She was the second Lilac Queen, but she was also a bridge between cultures following post-war migration.
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The late Palasa Salvi (nee Miriklis) has been honoured with a garden named after her.
The garden is at the northern end of Howard Park on the corner of Lagoon and Auburn Streets and it was officially opened on Tuesday.
There was a large turnout of family and friends for the opening, which served as a mini-reunion for the Greek and Italian communities of Goulburn.
Palasa's family came from the war-ravaged Greek island of Meyisti (aka Kastellorizo).
They spent some time in Sydney before coming to Goulburn in 1949 and running the Empire Cafe.
In 1953, the Greek Community wanted to show their involvement in Goulburn by putting her forward as a candidate and this transformed her life.
In a short memoir she wrote before her death, she said winning the competition altered her life.
"The confined life of a Greek migrant was suddenly changed," she wrote.
"Non-Greeks had helped our efforts and shown a new warmth. Overnight I was well-liked and a town celebrity. I raised my sights."
To be crowned Lilac Queen in 1953 was a huge honour, with significant acclaim, publicity and rewards from sponsors of the festival.
The young Palasa Miriklis married Peter Salvi, who wooed her following the contest, and together they ran the Empire Fish Cafe, but as she told the Post in 2011, the feeling of pride on being crowned Lilac Queen never left her.
"I was very happy. You never forget something like that," she said.
Mrs Salvi, who died in November 2017, remained an ardent supporter of the country's longest-running festival.
At the opening of the garden, Goulburn Mulware mayor Bob Kirk paid tribute to her and her family.
"She was very much a bridge between the local Greek and Italian and wider communities," Cr Kirk said.
"She was a supporter and devotee of Goulburn for over 60 years.
"She was a model of post-war multicultural integration."
Cr Kirk said she was a passionate advocate for the Lilac Festival from that time on.
"She continued to be an active citizen for more than 60 years.
"She helped out with the Crescent School, St Saviour's Neighbourhood Centre and the Greek Church," he said.
"She was a pioneering restauranteur, setting up the Celebrity Cafe in Auburn Street in 1960, where I had my first espresso coffee.
"She and husband Peter ran this cafe until 1973."
She later worked in various other cafes around town and helped out friends.
"She had a wonderful, outgoing personality and was a friend to many," Cr Kirk said.
"It is fitting that the council has chosen to dedicate this garden to her and even more fitting to do so at the start of Lilac Time."
Her son Bepi Salvi also spoke at the opening.
"Mum had three identities. She was a proud Greek. She was accepted in the Italian community, but she was always Goulburn," he said.
"Back in those days, the Greek community was 150 strong and they did quite well.
"She loved her Greek community here and there are a lot of them still here and they contribute a lot to the city."
Gary Groves also spoke, saying Palasa was symbolic of the post-war contribution migrants made to Australia.
He quoted from research by Dr David Bollen.
"When she arrived here, she could have held back, hurt by a slurry of anti-migrant jests, but instead she reached out, befriended all and sundry and volunteered on many fronts in a six-decade-long engagement with the Goulburn community," he said.
"As the second Lilac Queen, she represented the dynamic that shaped post-war Australia. She was a cultural ambassador for the Greek and Italian communities, a pioneering restauranteur, garden enthusiast, active and informed citizen and proud mother and grandmother."
Lilac bushes have been planted along the boundary of the garden. The Lilac City Festival returns this weekend.
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David Cole
Journalist at the Goulburn Post
Journalist at the Goulburn Post
