Source : Perth Now news
The woman once dubbed Australia’s “migrant beauty queen”, has died aged 85.
Tania Verstak was the first non-Anglo woman to be crowned Miss Australia in 1961, before being crowned Miss International in 1962.
Ms Verstak was born in China to Russian refugees in 1940, before her family immigrated to Australia, settling in Manly when she was 10-years-old.
She was studying an arts degree at the University of Sydney when, at age 20, was approached by a Cerebral Palsy advocate while doing charity work at the Royal Easter Show, telling her she should run for the Miss Northern Beaches competition.
After winning the title of Miss Northern Beaches in September 1961, she went on to win Miss NSW and then became the first migrant to win Miss Australia, which had typically been awarded to middle-class Anglo women.
The following year, she was crowned Miss International, and upon returning home to Manly she was greeted by more than 60,000 people as she rode in the back of a 1958 Lincoln Continental with an Australian flag mounted on the bonnet.
According to an archived Sydney Morning Herald article, Ms Verstak said the win was “for Australia,” and Australia had “given (her) everything” while speaking of her win at Long Beach, California, shortly after being awarded the title.
“When I was named Miss Australia, I felt, about three-quarters the way I feel now. This is the greatest thing that could happen to me,” she said.
“When I came here, I hoped to win some recognition for Australia, the wonderful land which adopted me and my parents and has been so marvellous.
“Now that I have won this crown, I feel I have returned some measure of appreciation to Australia.”
Archived news articles say Ms Verstak won $10,000, a wardrobe and a diamond studded wristwatch for the accolade.
After her brief stint as an Aussie celebrity, Ms Verstak worked as a promotional representative for Qantas, before retiring from public life altogether.
After a brief marriage to former Channel 7 rugby league commentator Barry “sideline-eye” Ross, she married a Perth businessman named Peter Young in March 1963, before moving to Perth and giving birth to her only daughter, Nina.
