Anka Makovec (3 August 1938 – 16 February 2017) was a Slovene-Australian artist and environmental activist.

Anka Makovec
Born(1938-08-03)3 August 1938
Died16 February 2017(2017-02-16) (aged 78)
Devonport, Tasmania, Australia
NationalitySlovene-Australian

Biography

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Makovec was born on 3 August 1938 in Ročinj, Slovenia.[1] She emigrated to Australia when she was 24.[2] Makovec attended art classes and workshops in Tasmania and is best known for her watercolors.[1]

Environmental activism

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During her time in Tasmania, Makovec lived with the Aboriginal Australians. In the 1980s, she became an environment activist and joined the United Tasmania Group in their opposition to hydroelectric power plants in the jungle.[3] She was a member of the Tasmanian Wilderness Society at a time when that group was opposing the proposed Franklin Dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia.[4] She was assaulted on the Strahan wharf in 1983 by pro-dam activists around the time the dam construction was halted.[5]

Makovec died on 16 February 2017 in Devonport, Tasmania, at the age of 78.[5]

Makovec's environmental activism is the subject of the documentary "Anka Tasmanka".[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Anka Makovec". Slovenians in Australia. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Anka Makovec". Immigration Place. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Anka s Tasmanije: Slovenska zaveznica aboriginov in ekoaktivistka". RTV Slovenia (in Slovenian). Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Anka Makovec dies in Devonport". Tasmanian Times. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Bermingham, Kathryn (21 February 2017). "Dam activist remembered for courage". The Advocate. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Ana Makovec in Tasmania". Total Slovenia News. Retrieved 4 January 2022.

Further reading

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