THE Fremantle Citizen of the Year award has been shared after the selection committee was unable to split two nominees.

Christian Mauri, who runs ‘Politics in the Pub’ and the Fremantle Chess Club, and Sarah Booth, a passionate advocate for the creative use of underused spaces in Fremantle, were presented with the gong by Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge at an awards ceremony at Walyalup Civic Centre on Tuesday night. As well as convening community discussions on topics from international geopolitics to local issues, Mr Mauri is a volunteer guide at St John’s Anglican Church.

• Fremantle’s Citizens of the Year (L-R): Christian Mauri, Roel Loopers, Roma Sharp and Christine Duckham from Friends of Clontarf Hill, Sarah Booth, Kate Raston with Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge.

“A lot of the work that I do is not just by myself, but with a lot of people who are extremely dedicated to the city. I wouldn’t be able to do half of what I do if it wasn’t for all those amazing people,” he said.

Through her role with Spacemarket, Sarah Booth has worked to find places for small businesses, creatives, not for profits and entrepreneurs to base themselves in Fremantle.

The Active Citizenship Award went to Friends of Clontarf Hill which has been maintaining and enhancing tuart woodland for more than 25 years.

“As a volunteer group they have demonstrated resilience and commitment over the years, staring down scheme amendments, fighting weeds and invasive species, uncovering the historical remnants of settlement and war, all while planting more than 30,000 new native plants,” Ms Fitzhardinge said.

• Jefferson Mattos de Paulo, originally from Brazil, with his family at the Fremantle Citizenship Ceremony. Photo by Roel Loopers/Freoview

Kate Raston received the Young Citizen of the Year Award for her work as the co-founder of We Are Womxn. Ms Raston’s story is one of triumph over adversity – her personal experience of sexual assault has made her an advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of young women.

“I think it speaks to the importance of the work that we’re doing at We Are Womxn and the impact that we’ve made,” Ms Raston said.

“We work with 15,000 young women in this state and it’s nice for that to be recognised.”

Held on the same night (Tuesday January 23) there was a healthy turnout for the Citizenship Ceremony with about 44 people becoming Australian citizens.

It’s the first time in recent years both events are not being held on Australia Day, with Ms Fitzhardinge saying January 23 was more inclusive.