On September 28, the Russian community of Sydney saw off Georgy Alexandrovich Perin (OAM) on his last journey. The funeral service at St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Strathfield was held by Archpriest Georgy Lapardin.
More than a hundred people came to say goodbye to Georgy Alexandrovich (Yura), among them many representatives of the old emigration from post-war Europe, Russian Harbin and Manchuria. Many knew Yura well from his service and public work in the Russian community of Sydney and came to express their condolences to his wife Augusta Perina and other relatives. After the funeral at the Orthodox section of the Rookwood cemetery, relatives and friends gathered for a memorial meal at the Russian Club. His relatives told about what a kind, intelligent, wise man he was. For thirty-three years he lived with his wife Augusta. They had known each other since they were young, but they were only able to connect destinies in adulthood. Augusta's daughter from her first marriage told how carefully Yura treated them, helping in every way he could. The same kind words sounded on behalf of the family of the younger brother, Shura. Musician Svetlana Zadorina told us that Yuri was very fond of music, and recalled that she noticed tears in his eyes during the performance of classical music.
"History of Russians in Australia" (Vol. 4) published by the "Australiada" publishing house gives his brief biography, which we supplement with information received from the "Unification" archives and from relatives. Georgy Alexandrovich Perin, son of Alexander Perekhod, was born in Yugoslavia in 1931. In 1944 he graduated from the third year of the Cadet Corps. Mom married a second time, Yura and his younger brother Shura had the surname Vahe in childhood. At the end of the war, mother and two sons moved to Germany and Austria, the family was in a camp for displaced persons. During these years, Yura already had to work.
In 1948, he and his mother and brother went to Australia by ship. Yura received his secondary education already in Sydney. Then in 1953 he studied to be an electrician at a technical college. And in 1966 he graduated from the University of NSW in the same specialty. A few years ago, Yura told Unification how, after graduation, he came to work at the White Bay power plant in the city center. Engineer Viktor Ignatenko, who had known George for about 50 years, recalled how they worked together on the construction of the Liddell power plant in the Hunter Valley.
From 1981 to 1992, he held a senior position in the NSW Department of Electricity. In years past, Yuri told the editor of Unification that he had been a member of the Russian Club since 1950, when the club was located on the second floor of the building #800 at George Street in the city center. Later, in 1996, when the club moved into its current location in Strathfield, Yuri was briefly the club's chairman. As part of public work, Yuri also helped as a volunteer to build a monastery in the Campbeltown area, the building of the Russian Charitable Society named after Sergius of Radonezh. He was one of the organizers of the Vladimir's Choir, among the founders of Russian Radio in Sydney and coordinator of the National Folk Festival at the newly opened Sydney Opera House. Yuri Perin was at the origins of the creation of the Council of Ethnic Representations of the State of NSW and for a long time was a member of its executive committee. In 1981, his public work was awarded a high award - the Order of Australia.
The memory of Georgy Alexandrovich (Yuri) Perin will remain in the hearts of many, many Sydneysiders.
Vladimir KOUZMIN
