Frank Wyss

Frank Leonard Wyss (December 21, 1927 - May 11, 2007) was an Australian Baha'i who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia in the 1950's, and became the Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the Cocos Islands.

Life

Frank was born to Frank Wyss, Sr. and Marie Wyss, who were both born in Switzerland but met in Australia. Frank and his sister, Lilian, were born in Sydney, but the family moved to Tahmoor in 1939.

He was introduced to the Baha'i Faith while attending Bowral High School by fellow students Stanley Jr., Antoinette, and Mariette Bolton. He and his sister, Lilian, declared in 1944 while attending the Annual Baha'i Summer School in Yerrinbool. Ruhiyyih Khanum noted Shoghi Effendi's approval of their acceptance of the Faith in a letter to Mariette Bolton, Sr.:

"He was also very pleased to see that the sessions of the Yerrinbool School had been so successful and that two such enlightened youth as Lilian and Frank Wyss had expressed their intention of joining the Faith. Please extend to these two young people a hearty welcome into the Cause on behalf of Shoghi Effendi."

Frank decided to travel to America to study chiropractic with Antoinette Bolton, who he credited with stimulating his interest in the field, the same year, but they were unable to make the journey until May, 1946. Frank studied at Metropolitan Business College in 1945. Although he received his chiropractic qualifications in 1947, he waited another year before returning to Australia. He stopped in Switzerland for a few months on the journey home and arrived back in Australia in May, 1948.

He began working as a travelling chiropractor for Stanley and Mariette Bolton in 1948, and purchased a Bedford utility truck in June. In August 1948 he visited Bowral High School and gave a talk to students about his time in America, England, and Switzerland. In 1950 he gave a talk at a commemoration of the Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Bab in Bowral. In 1952 he donated money to help pay for the construction of the Shrine of the Bab.

He was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia in 1954, but retired the following year in order to answer Shoghi Effendi's call for pioneers to open areas to the Faith. He pioneered to the Cocos Islands, arriving on June 4, 1955, however he was soon asked to leave the island by John Cecil Clunies-Ross, the resident magistrate and 'King' of the islands, and returned to Australia on June 22. He initially planned to return, but this was ultimately not possible. He went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in January, 1956, and helped Ruhiyyih Khanum construct a garden at the rear of the House of 'Abdu'l-Baha. He was re-elected to the Australian National Assembly that year, but retired from the body again in 1957 when he pioneered to Papua New Guinea.

Frank met Luise Dorendorf while visiting Fiji and they married in 1960, and had a daughter in 1961. In 1969 Frank was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of Papua New Guinea, however he returned to Australia at the end of 1970 for Luise's health, moving to Canberra, where he opened a chiropractic practice in 1971. In 1973 he was appointed an Auxiliary Board Member for Propagation of the Faith in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

In 1984 Frank was appointed to the first Chiropractic Board of the ACT for a term of three years. In 1987 he defended the field of chiropractic from criticism from a Sydney radiologist. He retired in 1990, but continued seeing some patients. His wife passed in 2005, and Frank began presenting classical music on community radio to occupy his time. He passed away in 2007.