Anton was one of nine children and from 1918 worked on his father's farm and joinery business. In 1921 he became town clerk and he was also the parish organist, and taught himself Latin in the hope of entering a seminary. In 1926 he was accepted into the Pallottine 'School for Late Vocations' at Hofstetten and completed his humanist secondary education at Schönstatt in March 1932. His brother Rupert (born 1909) followed him two years later. He received his habit on 1 May 1932 and made his first profession exactly two years later. He began to study theology and philosophy in Limburg until late 1935.¹

 

Together with two other students, George Vill and Bruno Kupke, Omasmeier responded to a call from the new Bishop Raible [1] seeking recruits for a planned theological training college in Victoria. They arrived in Australia in December 1935 in company with Bishop Raible, linguist Professor Nekes [2] and experts in tropical medicine Dr. and Mrs Betz [3], and Brother Besenfelder.

 

Bishop Raible (centre) with his team of experts in December 1935. L-R rear: George Vill, Br Richard Besenfelder, Anton Omasmeier L-R front: Br Basil Halder, Bruno Kupke, Bishop Raible, Prof. Nekes (60), Ludwina Betz-Korte, Dr. Hans Betz

 

The three students stayed with the Redemptorists of North Perth during the summer vacation furthering their knowledge of English before travelling to Melbourne to attend the Diocesan Seminary at Werribee. Their first culture shock was a hot Christmas where everything was entirely different until someone played 'Stille Nacht'.²

 

Omasmeier was ordained in December 1937, and subsequently became referred to as 'Father Anthony'. When the Pallottine college in Kew finally opened in 1938 he became its first 'novice master', but the first Australians were not admitted into the novitiate at Kew until February 1940.³

 

Over the next 25 years he held positions in at least 17 locations: retreat master and assistant priest in Hobart (1943), rector at Tardun [4] (March 1944 to March 1945), Broome (1945), Melbourne (1947), chaplain at Castledare Christian Brothers orphanage, Perth (February 1948), Bonegilla migrant camp, South Australia (1948), Rivervale (Perth), Kew (Melbourne) (January 1951), Riverton (Perth) (1954), Silverwater (Sydney, July 1956), Tardun (mid-1959 to February 1961). In September 1951 he was shot by a woman within sight of a crowd of churchgoers outside St. Mary's church in Melbourne.⁴

 

The Advertiser [5](Adelaide), 26 Mar 1953, German Migrants 'Settling Down’ [5]⁵

The West Australian, 1 Sep 1951, Priest Well-Known In W.A. Shot By Woman [6]⁶

(Newspaper articles found in Trove reproduced courtesy of the National Library of Australia)

 

In 1955 he published a report on the Australian missions in Pallottis Werk, on the occasion of the opening of a vocational training centre for boys in Perth. He commented that the government was finally acknowledging its responsibility towards indigenous people, and that mixed descendants (Mischlinge) were in a particular quandary at the fringes of both black and white society. He hoped that vocational training would help them to achieve full citizenship rights, which one day may become a reality for all.⁷ In 1961 he attended the Golden Jubilee of Lombadina mission.⁸

 

He returned to Germany in May 1974 and worked there in various homes for the elderly and other placements until he was diagnosed with cancer in 1979 and died 1982.⁹