LONG WALK OF A LEGEND
The Far North’s iconic Tarzan, Michael Fomenko, has died, aged 88, after spending his last months living at Babinda
FAR North Queensland has lost a character with the death of legendary Michael “Tarzan” Fomenko.
The 88-year-old died at Babinda on Friday.
Mr Fomenko had relocated from Gympie to Babinda earlier this year and spent his last months at the Babinda Multi Purpose Health Centre.
His sister Inessa Fomenko, who lives in Armidale, NSW hadn’t seen her brother in decades despite regularly trying to make contact with him.
She told the Cairns Post earlier this year that calls and letters to Mr Fomenko went unanswered.
“He won’t talk to me on the phone or write to me, but I have written to him,” she said.
Now Ms Fomenko has written for her brother for the last time, penning a touching eulogy.
“Michael Fomenko is a man to be remembered for his undying love for the Australian bush and his incredible courage in pursuing his dreams,” she wrote in the tribute, which she shared with the Cairns Post.
“One of the examples of his grit is his building of his dugout canoe in which he sailed to Dutch Guinea. He got there in spite of the powerful ocean currents of that region.
“He spent much of his life trying to escape from society, which continually wanted to make him conform.
“How he managed to survive all the years he did is a mystery.
“Michael Fomenko will always be remembered with admiration by his family and various friends, who often tried to help and abet him in his efforts. May he finally rest in peace in his beloved Australia.”
Edie Martinod, 94, knew Mr Fomenko since he arrived in the Far North as he repeatedly passed through her hometown of Babinda.
“I met him when he first came up here, around 1956,” Ms Martinod said.
“I was down at the Russell Heads near Bellenden Ker, holidaying with my family, and he was walking along looking for coconuts.
“He always seemed to talk to little kids, maybe because he could see that they were fascinated by him.
“People reckoned he was mad, but that man wasn’t mad at all.”
As the years went on Mr Fomenko crossed paths with Ms Martinod many times.
“I saw him a lot after that as he came and went. When he was younger he’d recognise you, but not later in life,” Ms Martinod said.
Ms Martinod said she saw Mr Fomenko just a fortnight ago at the Babinda Multi Purpose Health Centre.
“He didn’t look like the bloke I knew years ago,” she explained.
“After seeing him about two weeks ago I’d say the news of his death was no shock at all. He wasn’t the young, handsome man he used to be.”
But the memory of that young man is still at the forefront of most Far Northern minds as the community pays its respects to the late nomad.
Former Mirriwinni resident Francine Henrich said she worked at the Babinda Sugar Mill and had the honour of giving Mr Fomenko his rations of sugar.
“At night he’d stop by and ask very politely for some sugar. It was a very regular occurrence,” Ms Henrich said.
“He was a bit of an odd man but everyone respected him.”
She said she was sure he would have been very happy to be back in the Far North before he died.
“He’s lived a really good life,” she said.
“I’d want his family in Sydney to know that he was an absolutely beautiful, wellmannered man and they should be proud of him.”