Sleeping soundly: the Nadesalingam family find peace and comfort in their Biloela home

Birds squawk in the paperbark trees lining the road as mum Priya strolls in and out of the kitchen, determined to make sure we are looked after, offering us tea and water.

The girls, Tharnicaa, 5, and Kopika, 7, are out of sight for just a few moments before we find them throwing dirt in the air like confetti, soil stained on their jean shorts, running around the Hills Hoist. Kids being kids.

Kopika lets out a scream and friends of the family rush over with spray for an ant bite.

Tharnicaa celebrated her fifth birthday on Sunday, arriving to the pink-themed party wearing a tiara and birthday sash. It was the first birthday the Australian-born child has spent free from detention.

There was a mutual but unspoken understanding between journalists that it was time to let the Nadesalingams get on with life. So there was an air of surprise when Nades, who was joining his daughters at games of limbo, musical chairs and pass the parcel, approached reporters, generously offering birthday cake.

But Priya has vivid memories of the pain she felt when she, Nades and the girls were taken from the town in 2018 in an early morning raid, given 10 minutes to pack and sent to a detention centre in Melbourne.

While detained in Melbourne, Tharnicaa developed a vitamin D deficiency, which left her prone to serious and repeated infections in her teeth.

All weekend, Priya and Nades have shared knowing glances and smiles. The girls tell friends they are excited to see the cockatoos and start at the local school. At the end of each day, they return to their home, furnished by friends and advocates who had spent weeks excitedly planning for their arrival.

When asked about how the family will settle back into the town, Priya is not worried. They are back where they belong.