Lithuanian snake catcher, Alfonsas Karašauskas

Alfonsas was a man with a very colourful life. Personally modest, but deeply self-respecting; socially open, honest, courageous and eloquent; withdrawn but helpful; indeed, being a true son of nature,

Alfonsas was born in1928, into the poor family of Ieva and Andriejaus Karašauskas, in Tolučiai. He grew up among three brothers and a younger sister.

Sixteen-year-old Alfonsas was pushing to join General Plechavičius's military unit, to defend Lithuania.  He borrowed his older brother's passport and successfully joined the national military unit; but he remained two years older for the rest of his life. His unit had to be stationed in Vilnius and there in 1944, the Germans disarmed, arrested and took them to Germany for work or war purposes.  Alfonsas was dressed in the Luftwaffe uniform with which he was captured by the English in Belgium. Here he suffered in inhuman conditions and would have starved to death, but because of his youth, a German doctor took pity on him and admitted him to a civilian hospital. After leaving captivity, Alfonsas ended up in a refugee camp in the English zone. A few years later, he married a German woman, a son was born, and the family came to Australia in 1951.  He was assigned to work with the Water Board in Potts Hill, Sydney.   

From Sydney, through Adelaide to Melbourne, the family started looking for better and better living conditions.  Alfonsas worked in construction, in the fish market, in workshops.  He had a store of small goods and dairy products and, with the involvement of two partners, he bought a hotel and worked in it.  

Alfonsas immersed himself in fishing and hunting. His rooms were hung with impressive photographs.
Alfonsas also excelled at catching snakes.  He would catch them with his bare hands, only being bitten twice. Live snakes were sold to laboratories for making antivenoms. For his services in trapping venomous snakes, he was honoured by the Altona, Laverton and Werribee area residents and board with a silver coiled snake ring.  

At the end of November 1985, a snake hunt was organised around Werribee. It became unsafe for residents to walk around; snakes were even entering homes.

Alfonsas who had distinguished himself as a brave and agile snake catcher was specially invited to that hunt.  The caught snakes were delivered alive to the chemists.  Alfonsas caught the most snakes and he was declared the winner.

Alfonsas passed away 10 August 2003. During Mass the D.L.K. Riflemen of the Vytenis company stood in a guard of honour at the tricolor-covered coffin, decorated with home-grown rhubarb and orchids and the deceased rifleman's hat.