Russian AnzacsChristian Rink
| Alias | Christian de Rink; Christian Lawrence Smidt Rinkoff (known as Rink) |
|---|---|
| Born | 16.01.1872 |
| Place | Odessa, Ukraine (enlistment, alien registration); Bordeaux, France (naturalisation) |
| Ethnic origin | French / Russian |
| Religion | Russian Orthodox |
| Father | Anthony de Rink, French |
| Mother | Rumanian |
| Family | Wife Teressa de Rink (nee Tobin), married 1919; by 1946 wife Clare (1913-1998) in New Zealand |
| Residence before arrival at Australia | 'My parents left France when I was very young and we have resided in Odessa, Canada, England and Australia'. |
| Arrived at Australia |
from America on 08.1899 or 09.1905 per Panamuta disembarked at Sydney |
| Residence before enlistment | Broken Hill, Newcastle, Sydney |
| Occupation | 1916 electrician, engineer, 1919, 1930 engineer, 1931 agent and salesman, hotel licensee, 1935 engineer and wine agent |
| Naturalisation | Served as Russian subject; naturalised in 1930, naturalisation was revoked in 1934 |
| Residence after the war | Brisbane, Collie, Albany, WA; 1931 Wellington; 1946 Christchurch, 1954 Lyttleton New Zealand |
| Died | 4.02.1961 Christchurch, New Zealand |
Service #1
| Service number | 6747 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted | 16.02.1916 |
| Place of enlistment | Sydney |
| Unit | 8th Field Company Engineers, 7th Field Company Engineers, Australian Flying Corps |
| Rank | Sapper |
| Place | Western Front, 1916-1917 |
| Final fate | RTA 12.03.1918 |
| Discharged | 21.06.1918 as undesirable, not eligible for awards |
Materials
Digitised naturalisation (NAA)
Digitised service records (NAA)
Blog article
Newspaper articles
Electric shocks!!. - Albany Advertiser, 14 May 1931, p. 3.
Tampering with a meter. Hotel Licensee fined. - The West Australian, Perth, 15 May 1931, p. 14.
Christian de Rink. Strikes trouble in New Zealand. - Albany Advertiser, 8 September 1932, p. 4.
From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:
Another was the engineer Christian de Rink: on enlisting with the AIF, he gave his birthplace as Odessa, a claim supported by the Russian consulate, which obviously took him for a Russian subject. In 1930, however, when applying for naturalisation, he said he was born in Bordeaux, France, of a French father and Rumanian mother.