Vale - Frank Chalk

Sadly we report the recent passing of a highly respected and well-loved member of the Brisbane Water Historical Society - Frank Chalk. He is greatly missed by those who knew him. The following is an extract from the Eulogy offered by Elaine Fry:

"Frank, wonderful sincere friend, workaholic, great mate, advisor, you name it and that was Frank...

Frank was born in Birmingham, England in September 1919. His family moved to Australia when he was an infant...Frank joined BWHS in 1981 and became very much involved. No matter what was damaged, Frank knew how to fix it, doing many repairs, soldering, making display cabinets and photo frames, and cleaning of exhibits to display standard, all under the advice of Museums Australia.

Frank, Alice [his wife], Stan (my late husband) and I worked as a team, having our working bees at the museum complex when we had time to spare, often 4-5 hours, 3-4 times a week, to set up a special exhibition. We also spent many. many hours in the gardens and grounds. Our first love was our family and home, closely followed by the cottage complex. Frank's knowledge and assistance was greatly appreciated by the committee and members of BWHS. Frank also joined the roster to open the cottage/museum on a regular basis once a month.

Frank was elected a Vice-President in 1982, a position he held for 3 years, then Treasurer in 1984, a position he held for 16 years. He certainly looked after our monies. He checked every item on every docket or invoice.

Frank was a great ambassador for BWHS and HK Cottage. He was a guest speaker at other organisations' meetings, and carried our brochures to distribute whereever they went on holidays. He was a guide on coach tours visiting from other areas, transported boxes of items to street stalls, displays etc. with no worries and not looking for any pat on the back. Frank also kept a lookout at night. Really he was an unpaid caretaker of the cottage and grounds. No request was ever too large or too small for our Frank.

On 20th February 2001, Frank was appointed a Life Member of BWHS for his dedication to the Society and his voluntary work for HK Cottage, over and above anything that is expected of a volunteer...

In June 2007 when we had those very heavy winds and storms, some trees came down in the cottage grounds, one large tree blocking the driveway. Stan and our son Kelvin, with his chainsaw, came over to see what could be done. Very soon 88 year old Frank came over in the rain to assist in removing most of the trees and branches. Work stopped because the rain became too heavy, but they were back again on Sunday morning and access was made for the garbage truck and for the coach that arrived on Monday morning...

Frank enjoyed life and talking to people, he was happy in life and at peace with himself. The Community is much richer for the time Frank has spent in the area."