House debates

Tuesday, 18 October 2016

Statements by Members

Makeev, Mrs Tamara, OAM

1:42 pm

Photo of Gai BrodtmannGai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | | Hansard source

Tamara Makeev's parents left Russia for Poland during the Russian Revolution. It was there Tamara was born in 1923. Then the Soviets advanced on Poland, deporting every former Tsarist Army officer and their children to Siberian concentration camps. Because one such officer was her father, Tamara fled again—on a train out of Poland to Berlin. At a displaced persons camp in Munich, she met Kiril and fell madly in love. Her wedding dress was hand sewn from an old Russian military parachute. Her wedding band was melted-down silver coins.

The United Nations organised for Kiril and Tamara to work on The Snowy Mountains Scheme, which they did before moving to Canberra. When Tamara got here, she threw herself into our great city. She joined the Russian church and coordinated a Russian dance group and a choir, which sang in Russian, Polish, German, Italian and Spanish at nursing homes.

Tamara knew Vic Rebikoff for 40 years. For most of us, Vic is a Canberra legend. To Tamara, Vic was her adopted son—and he is in the gallery today. Vic met with her in hospital a few days before her passing. 'Don't worry,' she said to him, as she often did. 'Everything will be all right.'

Vale, Tamara Makeev. Thank you so much for what you gave to Canberra with such style, with such passion and with such flair.