Tania Verstak
Encyclopedia
Tania Verstak of Australia
was Miss Australia
in 1961 and Miss International
in 1962.
, China to Russian couple Vladimir and Valentina Verstak. They immigrated to Australia when she was 10 years old and settled in Manly, New South Wales
. In 1961, she became the first migrant to win the Miss Australia title.
She went on to win the Miss International title in Long Beach
, California
. Thus, the victory further endeared her to the Australian public, demonstrating their pride and approval of Tania Verstak as the embodiment of perfect Australian womanhood and as the image of Australia as a modern nation, even though in the terminology of the time for immigrants, she was a "new Australian".
As part of promoting Australia as "international", the Australian "national costume" for the pageant broke away from the British-related image it had until then. Whereas the previous contestant had worn a British riding costume, Verstak expressed this new sophistication when she wore a specially created yellow dress embroidered with a wreath of Australian wild flowers and carried a yellow umbrella.
She married a Perth businessman named Peter Young, and their daughter is the actress Nina Young
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
was Miss Australia
Miss Australia
Miss Australia is the title for the winner of the Miss Australia Quest/Awards, which ran from 1954 until 2000, when the last Miss Australia was named....
in 1961 and Miss International
Miss International
Miss International is an annual international beauty pageant held since 1960.The current Miss International is Fernanda Cornejo, from Ecuador...
in 1962.
Early life
Tania was born in TianjinTianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, China to Russian couple Vladimir and Valentina Verstak. They immigrated to Australia when she was 10 years old and settled in Manly, New South Wales
Manly, New South Wales
Manly is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Manly is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Manly Council, in the Northern Beaches region.-History:Manly was named...
. In 1961, she became the first migrant to win the Miss Australia title.
Pageants
Even before going on to compete in Miss International, her victory in the national pageant was already seen as a small but significant shift in the traditional articulation of the Australian feminine ideal, attributed to the infusion of European values to the Anglo-Australian fabric, at a time when beauty pageants were the craze in Australia.She went on to win the Miss International title in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Thus, the victory further endeared her to the Australian public, demonstrating their pride and approval of Tania Verstak as the embodiment of perfect Australian womanhood and as the image of Australia as a modern nation, even though in the terminology of the time for immigrants, she was a "new Australian".
As part of promoting Australia as "international", the Australian "national costume" for the pageant broke away from the British-related image it had until then. Whereas the previous contestant had worn a British riding costume, Verstak expressed this new sophistication when she wore a specially created yellow dress embroidered with a wreath of Australian wild flowers and carried a yellow umbrella.
She married a Perth businessman named Peter Young, and their daughter is the actress Nina Young
Nina Young
-Family:She is the daughter of Perth businessman Peter Young and Tania Verstak, a woman of Russian origin who was Miss Australia 1961 and Miss International 1962.-Career:Her acting career has spanned sixteen years so far, from 1994 to present...
.