{"id":1922,"date":"2020-05-17T19:26:32","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T08:56:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=1922"},"modified":"2020-07-21T20:32:36","modified_gmt":"2020-07-21T10:02:36","slug":"fr-frank-manak","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=1922","title":{"rendered":"Fr. Frank Manak"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Text: Elisabeth Anderson
<\/em>Image: Elisabeth Anderson<\/em><\/span><\/font> <\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Fr. Frank Manak<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Father Frank\nManak was a refugee from war-torn and Communist-occupied Czechoslovakia, who\ncame to Australia with his sister Agnes in 1950 and lived and worked among\nmigrants and youth in the Adelaide Hills for ten years until his death in 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Mediterranean style house which he and Agnes built themselves, brick by brick, in order to provide a meeting place for Adelaide\u2019s Czech community as well as a home for themselves, today still stands in Cricklewood Road, Aldgate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stirling\u2019s first Catholic youth group also had its beginnings there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first\nappointment was that of resident Chaplain to the Dominican Sisters at Mt St\nCatherine Convent in Ayers Hill Stirling, where The Lodge <\/em>gate house became his home. Later he would take on a\nsimilar role at the Josephite Convent in Arkaba Road Aldgate. He was also\nChaplain to the Czech people of Adelaide and officiated at Masses for them in\nthe city, as well as being a Mass celebrant for Catholics in Stirling,\nSummertown, Woodside and Lobethal. He became a great friend and anchor to people\nin the Woodside migrant camp which he visited as an assistant chaplain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Manak\nwas born in Louka, Moravia, on 30th<\/sup> August 1911, was educated in\nCzechoslovakia and Chicago USA, ordained at Olomouc on 5th<\/sup> July 1937\nand appointed parish priest in Slavicin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and Agnes\nfled their homeland when it came under Communist control after World War II.\nThey were in Luxemburg when they received a clearance to come to Australia and\nsailed for New South Wales on the ship the Amarapura.\n<\/em>Sometime after their arrival Father Manak was recruited for South\nAustralia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is said\nthat he carried the scars of war but that he worked hard in his new\nenvironment. At the Dominican convent he made himself one of the family – the\nnovices, the school boarders and the Dominican community in general and was a\ntremendous help to them. He would also visit the children at the Catholic\nschool next door and would be remembered for his lively sense of humour.\nRecords show that he and Agnes both obtained Australian citizenship at a naturalization\nceremony in 1957.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Manak\nwas concerned at the lack of facilities for the Czech people in Adelaide and\nthis was the driving force behind his decision to build the house in\nCricklewood Road. He and his sister moved into the house in August 1957 and\nwelcomed their compatriots there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His\nreadiness to work hard did not end here however. When he found it necessary to\nsupplement his income, he laboured at the Hahndorf timber mill three days a\nweek and sold flowers to a florist – his own home-grown gladioli and other\nflowers provided by a friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agnes, who\nhad anglicised her name from Anezka, was always his willing helper. In due\ncourse she obtained work at the Repatriation Hospital and was Assistant\nSupervisor there when she retired. She married George Frohnert and made her\nhome in Panorama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Manak\ndied of cancer on 15th<\/sup> December 1961 at the age of 50. Stirling\u2019s\nParish Priest Father Gavan Kennare spoke at that time of his very simple faith,\nthe happy spirit which had endeared him to all who had met him and his kindness\nand willing efforts for others. Anezka died on 19th<\/sup> July 2013.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have stories or memories of Fr. Frank and his time in the Adelaide Hills? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact us at mldhsgateways@mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au<\/a> or drop into the History Centre at the Coventry Library, 63 Mount Barker Road, Stirling.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read other Church related articles from the Mt Lofty Districts in “Church & Community” <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Text: Elisabeth Anderson Image: Elisabeth Anderson Father Frank Manak was a refugee from war-torn and Communist-occupied Czechoslovakia, who came to Australia with his sister Agnes in 1950 and lived and worked among migrants and youth in the Adelaide Hills for ten years until his death in 1961. A Mediterranean style house which he and Agnes … Continue reading “Fr. Frank Manak”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"spay_email":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/PaNLq6-v0","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1605,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=1605","url_meta":{"origin":1922,"position":0},"title":"Our Migrant Heritage","date":"March 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Return to Gateways Topics In this section we explore the impact of those people who have come from other countries to make the Hills their home and we tell their stories from past and present. Italian Migrants in the Adelaide Hills Fr Frank Manak Joseph Stanislaus Ostoja-Kotkowski My 1951 Sea\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2137,"url":"https:\/\/mtloftyhistoricalsociety.org.au\/?page_id=2137","url_meta":{"origin":1922,"position":1},"title":"Our Migrant Heritage","date":"July 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Return to Gateways Topics In this section we explore the impact of those people who have come from other countries to make the Hills their home and we tell their stories from past and present. Italian Migrants The Rossini Family The Good Neighbour Council Fr. 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