Carrie Hanzak remembers her husband Petr as a man of great generosity

The Far North community has lost a revered Kuranda resident and Smithfield psychologist who forged deep friendships within the FNQ kayaking community.

The wife of a Smithfield psychologist who died after a kayaking accident on Behana Creek has remembered her husband for his overwhelmingly kind and generous character.

Petr Hanzak, 64, died in Cairns Hospital on Sunday afternoon when his injuries caused a stroke, Carrie Hanzak said.

Family and friends were present with him until the end.

Petr Hanzak with his wife Carrie, whom he was married to for 10 years. Picture: Supplied

“Cairns Base was wonderful and they performed surgery, we were all hoping he would survive but the injury was just too terrible,” Ms Hanzak said.

“He got capsized and was thrown very hard. He was with two other paddlers who saved his life at that stage. When he went underwater, they managed to get him out.”

Petr Hanzak was born in February 1954 in then Czechoslovakia.

Ms Hanzak said her husband wanted to be a professional kayaker in his teenage years, but the detention of his father during the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia prevented that.

It also silenced Mr Hanzak’s other professional ambition to become a psychologist in his homeland, Ms Hanzak said.

Petr Hanzak with his son Jan. Picture: Supplied

“Petr came to Australia from the Czech Republic in 1992 and he moved up to Cairns when we married in 2013,” she said.

“He’d been paddling since he was 15 and had been invited to go professional in (Czechoslovakia) because he was on their number one downhill racing team.

“Because of Petr’s father’s arrest, Petr wasn’t allowed. The Russians were very controlling. At the first opportunity, he got out.

“When he came here he learned English, got work and went to school to study to be a psychologist.”

Petr Hanzak indulging in his favourite hobby, whitewater kayaking. Picture: Supplied

Mr and Ms Hanzak had lived in Kuranda since 2013.

Mr Hanzak worked most recently in Smithfield’s Ina Flockhart private psychologist practice.

“He was very caring about people in his work. It wasn’t just a job, he would really care about the people coming to see him,” Ms Hanzak said.

“He was certainly special to me. But he was a very adaptable, modest man. He never thought anything about him was special.

“His passion throughout his whole life was paddling. When he discovered white-water paddling when he came to Cairns, he was hooked.

Petr Hanzak, third from left, with the Far North's Piss Poor Paddlers group. Picture: Supplied

“It’s very hard, but if this was going to happen I’m glad it was doing something that he loved.”

Stuart Brown, a friend, described Mr Hanzak as “the father figure” of the Far North’s paddling community.

“He was very passionate, very helpful to anyone and generous with his time and skills,” Mr Brown said.

“We went on plenty of trips together. On one adventure to Broadwater Creek, near Ingham, we were helicoptered in and it took us two days to paddle out.

“When you’re paddling, you’re always with someone. Always relying on other kayakers for your safety, your life. This creates strong friendships.

“He had a huge impact on the community. He created intense friendships where trust is a pillar of the relationship.”

Mr Hanzak is survived by his son Jan, stepdaughter Marie and his wife Carrie.

Originally published as Carrie Hanzak remembers her husband Petr as a man of great generosity