Joanna Gash (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the passing of a significant citizen of the Gerringong district who, although not born in Australia, contributed markedly to the betterment of the society that adopted her as its own. Aina Medinis was born in Latvia in 1920 near the city of Valmiera, her family name being Eglitus. Her father was an officer in the Latvian army, a decorated veteran of Latvia's war of independence from 1919 to 1920, with the Germans on one front and the Russians on the other. I cannot help feeling that with that background it is little wonder that Aina could so closely identify with the values of Australia. In 1940 the 'Red Terror' commenced, with communist indoctrination forcibly introduced into schools; dissidents, real and imagined, being carted off in the dead of night to various gulags; and people living in real fear. Farmers, the intelligentsia, property owners, businesspeople and any perceived enemy of the state was targeted. In one night alone, 30,000 people from the Baltic states were arrested and taken away to Siberia, in the Arctic Circle, and most would not be heard of again.

Aina had been studying agriculture and was tipped off by a close friend whose father was a Communist Party branch leader. Being the family of a decorated officer in a war against Russia automatically marked her family for the list of deportees. With her family she fled to Riga, which would later earn the dubious reputation as one of Hitler's concentration camps or, rather, death camps, which was the final destination for hundreds of thousands in the final solution. Aina resumed studying under a different name, with the protection of a kind benefactor and professor. She chose to study nursing, specialising in surgical nursing. In 1942 the Germans pushed the Russians out and Aina was allowed to complete her studies, commencing work as a head nurse and supervisor in the University Institute of Stomatology, in head, neck and jaw surgery.

She married her husband, Artis, who survives her today, in 1943, after Artis's graduation as a veteran from the University of Latvia. Six months later the Red Army advanced and her family was forced to flee once again. There is no doubt that she and her family would have ended their lives in a desolate, cold gulag. So, on October 1944, the family boarded an evacuation ship from Leipaja, arriving in Swinemunde, in Germany, on her birthday. They fled with virtually nothing. Her story is quite engrossing and I would love to tell more, but that is not the purpose of this statement.

Following a very disconnected existence in Europe, the family emigrated to Australia in 1948, arriving in Fremantle, again on Aina's birthday. Australia took them in but on the condition that they would work for two years to trade off the support that was given them. I suppose that is where the concept of mutual obligation arose. Regrettably, these days it has fallen out of fashion. Aina worked as a nurse in a displaced persons camp near Bathurst, while Artis worked as an ambulance driver, a sanitary technician and storeman and manager of a hospital store. He later attained his Australian qualifications in veterinary science.

The family arrived in Gerringong in 1953. Two of their sons died at an early age, but the remaining four children all went on to gain university qualifications. During the eulogy, her son observed that refugees who flee with little usually push their kids to higher education, with the experience that education is something that cannot be taken away from you. It is universal currency. That is a sentiment I totally endorse. Aina was the quintessential mother, preparing meals and tending to the household to support her otherwise busy family, who were grateful to come home to a hot and home-cooked meal. She grew vegetables and was quite a prolific domestic farmer, supplementing the family table. Even after her first stroke, she continued to work in her garden.

Not one for being contentedly idle, Aina would get involved with the community through local and adult education classes. She knitted, she painted and she was an active member of the Kiama Monday painters group. Eventually she began to succumb to her health problems. A series of strokes were followed by major heart surgery and she slowed significantly. Last October she celebrated her 90th birthday, soon after her 67th wedding anniversary.

Aina passed away on 27 February this year, and with her went something special. As her son said of her:

I will always remember mum for her courage, her spirit, her cheekiness and daring, her vitality and adventurous nature, her talent at everything she did and tried and also for her sharp wit.

I feel privileged to have known Aina and Artis, lifelong members of the Liberal Party. Artis is still very active in his Gerringong branch. They have given much to this country and have set a standard that few choose to emulate. Their legacy will continue through their children. I salute all those new Australians who come to this country not with cap in hand but with every intention of paying their own way. Aina did this and more, and our society and the Liberal Party have benefited from her time amongst us. I would personally like to thank Artis for his ongoing generosity to all the communities that he is involved in.

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