Irene Capek

Capek and daughter, Annabelle, at the Member of the Order of the British Empire Investiture Ceremony, 12 April 1973.

Irene Capek (28 December 1924 – 19 November 2006) was a Jewish Holocaust survivor, humanitarian and local Australian politician. She was the fourth ever female member of the Caulfield City Council, was the recipient of the Caulfield City Council Citizen of the Year award, and went on to become a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

Early life Capek was born Bedřiška "Iška" Lavecká (anglicised to 'Irene') to parents Anna and Emil Lavecký in Prague, Czechoslovakia on 28 December 1924. She lived with her parents until 1931, when her mother died from typhoid and her father, a travelling salesman and recovering World War 1 serviceman, placed her in the care of her grandmother. She was transferred to the care of a Prague orphanage in 1936 following the death of her grandmother, and to a nearby English boarding school soon after.

Holocaust

The German occupation of Czechoslovakia began with the annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938, and the subsequent establishment of Bohemia and Moravia as German protectorates in March 1939. Capek describes these early years of German occupation as 'gradual, and systematic'. Her persecution developed over the course of a three-year period, beginning with her removal from school, and progressing to her banishment from work and subsequent placement in a Jewish Youth Hostel. It was there that she learnt that her fiancé, Sisi, had died of dysentery soon after being transferred from Theresienstadt. It was also there that she re-united with Fred Capek. Fred and his late-wife Greta, who was murdered at Auschwitz, had been Capek's supervisors at the Jewish Youth Hostel she attended in Prague before the war. Within a year, Capek and Fred were married, and expecting their first son, John.

Migration to Australia Three years later, fearing the Stalinisation of Europe, the Capeks fled from Prague to Australia. They arrived in Melbourne aboard the Cyreniaii on 5 April 1949. The years following their arrival were lean. For the first five years, the family lived in a converted garage. Irene worked as a cleaner and waitress, and Fred worked as a gardener and conveyor belt operator.

Humanitarian work With the challenges of settling in a new country fresh in her mind, Capek focused her efforts on migrant services. She began by attending the Port Melbourne docks, migrant hostels and local hospitals to hand out information to new arrivals. Sensing a need for a more concerted effort, she went on to establish the Prahran Migrant Advisory Service, and lobby government through her roles as an Executive Member of the Commonwealth and Victorian Migrant Advisory Councils. Her other appointments in migrant and community services included: United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. Australian Auxiliary (Secretary and Treasurer); Good Neighbours Council (United Nations Delegate, and Vice President); Caulfield Community Services (foundation member); Commonwealth Council of the Ageing (Executive Member); United Nations Association of Australia (Executive Member); and Caulfield Citizens Advice Bureau (Member). Ultimately, she served less than a year on the council, leaving office in June 1978 so that she could resume work with people at a more community level, and attend to family matters.

Honours Capek's involvement in migrant welfare was recognised on 1 January 1973, when she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire. Her appointment was formalised on 12 April 1973, when she attended Victoria's Government House to be vested with her insignia.

50px Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) 1973 The Queen's New Year Honours – "For community services and particularly in migrant welfare and integration."

Capek was named the Caulfield City Council Citizen of the Year on 22 January 1988, the year of Australia's bicentenary celebrations.