Like your first trip to the footy or first suck on a Sunny Boy on a hot summer's day, your first encounter with a kangaroo is an Australian rite of passage.
But for the Butti family - refugees from the war-torn Middle East who only arrived in Melbourne last week - their first audience with Australia's faunal favourite at Melbourne Zoo on Thursday was particularly sweet.
The family - father Osama Butti, his wife Proty, son Saif, 14 and daughter Mina, 12, were the first people from Australia's intake of an additional 12,000 refugees fleeing conflict in Iraq and Syria to arrive in Victoria.
Four thousand of those refugees are coming to the state.
The Buttis are originally from Baghdad but fled religious persecution and were relocated from Jordan.
The Adult Migrant education Service will help them to re-settle in Melbourne's east.
Federal Social Services Minister Christian Porter and Victorian Multicultural Affairs Minister Robin Scott arranged for the visit to the zoo.
"It is fantastic to see the family embracing Australia as their new home and being able to experience the lifestyle afforded by our beautiful country," Mr Porter said.
Mr Scott said Victoria is ready to work with the federal government to support the extra refugee intake.
"We will do our best to accommodate and support each and every family that calls Victoria home," she said.
Mr Butti, who has relatives in Melbourne, has a masters in management, while Ms Proty has a bachelor degree in microbiology.
