 15s. 

While Dr Wilkie can often be seen “pounding the streets at silly o’clock” as she does her long distance training. Last year, it was for the Boston Marathon. This year she is preparing for the London Marathon. 

And while that will still count as a trip home for Dr Wilkie, January 26 will forever mark the day she adopted a new one.

“We’ve hosted Australia Day parties for the last five years, but I’m pretty sure we’ll be hosting a few more in the future,” Mr Gibbs said.