Tamara Margaret Fraser (née Beggs; born 28 February 1936) is the widow of Malcolm Fraser, who held office as Prime Minister of Australia between 1975 and 1983.
Early life Tamara Margaret Beggs was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the eldest of four children born to Helen Karen (née Seeck) and Sandford Robert Beggs. Her mother was a state champion in golf.Beggs, Helen Karen (1907–1984), People Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2018. Her father came from a family of pastoralists, and was a grandson of Francis Beggs, who was born in Malahide, Ireland, and arrived in the Port Phillip District in 1849.Hugh Anderson, 'Beggs, Hugh Norman (1863–1943)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/beggs-hugh-norman-5605/text8715, published first in hardcopy 1979, Retrieved 4 March 2018. Her maternal grandfather, John Alexander Seeck, was a Baltic German born in what is now Latvia. He arrived in Australia in 1883 and became a pioneer of the local wine industry.John Alexander Seeck – Russian winemaker in Australia, Find Russian Heritage, 17 September 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
Beggs grew up on Nareeb Nareeb, her father's property near Glenthompson, Victoria. She began her education with governesses, and then at the age of nine was sent to board at The Hermitage, a girls' school in Geelong that was later merged into Geelong Grammar School. She was a school prefect and sport captain.Chapter 5: Tamie Fraser , Malcolm Fraser: Guide to Archives of Australia's Prime Ministers, National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
Marriage and children
Fraser met her future husband at a New Year's Eve party in 1955; she was almost six years younger than he. They announced their engagement in May 1956 and married in Willaura on 9 December. The couple had four children together: Mark (b. 1958), Angela (b. 1959), Hugh (b. 1962), and Phoebe (b. 1966).
Public life Fraser disliked public speaking and electioneering work, but when her husband fell ill during the crucial election campaign of December 1975, after the dismissal of the Whitlam government, she represented him and spoke on his behalf.
Fraser founded and was president of The Australiana Fund from 1978 to 1983. She was President of Australia's Open Garden Scheme.Australia's Open Garden Scheme In 2004, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for her service to the community through fostering the recognition and preservation of Australian artistic achievement, for initiating and promoting a range of activities to support people with disabilities, and for support of charitable, health and service groups.
Interviews Fraser was interviewed by Heather Rusden in 1991. The recording can be found at the National Library of Australia.Fraser, T.; Rusden, H. (interviewer) (1991). Tamie Fraser interviewed by Heather Rusden [sound recording], National Library of Australia, Retrieved 7 April 2026.
See also Spouse of the Prime Minister of Australia
References
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