Australian ilrtuiatj Ifistnrirai Bmuti]

VOL. IV. PART II.

CONTENTS.

ESSAYS IN THE HISTORY OP JEWISH EDUCATION IN . Part I. By D. J. Benjamin 29 THE VICTORIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY, 1900-1910. By 53 MISCELLANEA 77 85 ״ BOOK REVIEWS OBITUARY ... 90 LIBRARY NOTES 91 SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATE- MENT ; 94 LIST OF MEMBERS 94

Illustrations: LOUIS' PHILLIPS 31 TITLE PAGE, "JEWISH RITES EXPLAINED" 39 ABRAHAM ROTHFIELD 47 J. DANGLOW 60 HON. NATHANIEL LEVI 65 SIR BENJAMIN BENJAMIN 71 • SYDNEY : July, 5715—1955. AUSTRALIAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY. (Founded August 21st, 1938-5698.)

Patron-Members: The Honourable Mr. JUSTICE SUGERMAN. .Kt ,׳The Honourable Sir ARCHIE MICHAELIS

President: Rabbi Dr. PORUSH, Ph.D.

Vice-President: HERBERT I. WOLFF.

Hon. Treasurer : ARTHUR D. ROBB, F.C.A. (Aust.)

Hon. Secretary : SYDNEY B. GLASS.

Editor of Publications: DAVID J. BENJAMIN, LL.B.

Committee : Mrs. RONALD BRASS, B.A. M. 25. FORBES, B.A., LL.B. M. H. KELLERMAN, B.Ec. ALFRED A. KEYSOR.

Honorary Member of Committee : NATHAN F. SPIELVOGEL.

Hon. Auditor: DAVID BOLOT, A.F.C.A., A.F.I.A. HON. SECRETARY'S ADDRESS : Z , SYDNEY. NEW SOUTH WALES. .flustralian Jewish historical Society JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS.

Vol. IV. 1955. Part II.

The Society is not responsible for either the statements made or the opinions expressed by the authors of papers published in this Journal.

Essays in the History of Jewish Education in New South Wales, Part I.

By DAVID J. BENJAMIN, LL.B. {Read before the Society, 2nd March, 1955.) This meeting of the Society is being held to-night as a contribution to Hebrew Education Month, and as the result of a request from the organisers to treat historically Jewish Education in New South Wales. In the present state of our knowledge, however, it is not possible to write a full-scale history. We have, therefore, chosen to present aspects of the problem in the form of isolated essays on different subjects within the theme. Two deal with education proper, one with personalities in the educational world, and two with organisation. Efforts have been made to ensure that the material is new, so that, as far as possible, use has not been made of papers which have previously appeared in the Society's Journal. It has not been practicable to present these essays in strict chronological order since they necessarily overlap. THE SYDNEY JEWISH SABBATH SCHOOL, 1863. The educational problem of the early 'sixties was not far different from that of to-day. Parents could not or would not teach their own children; the day school could not cope with all the children of the community, and in any case not all the parents would or could send their sons and daughters to a Jewish school.1 There were, therefore, many unattached children, almost certainly the majority of those of school age, who received no Jewish education at all. This gap had to be bridged, as it must be to-day. The man who set himself this task was Rev. A. B. Davis, the newly arrived Minister of the York Street . It was at his instigation2 that a meeting was called for 19th February, 1863, to found a Sabbath school. 30 Australian Jewish Historical Society. The minutes3 show those present to have been Rev. A. B. Davis, Rev. Solomon Phillips (Minister of the Macquarie Street Synagogue), Moses Moss, Benjamin Francis, S. M. Levi, and Lewis Lipman. Davis was voted to the chair, and Lipman, who was Secretary of the Macquarie Street Synagogue and of the day school, was invited to be Hon. Secretary, pro. tem. Davis had obviously been influenced, as he admitted in his opening address, by the example set in other parts of the world, and he had already taken action to obtain the co-operation from both men and women that would be necessary to establish c iclfsow for boys and girls. The meeting then decided that the "above gentlemen," together with Myer Brodziak and Louis Phillips, form themselves into a committee, with Rev. A. B. Davis as President, "for. the purposp of establishing a Sabbath school." Rev. Solomon Phillips became Vice-President (though he soon resigned), and Moss was elected Treasurer. The Ladies' Committee then chosen comprised Mrs. Alfred Hort, Mrs. Jacob Lazarus, Mrs. B. Francis, Mrs. D. L. Levy, and Mrs. Henry Cohen, senr. Mrs. Hort and Mrs. Lazarus found themselves unable to act. No time was wasted. At once Samuel Phillips, the President of the Sydney Hebrew School, the then flourishing day school, was asked for the use of his rooms on Sabbaths, commencing on Saturday week. The Sydney Hebrew School at this time was conducted at 334 Pitt Street, under the Head- mastership of Rev. A. A. Levi, the second Minister at York Street.4 The request was granted, and work seems to have begun as planned.5 The second meeting of the committee took place on 26th February, and it substituted Mrs. A. B. Davis and Mrs. Samuel Emanuel for the two ladies who had declined to serve on the committee. From then until 16th July no meeting was held, but it is clear from the opening letter in the letter book, and from the first Annual Report, that classes had opened well before that. The meeting's first act was to ask Louis Phillips to be Hon. Secretary pro. tem. on the resignation of Lipman. Moss had in the interval between meetings received a letter from David Benjamin, formerly of Mielbourne but then of , drawing his attention to the existence there of the Jewish Association for the Diffusion of Religious Knowledge. This body was founded in 1860 by Dayan Barnett Abrahams, father of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Abrahams of , and at an early period of its existence had History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 31 established a Sabbath school concurrently with its lectures and publications. It is now merged in the London Board of Jewish Religious Education.6 From the Sydney point of view, connection with it offered a twofold advantage. It had had some three years' experience of the type of education the Sabbath school here was offering, and it published books suitable for children. The meeting re- solved to open a correspondence with it, and to thank Benjamin for taking such an interest in education in Sydney.

LOUIS PHILLIPS. Phillips wrote his letter two days later, addressing it to N. S. Joseph, then Hon. Secretary of the Association, and later well known for his book, Religion, Natural and —: In it Phillips said ך.Revealed Dear Sir, I have the honour to inform you that at a Committee meeting held on the 16th current correspondence of a semi-official character from Mr. David Benjamin to Mr. Moses Moss of this city was read and discussed with reference to the advantage that would accrue to the institution by becoming a branch of the one you so ably represent and I am directed to address you and to intimate that the members of the Board are desirous of acquiescing in an arrangement of this kind, persuaded they will thereby be not only benefited but in a position to carry out the necessary reciprocation. 32 Australian Jewish Historical Society. He went on to ask for information; to explain that the Sydney classes were so far for girls only; that about 25 were enrolled, and that they were probably younger than those at such classes in London. Apart from authorising this letter, the only other work of that meeting was to appoint Phillips as the regular Hon. Secretary8 and to decide on the establishment of an evening class in Hebrew once a week, the arrangements being left to Davis. The next meeting did not take place until 7th December, 1863. Meanwhile a reply had come from London. Un- happily it has not been preserved, but its tenor can be gathered from the resolution and the reply Phillips wrote the following day. It was decided to become a subscriber to the Association for one year in the sum of ten guineas. This apparently was to cover the cost of 250 copies of each of the Association's tracts which Phillips ordered in his letter. These tracts dealt with religious and moral themes, but not in a systematic way so as to supply the want of a formal text book. The disastrous situation in respect of books is made clear, in the same letter. Phillips says :— I may here remark, taking advantage of your kindly proferred services, that we are sadly in want of a manual of the Jewish faith. The one now in use, but of which we have only one copy, is that of Rev. A. P. Mendez.9 Whether this is the one you would recommend we are, of course, unaware and therefore leave it in your hands to kindly furnish us with one dozen copies of the most suitable book of the kind mentioned. Two other matters were dealt with in Phillips' letter. The heavy• cost of postage of the tracts already sent from London had caused concern there. Sydney assured them the matter was under consideration. The second matter concerned the name of the Sydney institution. Apparently the London body had suggested a reference to its own name. This question, too, was still awaiting decision. The meeting of 17th December elected three more members to the Committee—Jacob Lazarus, Samuel Emanuel and Sigmond Hoffnung. Though there was no further meeting until 23rd February, 1864, the Committee was not idle. In his letter to London of 21st February, Phillips was able to report the establishment of a Sabbath class for boys, though the attendance was still small. In the same letter he referred to the solution of the postage problem— someone in had been found who would send the tracts to Sydney free of cost. The letter does not name the benefactor. History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 33 The February meeting decided to push ahead with the "consolidation" of a Code of Laws, and then considered the poor attendance at the classes. As a result, a sub- committee was requested to discuss with the authorities of the Sydney Hebrew School the question of attendance by its pupils at the Sabbath classes. The deputation made its plea, and received a ready response. It is not possible to say by how many the Sabbath classes were increased, since attendance figures for the day school are not available for 1864. By 1868 there were 80 pupils at that school, but attendance seems to have been rather irregular.10 Perhaps as a quid pro quo the sum of £5 was to be paid to the Hebrew school for cleaning and setting up the rooms for Sabbath classes. The Code of Laws was finally adopted at the meeting on 7th April, but no copy is included in the Minute Book and none has come to my notice. The April meeting then went on to the matter of the name which had been raised by the London body. The future name was to be "Shabbath Migdal Oz—The Sydney Jewish Sabbath School and Society for the Diffusion of Religious Knowledge in Union with the Association, London," though, of course, everyone called it the Sabbath School. The somewhat unwieldy title was altered in 1867 by dropping the reference to the Association in London. From Phillips' letter to London of 18th April we have a glimpse of the workings of the school, and of a recurrence of the text book shortage :— It is to be regretted that no manual of Faith suitable to our requirements is as yet published and for the want of which we are at a sad loss. The work of Dr. Ashei'H to which you refer we have already here but the lessons are far too difficult for the pupils of our school—children of from seven to twelve years of age. Phillips ordered a dozen copies of Dr. Mendez's work, enclosed the Code of Laws, and went on to report :— . . . We are employed in devising plans for the better and more extended distribution of tracts while in the class room a visible progress is weekly evident. As a means of keeping a weekly accoxmt of the attendance of pupils we on each occasion distribute tickets . . . and we find the children accept them as a mark of merit for their presence and thus two good ends are attained. The next letter to London disclosed that the anonymous donor of the postage fees for the tracts was a Mr. Berens of Birmingham, lamented once more the absence of text books and asked for "a series of cards printed in large type containing short and instructive sayings and sentences to affix to the walls of the class room." The few then in Sydney were "small and not well selected." 34 Australian Jewish Historical Society. May 24th was the date of the next committee meeting. The school had been in existence for well over a year, but so far had not reported to the community. The story of its first year, therefore, may well be lengthened until the first Annual Report was submitted in August, 1864. The May meeting decided to solicit subscriptions from country residents, and, according to the minutes, transacted several points of minor importance. From then until 28th July both minutes and letter book are silent. The July meeting was a special one devoted to plans for the Annual Meeting and examination, which were fixed for 14th August. Davis and Phillips were left to make the arrangements , with a special task of buying prizes. D. L. Levy and Abraham Cohen were asked to act as Hon. Auditors, and later did so. The drafting of the report was left to the honorary officers, Davis, Phillips and Moss, who was treasurer. The draft was approved on 8th August, and was printed over the signatures of all three. A side- light on conditions of the time was the report that four children found it impossible to attend classes as they had no suitable clothes. The ladies were authorised to spend 24/- on each child. Eventually £4/13/6 was spent for the purpose. The meeting ended with thanks to Phillips for his gift of "a letter accompanied by a glass and frame exhibiting the name of the Institution in ornamental writing of his own hand as a suitable hanging for the class room." The Annual Meeting took place as planned on 14th August, and a handsomely printed report was available for the members. The copy in the minute book is green, the one in my possession orange. Coloured papers seem to have been popular then and for many years afterwards. As it is in delightfully nineteenth-century phraseology, I have preferred to submit it to you in full rather than attempt a summary which would no doubt shorten it, but would deprive it of all contemporary flavour. The Directors of the "Sydney Jewish Sabbath School," at the close of its first year of formation, have infinite pleasure in presenting the subscribers and the Jewish public, with a detailed report of its working and progress; and they have no doubt, that a statement so satisfactory as the one they are enabled to exhibit, will be highly gratifying to all its well-wishers; as it will assure the community that it only requires a continuation of the past zeal, encouragement, and assistance which has been afforded it from all sides, to render it in time, when its resources shall become more fully developed, and its labour of love for the benefit of the Jewish body be still more generally supported and appreciated, a decided and grand success. The classes were opened originally for !girls only : but when the History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 35 managers of the "Sydney Hebrew School," established a department for the daily tuition of girls, it was deemed advisable to extend its advantages to boys also. The number with which the School began was fourteen. It has gone on constantly increasing, until at this day, the number enrolled is eighty-one, with an average weekly attendance of forty-five. The children belong to all grades of society, the child of the wealthiest person in the community being seated on the same bench with that of the most needy, all equally desirous of availing themselves of the privilege of its classes and instruction. The improvement has been gradual, but apparent; and would have been so to a greater degree, had they been supplied with the required number of the necessary elementary books. However, this difficulty will be surmounted in the course of the present year, as the Home Society are forwarding some of the recent religious works, issued from the Jewish press. The improvement in the Boys' classes has not been so marked as that of the Girls', owing first, to their being organized at a later period, and second, to there being more irregularity in their attendance. It has also been a source of gratification to observe so large a number of visitors present at the Sabbath gatherings, many of the Directors, including the Rev. President, and the Honorary Secretary, not having omitted taking part in the proceedings, during a single Sabbath of the year. The voluntary teachers, both ladies and gentlemen, have been most assiduous in their endeavours for the progress of their young pupils, being found at all times at the honourable post of duty. There are six lady, and five gentlemen teachers devoted to the good work, and the Directors would record them their best thanks for the ready zeal and good will with which they have undertaken and pro- ceeded with their self-imposed and generous task. These thanks are no less due to the Readers and Lecturers who have, when called upon, assisted, by their addresses, in laying the foundation of correct morals, and good conduct, in the minds of their juvenile audience. Independent of the classes, the readings and the lectures, the Directors have, by their Association with the parent Society in London, been enabled to issue to the children, and the general public, those entertaining and instructive Tracts received by every mail. They hope, in this department, to increase its usefulness, by the distribution of other publications on Jewish subjects, the want of which is much felt, so soon as the before mentioned Society, which has them in contemplation, shall have them ready for delivery. Turning to the financial department, the efforts of the Directors have been equally successful. Having but comparatively few calls upon the means—the teaching staff being !gratuitously rendered— they have deemed it sufficient to make the subscription but half-a- guinea a year. The number of subscribers is seventy-two yielding the sum of £42/10/- while there have been in addition thirty-five Donors whose offerings have amounted to £6/19/-. A further 6tep has been initiated in seeking country Subscribers at twenty shillings per annum, to whom the tracts will be posted after each mail delivery. The names of several have been already received, and the Directors hope that the numbers under this head, will soon be multiplied, as it will be found to yield a mutual advantage. The disbursements, which may be seen from the annexed state- ment, have amounted to £23/7/6, 'including the sum of ten guineas to the Home Society, in return for their publications, and the amount 36 Australian Jewish Historical Society. of £4/13/6, expended on articles of clothing to the more necessitous of the pupils. The Directors may deem it necessary to increase this branch of the expenditure, as, the children having to meet on the Sabbath Day, the parents desire, with a natural feeling of pride, that they shall appear in suitable attire, some of whom are not in a position to provide it for their children. The Directors therefore call upon the public to assist, with their donations, in extending this desirable object. In conclusion, the Directors, in presenting this statement to the Subscribers, and resigning their stewardship for the year, do most earnestly recommend this excellent Society to the fostering care, and best support of the whole Jewish Community; fully satisfied, from its past antecedents, that it is one that meets our present require- ments; and only calls for liberal and sustained aid, superadded to unremitting zeal, from Directors and Teachers, to make it like a tree planted by water streams, bearing goodly fruit in its season to the religious, moral and social benefit of the rising generation, and through them, to the whole Jewish population of the Colony. Lest any of you may be anxious over the fate of the Committee on "resigning• their stewardship," let me hasten to assure you that all were re-elected, except Lazarus, who did not stand. Henry Cohen took the vacancy. Thanks, which we will agree were well deserved, were accorded to Davis and Phillips, and the first Annual Meeting was over. So ends the chronicle of a year's (or rather eighteen months') solid and sincere educational effort. Of course, one cannot really assess it from the formal phrases and figures of the report, but it is clear that a sound beginning had been made. We know nothing of its impact on pupils except the statement in a letter to the London body, dated 18th August, that "the examination .... afforded the greatest satisfaction to all interested." The school already had a place in the educational framework and in the hearts of Sydney . It maintained its existence until 1909— far too long a period to be covered in a mere essay—when it joined with the Sydney Jewish Education Board to form the New South Wales Board of Jewish Education. PUBLICATIONS. The dearth of text books to which such frequent refer- ence is made in the first year of the work of the Sabbath School is still with us. Sydney is still dependent on over- seas publishers whose work, all too often, does not suit us. It is strange that so little effort has been made locally to remedy the defect. Something had, in fact, been done even before the Sabbath School came into existence, and one is tempted to ask why no use was apparently made of Rev. M. R. Cohen's Principles of , published in Sydney in 1855. History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 37 Rev. M. R. Cohen, who was a Minister at York Street, was also a teacher at Zion House School,12 and apparently found no adequate book for his pupils. His little book contains 32 pages, and is based on the then popular "question and answer" form. The title page and preface have already been fully printed in' the Journal,13 but nothing so far has been published of the contents of the book, one copy only of which appears to exist. The first part consists of four chapters on "The Wonders of God." The best way of explaining the author's method of rendering this topic easy for children seems to be by quoting three typical passages. Question : In beholding the marvellous work of the indescribable God, how ought we, all God's loving creatures and natural beings of His own formation, to glorify Him ? Answer : With the utmost of our power, with energy of faith and purity of mind. Question : Why did it please God to create man last of all ? Answer : In order that there might be first a provision of creatures for his use and over which he might exercise dominion; and likewise to teach him humility, from the knowledge that the inferior creatures were created before him. The author deals in this division with the details of the creation, including questions on what was created on each of the first six days. This brings him naturally to —.־ the Sabbath, so he asks Question : What vast importance is there in this day which so gloriously calls forth our unwearied duty in hallowing it above all other days ? Answer : This day convinces us of the affection, faith and concord and sign of everlasting unity between the Deity and His chosen people Israel. God said to Moses, "Although I have visited you with the holy command of the holy work of the Tabernacle (according to Rashi, which was studiously and speedily to be done), yet speak thou also unto the children of Israel." "My Sabbath shall ye keep, for it is a sign between me and you throughout ail generations; it shall be known (according to the version) to other nations that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you" (Ex. xxxi, 13). He gave us this day for our inheritance for rest, grace and sanctity. And there our holy men tell us that "whosoever profaneth or violateth the Sabbath publicly is a worshipper of idols." For the commandment respecting the Sabbath! has the weight of all the 613 precepts; therefore he who violates the Sabbath violates the whole law of God. Even if we make allowances for the fact that children a hundred years ago were used to a more stilted vocabulary and more advanced ideas than they would tolerate to-day, we can, after these quotations, begin to understand why 38 Australian Jewish Historical Society. the Sabbath School did not rely on the Principles of Judaism to offset the text book shortage. There follow five chapters on the religion of the Israelites, starting with a complicated definition of religion in general and going on to deal with the pre-eminent position of Moses, the Books of the Bible, the Ten Com- mandments, ethical and moral rules of conduct, and the Thirteen Principles of the Faith. The information which children would have required is there, but the method of presentation seems excessively difficult. The final three chapters deal with Tefillin and their importance, and include several passages on the duties of a child towards its parents. The question and answer system is maintained throughout. This part of the book, too, is far from easy, though it contains all that the pupil would need to know about its subject matter. The task of putting into more readily digestible language the material that had to be taught fell, like so many educational burdens, upon Rev. A. B. Davis, whose Jewish Rites Explained, first published in Sydney in 1869, ran into three editions, and is still in use in at least one class in New South Wales. The first five paragraphs of the preface, dated 26th October, 1869, give the background to the book and some of the author's ideas on methods of presentation. It will be noted that he does not like the "question and answer" form, and gives reasons for his disapproval. From the first days of the existence of our Sabbath School established for the weekly tuition of Jewish children in Scripture, history and Religion, there has been a want of some small class books for their instruction in the facts of their faith and the practices of Jewish life in the Synagogue and the home. To this end a correspondence has been pending with gentlemen in London and New York engaged in the education of our youth, for the supply of such a manual; but these overtures have only been met by the frank acknowledgement that such a work was re- quired as much by them as by us and that, consequently, they laboured under a similar difficulty. It must, however, be freely admitted that there are a number of Catechisms on Biblical history, and the Laws of Moses, published in England and America as well as translations from German works, all excellent after their kind; but there are none known to the Editor of this little book in explanation of the various forms and ceremonies of our worship, suited to juvenile learners. It has therefore, been the Editor's aim to furnish this desideratum and he trusts that the succinct and simple language in which it has been his study to convey these explanations will meet the approbation of the "heads of families" and prove of service to those for whom it is published. History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 39

JEWISH BITES EXPLAINED,

TOGETHER WITH

REFERENCE TEXTS TO THE THIRTEEN ARTICLES OF JEWISH FAITH.

AND

PRAYERS TOR CHILDREN ON DIFFERENT OCCASIONS.

BY

־ALEXANDER B. DAVIS

Minister of the Sydney Synagogue.

PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE SYDNEY JEWISH SABBATH SCHOOL.

"Ceremonial laws lead the inquiring understanding towards divine, truths They are the bonds which connect deeds with reflection, instruction with life:"— Mendelssohn's .

SYDNEY: PRINTED BY F. CUNNINGHAME & CO., 186 PITT STREET. 186a. 40 Australian Jewish Historical Society. The book might easily have ben enlarged by the adoption of the catechetical form now so much in use; but the Editor has found from experience that children as a rule learn answers by rote without thinking of their general sense and bearing, and so he has preferred to divide the subject into small heads or chapters, each composed of a number of facts and reasons stated in short paragraphs, that they may be enlarged upon by the intelligent teacher, and by obliging the learner to give the answer in his own language and mode of expression, show that he fully understands the sense and nature of what may be called the text. The title page and a reference in the preface show that the book was published "under the direction of the Committee of the Sydney Jewish Sabbath School." The minutes of 19th July, 1869, explain the part which the School played in the publication :— The Rev. Chairman was desired to retire whereupon a letter was read from that gentleman addressed to the Hon. Secretary intimating his intention to shortly publish a manual for Jewish youth to contain an explanation of the Rites and Ceremonies of their worship together with an explanation of the Articles of Jewish belief and various prayers and desiring to know the number of such works that would be taken by the Directors for the use of the School ascertain whether the amount realised therefrom would ׳in order to cover the cost of the production of the work. Resolved after deliberation that if meeting the approval of the Rev. President the Society would issue the work and become respon- sible for its cost of publication and refund to Mr. Davis all profit that may arise on its sale here or elsewhere. Subsequent reports and balance sheets say nothing of the cost or the profit. In fact, the only subsequent refer- ence to the book is in the report dated 8th January, 1871, which notes the fact that the book was used in the senior classes, where considerable progress had been made. We can understand this. The book is a great advance on the stilted, high-falutin style which had characterised so many of the Jewish educational works preceding it. The language is relatively simple, its ideas well within the comprehension of older children. Unquestionably it was a success, and it deserved to be. Much work and thought had gone into it. The book appeared at the end of 1869, the first edition, with Hebrew words translated into English characters, being printed by F. Cunninghame & Co., 186 Pitt Street, Sydney. The second edition came out in 1879, using the same treatment of Hebrew, and was printed by Henry Solomon at the "Caxton," 156 Pitt Street, Sydney. Both of those editions are now rare. The third edition, copies of which are commonly found, is dated 1902, and was printed by Harris & Son, 481 George Street, Sydney. In this edition, though no revision of the English text had History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 41 been made since 1869, Hebrew words appear in unpointed Hebrew as well as in English letters. The first edition contained 58 pages (exclusive of the list of subscribers). The second, which did not include the preface, the prayers or the subscribers, had 45, and the third had 65. The work opens with paragraphs de- voted to the Torah, the Mitzvoth and the Oral Law, setting out briefly the framework within which Jewish practice moves. Coming down into greater detail, there follow passages on the washing of the hands, the reading of the Shema, Tzitzith and Tefillin. Each of these paragraphs sets out not only the duties a Jew must perform,, but the reasons for them—in language a child could understand, but which is yet not childish. Kaddish, Kiddush and Habdalah and the Festivals each have their separate treatment, and there is a very capable exposition of the elementary rules of the calendar. After a short review of the minor Feasts and Fasts, in which the historical aspect is succinctly summed up, there is information on the redemtpion of the first-born, marriage customs, the dedication of a house, and the practices of the period of mourning. The second part of the book contains the Thirteen Principles in simplified yet accurate form, and a number of texts from Scripture which have reference to those Principles. Explanations of some of the passages are given in notes. The work ends with four pages of prayers—one to be used before commencing Sabbath study and another for its close, prayers for the beginning and the end of daily study, and finally one for the last act at night. The composition for starting daily study is relatively short, and merits quotations for its beauty and its piety :— By Thy grace, O Lord, we have been permitted to assemble again to receive our daily lessons and by their means to become both wiser and better, as well as more useful members of Society. Source of all wisdom, we implore Thee to enlighten our under- standing that the knowledge about to be imparted to us may be fully understood and become indelibly impressed on our memory. Inspire us with a desire to be respectful and obedient to our teachers and to listen attentively to their instructions; so that we may derive the more advantage from their labour, and day by day increase in Virtue, in wisdom, in religious feeling and in all these other qualities which may fit us for an honourable and successful journey through the paths of life. Amen. Jewish Rites Explained fulfilled a real need well. While not written completely in accordance with modern 42 Australian Jewish Historical Society. ideas of easy presentation and phrasing, it is still a con- siderable advance on what was otherwise available. In this, as well as in all the other vast work he did in Sydney, Rev. A. B. Davis deserved well of those who benefited from it and of those who have followed. Two other works of his, both dated 1869, are referred to in Joseph Jacobs' and Lucien Wolf's Bibliotheca Anglo- Judaica of 1888, but unfortunately copies are not to be found either in the Marks collection of Judaica in the Mitchell Library or in the library of Rabbi L. A. Falk. One of them appears to have been a publication of the York Street Synagogue, and therefore outside the scope of this essay, which deals only with text books and the like pub- lished by Jewish educational authorities. This has the long title of Questions upon the Principles and Duties of the Jewish Religion, together with Form of Declaration of Faith to be used at the Confirmation Service of Young Ladies of the Sydney Synagogue. The second work is entitled Devotions for Children and Jewish Families. At present nothing is known of it beyond the name. Perhaps some day a. copy will become available. Meanwhile we can pass on to the next landmark in Jewish publication in this State—Louis Pulver's First Bible Stories for Little People, which appeared in 1889. The first edition was published in Melbourne by George Robert- son & Company, but the preface is dated from Sydney in August, 1889. By that time Louis Pulver was Head- master of the Sydney Jewish Education Board and was teaching for the Sabbath School, so that we may fairly include the book in a New South Wales list. The object is set out in the preface as being to bring down to the mental capacities of young children the histories contained in the earlier portions of the Bible and the principal moral truths which they teach. He succeeded brilliantly. Here is a passage from the first chapter, called "God, the Maker of All" :— At last God made Man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. What could you make out of dust or clay ? Some people can take clay from the ground and shape it into the shape of a man or a child or a horse. But will it be really a man or a child or a horse( ? Oh, no, it would have no life. We could not put life into it. Only God can do that. When it comes to writing narrative for small children, Pulver, despite the emphasis he lays on the difficulty of the task, did it extremely well. We cannot, of course, History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 43 quote extensively in proof of that, but two typical short pieces might suffice. In the first he is dealing with Esau and Jacob. Esau and Jacob were very different from each other. Their bodies were different and their minds were different. Esau had a very rough, hairy skin. He was strong and wild and clever at running and hunting after wild animals. Jacob's skin was smooth; he was gentle and quiet; he loved to be near home with his mother and father, taking care of their sheep. There was another difference between them. Esau did not care for God or for God's holy things. Jacob loved God and was ready to obey His laws. 14 The other passage speaks of Joseph :— At last the seven years of plenty were ended. Then came the famine; no corn at all grew in the fields; everything was dried up. But there was plenty of food saved up, and when the people of had used up all their own corn they came to Joseph to get some. You may be sure that he and his servants were very busy serving it out to the people every day. Sometimes the people came to the King to ask for food, but he always said, "Go to Joseph; whatever he tells you, do." So the people thought as much of Joseph as they did of Pharaoh; and Joseph deserved to be put side by side with •the King, for he had always done his duty so well and truly.15 The book, which was intended for children aged from seven to nine, gained a wide popularity and was extensively used in schools and at home. A second edition was called for in 1905, when it was reprinted in the same dark green limp cloth as the first edition. This was stereotyped by Harris & Son and prepared for the press by Mr. Alroy M. Cohen. A third edition came out in 1923 in an attractive coloured hard cover with illustrations added. Perhaps the best tribute that can be paid to it is the frequent suggestion that another edition should be issued. It is not possible to give an adequate description of Pulver's Bible Stories merely by recording that it covers in 46 little chapters the story of the Bible from the creation to the reign of Solomon. The greatest stress is laid on the book of Genesis, which takes up 138 pages out of 236. Of later events and persons, only Moses is at all fully covered, while Samuel, David and Solomon have only a chapter each. This, however, is not a criticism. Pulver set out to deal chiefly with the earlier history, which lends itself more to presentation for children than the more complicated political and religious events of the times of the Prophets and the Kingdoms. When all these matters are considered and due effect is given to the success Pulver attained in writing for children, it will be conceded that his Bible Stories was an achievement of which he and his community might have been justly proud. 44 Australian Jewish Historical Society. The next item appeared in 1892. It was a Hebrew and English vocabulary intended to be used in the Hebrew School, and contained about 650 words. It was only a small booklet of 31 pages, and was lithographed from the manuscript of Louis Pulver. The pages also were small, 4^" x 5|", and there was no cover, the title being printed on the outer page. Whether or not Pulver compiled it is not known, but since he was certainly responsible for the writing, it is probable that he did. Copies of it now seem to be extremely rare. The only one accessible is that of Rabbi Falk. The vocabulary was supplemented two years later by a set of exercises rather cumbersomely entitled Elementary Exercises in Hebrew Grammar for Use in the Hebrew School and for Home Practice. Though described as Part One, no other part was ever published. It, too, was litho- graphed from the manuscript of Louis Pulver, whose clear writing made him very fit for the task. In the preface, which is dated at Sydney on 15th July, 1894, the anony- mous author (presumably Pulver) says that the exercises were not written as an aid to self-study, and do not follow the course of any particular text book. They were intended to supplement grammar lessons given in school. There are 73 exercises ranging from simple examples of the definite article, through the suffixes, and the construct state of the noun to short sentences. These sentences are quite uncom- plicated. A few chosen at random from the latter part of the book will show the standard ultimately reached : "They were angry," "And he visited Joseph," "And Moses cried unto our Lord." There were also some grammatical tests on the verb. On the whole it does not give evidence of a high standard of Hebrew, though this statement must be qualified by the admission that we do not know the age range for which it was intended. To-day our eleven-year- old pupils in those classes which meet most frequently would have no difficulty with the exercises. There is still another booklet of Pulver's to be men- tioned. He called it Word-for-Word Translations of Selected Passages from the Prayer Book for Use in the Hebrew School. It is small, the same size as the exercises, in a pale blue paper cover, but printed, not lithographed as the others had been, and it contained 40 pages. The work is undated, but since it uses Rev. 's translation it must have appeared after 1890, the date of Singer's first edition. As well as extracts from the Prayer History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 45 Book, it contained some translations from the Psalms and a few from the Pentateuch, including the Ten Command- ments. Pulver makes it clear in the preface that he does not intend to supersede but only to simplify Singer. The main feature of the book was that, except in the case of a few familiar phrases, each individual Hebrew word is marked off in the translation by a perpendicular stroke. The result can best be shown by two short examples :— V'ohavto : And thou shalt love | the Lord | thy God | with all ] thy heart | and with all | thy soul | and with all | thy might. Hashkeevinoo : Cause us to lie down | O Lord | our God | in peace j and cause us to rise up | O our King | to life. All these books are stated on their title pages to have been published by "The Hebrew School, Sydney." This must have meant the Sydney Jewish Education Board, of which Pulver was headmaster, and which was colloquially called the Hebrew School, as its successor is to-day. They were the only publishing ventures of the Board, and no doubt were very useful at the time. Now they have been superseded by other more extensive elementary grammars, but one must not on any account fail to appreciate the work and idealism that went into them. In 1906, the Sydney Jewish Sabbath School produced its last publication. It was not strictly a text book, but an order of service, and therefore outside the scope of this essay. Entitled Chilarens Service at the Conclusion of School, it contained 16 pages in Hebrew and English, mostly quotations from the ordinary prayers. Those specially composed are notable for their simplicity, and a child of ten or eleven should have had no difficulty in understanding them and reading them with sincerity. Since the suggestion of a Children's Service after classes originated with Rabbi Cohen, who became President in 1905, it is probable that he compiled the Order of Service. The minutes for 4th November, 1905, would certainly create that impression. The only existing copy is in the Percy J. Marks collection in the Mitchell Library, and is referred to in the supplement to his Bibliography. Forty years were to elapse before any other educa- tional publication came from Sydney. The text book shortage had become acute. The war had disrupted organisations overseas, and had raised the price of books to impossible levels. Conditions here varied greatly from those abroad, and by 1945 it was obvious that the only way out was to print our own material for both religious 46 Australian Jewish Historical Society. knowledge and Hebrew. In 1946, then, two books were published by the New South Wales Board of Jewish Education. The first was An Outline of Jewish Religious Know- ledge, compiled by Mr. A. Rothfield. Its title page described it as "Lesson Notes for Teacher and Pupil," and those words correctly assess its aim and its use. There is no preface, but a note by Mr. Rothfield in the Annual Report for 1946 tells us something of the object of the work. The booklet is an extension of the cyclostyled teaching notes I had used myself and had given to the teachers and senior pupils to use for the past twenty years. I would point out, however, that there is still much left for the teacher to add to these summarised notes. . . . They are suitable for children aged eleven to thirteen. The Outline of Jewish Religious Knowledge is a booklet of 45 pages, printed in English with most Hebrew words in unpointed Hebrew letters, as well as in trans- lation and transliteration. It is bound in orange paper and printed by the Shepson Printing Company. Although the cover and title page refer to it as "School Publication 1," nothing followed it as part of a series. The contents are generally in note form, but include almost everything the child would need to know of elementary religious knowledge. Two quotations will suffice to show the method Mr. Rothfield used :— MEZUZAH. Door post sign. (a) Commanded in the 1st and 2nd paragraphs of the Shema. "And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thy house and upon thy gates." (b) Made up of a handwritten parchment scroll containing the first two paragraphs of the Shema. (c) On the reverse side is the word Shaddai, Almighty. (d) Placed on the right hand side of entrance, exit and all living and sleeping rooms. od, i.e., God is everywhere. Hence־e) Sign of omnipresence of G) one of God's names, Hamakom, the place. Not everything is in note form. Here are the first two paragraphs of the chapter on the calendar :— The Jewish day lasts from Sunset to Sunset, because if you read the very first chapter of the Torah you will notice that at •the end of each day of creation, "And it was evening and it was morning," one day, the second day, and so on to the sixth. Then again, in reference to Yom Kippur in Leviticus, Ch. xxiii, we find "In the evening, from, evening to evening you shall keep your Sabbath." The best summary method of indicating the scope of the work is to reproduce the Index. Prom it some idea of the complete coverage given will be gained :— The Commandments. Bar Mitzvoh. The Thirteen Principles. Notes on the Thirteen Principles. The Dietary Laws. The Sabbath. History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 47 Reminders of God's Presence. The Bible. The Five Megillos. The Calendar. Prayer. The Festivals. Other Festivals and Fasts. Some Texts of Moral Duties. Tradition. The Synagogue. The Marriage Ceremony. Love of God and Fear of God. Reverence towards the Dead. Things required in a Jewish Home. The book was a conspicuous success, and only the huge cost of printing prevents a second edition. There are some disadvantages in the note form, especially if the book is given to pupils too young for it, but it is certainly pre- ferable to the expensive and advanced works otherwise available. The Board, staff and pupils owe a debt to the

ABRAHAM ROTHFIELD. learned author who spent so much time on the book, and so impressed it with his own personality and methods of teaching. We turn now to consider the Board's other publication in 1946—the Hebrew primer, Dan and Gad. This was a German work by Zeev W. Neier, published before the Second World War and in wide use in Europe. The Sydney publication was printed here by Shepson Printing Company from photographs of the original. The binding has a cloth spine and attractive paper-covered boards. 48 Australian Jewish Historical Society. illustrated in black and green. A vocabulary in Hebrew and English was provided by Rev. C. Steinhof (Stanton), none having been given in the German editions. In his foreword, Dr. Porush, the Director of Education, described it as "an educationally sound instrument," praised its "refreshing presentation," and commended its religious spirit. Mr. Stanton's preface sets out its objects and method more fully :— The modern method adopted in this primer starts immediately with the words taken from the sphere of life known to the children. Every word has a meaning. Every page has,a new little story. Dan and Gad are the names of the two boys whom we accompany through their first school year. We see them in their daily life, enjoy with them Shabbos and Festivals, and listen to the news they ׳ .receive from Eretz Israel The print is clear, the stories simple, the vocabulary easy of comprehension, and grammatical rules reduced to the very barest minimum. It is not a perfect instrument for the teaching of reading, but it is extremely good for the middle grade of pupil—those from about eight to ten, who can by then read with comparative ease. Perhaps its out- standing feature is the way in which Jewish religious life is integrated into it, so that it falls out of that common class of primer which seems to consider Hebrew divorced from the rest of Jewish education. It has fulfilled a real need in Sydney, and is still in constant use in the Board's classes. For his initiative in choosing it and his work in providing the vocabulary, the thanks of many people are due to Mr. Stanton. Finally we come to Ittoni, a magazine for children published by the New South Wales Board of Jewish Education. It owed its existence to the obvious necessity of such a paper and to the advocacy of Mr. M. H. Keller- man, President of the Board in 1946-7. The first two issues were cyclostyled, the next two lithographed, and the remaining sixteen printed. It appeared, at first under the title, The School Paper, from Chanukah, 1949, to the High Holy Days of 1953. Originally it was intended for circu- lation in the Board's own classes, but eventually sales were made to similar bodies in other States and New Zealand. The children liked it, for it was carefully edited to provide material for various age groups, occasionally larger print being used for matter designed for the very young. Ittoni made its appearance at Festival time, so that for the most part it dealt with the current period of the Jewish year. It did contain, however, much that was of History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 49 general interest, historical and religions. There were puzzles, quizzes and illustrations to enliven it, and short stories to heighten the pupils' interest. Much of the writing was done by Mr. Rothfield; the collection of material from other publications for older children was the work of Mr. Stanton. For the greater part of the period .I־it was edited with great care and pleasure by Mr. M. I Cohen, son of a former headmaster, who devoted a great deal of time to it. The cost of printing and the difficult financial position of the Board have brought Ittoni to an end. It is a pity, because it fulfilled a useful purpose. These things have precluded other publications, too, and thereby have deprived pupils of much that they should have. One hundred years have passed since Rev. M. R. Cohen began the short set of Jewish educational publications in New South Wales. It seems that very little has been done, that far too much reliance has been placed on material from overseas. Whatever the reasons, the list has con- eluded, at least temporarily. While each separate publi- cation was a creditable effort, suitable for its object and time, the total is not impressive. Perhaps in the future we can do better. STANDARDS, 1884 AND 1954. It is a commonplace that our Jewish educational standards to-day are not what they were, but in some respects that is not true. It is undoubtedly so as far as concerns Hebrew, but the file of papers now about to be considered shows little change between 1884 and 1954 in the standard of religious and historical knowledge. We possess among the archives of the New South Wales Board of Jewish Education the examination papers, questions and answers, of the Sydney Jewish Sabbath School for 1884. The object of this essay is to offer a brief comparison between the standards then reached and those of the most recent examination of our present Board held in November, 1954. Let us put two papers side by side. The boys' examination paper for the top class, aged about 13, was set in 1884 as follows :— SECTION A—BIBLE. (Answer any three paragraphs out of these six.) 1. What occurred at Rephidim ? 2. What was the fifth Plague ? Tell all you know about it. 50 Australian Jewish Historical Society.

3. (a) Who was Moses ? (b) What was the name of his father, mother, sister and brother; the name of his wife, children, and his father-in-law 1 4. What occurred at Massah and Meribah ? 5. (a) What was the Golden Calf ? (b) Who did not worship it ? (c) What was peculiar about Moses' appearance when he came down with the second two tablets of stone t 6. (a How long could a Hebrew be a slave ? (b) Give the law upon the subject. (c) Why must we not vex a stranger ? (d)What was the law about the land every seven years ? SECTION B—JEWISH RITES. 1. Why do we count the Omer ? 2. (a) Why do we drink four cups of wine on Seder night ? (b) What is the Aphikoman and what does it mean ? 3. When is Pentecost ? Give all its names. 4. (a) Give all the names for the New Year. (b) The names of the blasts of the Shofar 1 (c) What is done at home .on the first night of the New Year ? (d) What ceremony is performed on the first afternoon of the New Year ? SECTION C—GENERAL. 1. Write out the Fifth Commandment. 2. Write out or give the meaning of the third Creed. 3. (a) Who was the first King ? Who succeeded him ? (b) Who was Samuel's mother ? (c) What tribe was nearly destroyed in the time of the Judges and how many escaped '? 4. (a) Who were the two spies who brought back a true report 1 (b) Why did Miriam and Aaron rebel against Moses ? (c) Who was Isaac's wife ? 5. (a) Why is the ninth day of Ab observed ? (b) Why is Chanu- kah observed ? (c) Why is Purim observed ? Four sets of answers exist, but this may not represent all the members of the class. I have amused mvself marking them. Top mark was 92%, second 89, followed by 75 and 68. It should be noted that these pupils attended only on Sabbaths, could not have stayed very long in school after services, and could not have taken notes. A comparable class of to-day, therefore, might be the one I have myself taught during the past year. It had 22 pupils, boys and girls, and met for two and a half hours on Sunday mornings throughout the year. The average age at the end of the year was 13 years and 1 month. Almost all the boys are receiving other lessons connected with their Barmitzvah, but it may be taken that the four boys of 1884 also had outside tuition. The 1954 paper is rather longer, and two hours were allotted to it. The 1884 paper gives no time limit. The modern reads as follows :— History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 51 A—RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. (100 Marks.) 1. Give the Hebrew dates and English names of : (a) Shemini Atzereth. (b) Chanukah. (c) Asarah B'Tebeth. (d) Purim. (e) Shavuoth. 2. Write the names of the thirteen months of the Jewish leap year in their correct order. Why are there thirteen months in a Jewish leap year ? 3. Name the three Major Prophets and two of the Minor Prophets. What is a Prophet ? 4. What articles are required for the Habdalah Service ? In what way is each used ? 5. What is (a) Etz Chaim, (b) Chuppah, (c) Shochet, (d) Kaddish, (e) Bimah, (f) Arba Kanfoth, (g) Charoseth, (h) Maror, (i) Maoz Tzur, (j) Challah f 6. What Mitzvoth are commanded in the first and third paragraphs of the Shema ? 7. Write in Hebrew, using Hebrew or English letters, the blessings for (a) Wine, (b) Radishes, (c) Thunder. 8. What are the four names of New Year 1 Write a note (about 10 lines) on Yom Kippur. 9. Write out the Third, Fifth and Ninth Commandments. 10. Describe the events of the siege of Jerusalem (586 B.C.E.) as shown by the Fasts which commemorate it, and give the dates of the Fasts. B—HISTORY. (50 Marks.) 1. What people ruled Palestine at the time of Joshua's Conquest ? 2. How did Joshua capture Jericho ? 3. What were the Tel-el-Amarna letters ? ,Why were they impor- tant in Jewish history ? 4. Why is Deborah famous 1 5. What was Jephthah's vow ? 6. What was a Nazirite ? 7. What caused the sudden death of Eli ? 8. Why did the people of Israel want a King f 9. Who anointed David as King of Israel ? 10. With what foreign Kingdoms did Solomon make alliances % 11. Who built the Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan f 12. Why was Ahab regarded as a wicked King ? 13. What was the miracle on Mount Carmel ? 14. Who was Elijah's pupil and successor ? 15. What is the Siloam tunnel ? 16. Who succeeded Hezekiah as King ? 17. Who was King when the Book of the Law was found in the Temple 1 18. What was the date of the "First Captivity of Judalx" ? 19. Who wrote the book of Lamentations 1 20. Write a short composition (about 10 lines) on any two of Ihe following : (a) The story of the spies of Jericho. (b) The causes of the division of the Kingdom after the death of Solomon. (c) The religious teachings of Isaiah. (d) The work of King Hezekiah. 52 Australian Jewish Historical Society. The examination also included questions on the geography of Israel and a test in Hebrew reading, which have been omitted from this comparison. Top mark was 86%, followed by 84, 83 and 82. All except two pupils attained the pass standard of 50%. It seems to me, after some years of teaching for the Board of Education, but without wishing to pose as an expert, that the modern paper is the harder. It is certainly the longer and more comprehensive. The difference in marks between the four pupils of 1884 and the first four of 1954 is slightly in favour of the latter. Of course, a much more minute consideration of these papers and of those of various other classes that survive from 1884 could have been made, but my impression is, after reading them all and comparing them with papers recently set for our younger children, that to-day's are at least equal. I would conclude that our present pupils know a little more of religion and history than their forebears. I would not make the same statement in regard to Hebrew. No paper exists, for the Sabbath School did not then teach Hebrew, but there seems little doubt that the standard of Hebrew, as of other languages, is lower than it was. Taken all in all, I think that, apart from Hebrew, there has been no sign of a fall and every indication of a rise in our standard of knowledge. (The remaining two essays will be printed in the next issue of this Journal.)

NOTES. 1 The chequered career of the various day schools of Sydney is sketched by P. J. Marks in Early Jewish Education in Sydney : Journal, Vol. I., p. 25. 2 Great Synagogue Jubilee Souvenir, p. 8. 3 The Minute Book is in the possession of the New South Wales Board of Jewish Education (See Marks, op. cit., p. 38). The minutes of the first two meetings are in Davis' handwriting. 4 Marks, op. cit., p. 31. 5 Minutes, 26th February, 1863. 6 Jewish Tear Boole, 5664 (1903-4), p. 67. .Ibid, p. 325 ד 8 Phillips was not the foundation Hon. Secretary, as stated in the Great Synagogue Jubilee Souvenir. That honour goes to Lewis Lipman. 9 Presumably the reference is to Rev. A. P. Mendez's Torath Moshe—The Law of Moses : A Catechism of the Jewish Religion, published in London in 1861 (Jacobs and Wolf : Bibliotheca Anglo- Judaica, p. 226). 10 Marks, op. cit., p. 33. History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 53

11 The reference may be to David Asher's Outlines of the Jewish Religion (1845) or to Rev. B. H. Aseher's Initiation of Youth (1850) (Jacobs and Wolf, op. cit., pp. 224.5). Little reliance can be placed on the spelling of "Asher" in the original letter. 12 As to Zion House School, see Journal, Vol. III., pp. 12-13. 13 Ibid. 14 First Edition, p. 56. 15 First Edition, p. 105.

The Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910.

By RAYMOND APPLE. (Read before the Victorian Branch of the Society, 9th March, 1955.) The great Dr. Arnold once said of history that there were two things we ought to learn from it—"one, that we are not in ourselves superior to our fathers; another, that we are shamefully and monstrously inferior to them, if we do not advance beyond them." My aim in this paper is to present some of what the people who were our fathers, literally or metaphorically, achieved in the years from 1900 to 1910. The Jewish community in those days was as lively an entity as it is to-day; but I am not going to say more than that in com- parison of the two periods, ours and theirs. I leave it to the members of this Society, and to the historian of the future, to judge whether we Jews of to-day have, in fact, in Thomas Arnold's words, advanced beyond our fathers. I shall have quite a lot to say about some of the foun- dations that were laid, and some of the communal efforts carried on, between 1900 and 1910. This paper is, there- fore, an attempt to follow up the researches of Rabbi L. M. Goldman on the Victorian Jewish community in the nineteenth century. The period 1900 to 1910 is one that brings recorded Jewish history here nearer to our own time, and it is a decade that is clearly well within living memory of many people. Many of the names and incidents I mention will be familiar to members of this Society. I would like it to be borne in mind that in describing such a period it is necessary to use restraint and no little tact, and it is. often difficult to discuss happenings of so recent a period in a correct, unbiased perspective. 54 Australian Jewish Historical Society. In this first decade of the century, 's popu- lation was about one and a quarter millions. There were about six thousand Jews, They represented some half of one per cent, of the total population—something the same proportion that Jews form here to-day. It is interesting to note, however, that the Jewish population, which is re- corded by the Story of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation as being 5,907 in 1901, was, in fact, smaller than it had been ten years previously, when there had been about 6,459 Jews in Victoria.1 This decrease of about five hundred is certainly no evidence of any real decline in the community, as the land boom of the 1880's had brought several hundred Jews to Victoria, and the acute depression which followed the boom caused many to leave Victoria for New South Wales, and probably also for Western , where the gold fever was bringing new prosperity, which was marked, just as it had been in Victoria forty years previously, by the establishment or consolidation of Jewish communities in Fremantle, Perth, Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie. The Jews in Victoria were generally well settled and well adjusted, and keenly interested, as always, in Shule politics and in the welfare of their less fortunate brethren all over the world. The cost of living was, of course, much cheaper than to-day—you could buy a pound of tea for 1/6, and Snider's Matzoth sold in 1907 at 5d. a pound.

THE PROVINCIAL COMMUNITIES. There were Jewish communities, as well as in Melbourne, in , Ballarat and Geelong. Ballarat and Geelong have both been the subjects of past papers read to this Society, Geelong Jewry being dealt with by Mr. Isidor Solomon, and Ballarat by that doyen of historians, Mr. Nathan F. Spielvogel. To the best of my knowledge, Bendigo has not yet been surveyed for the Society. That city's Jewish com- munity has had an interesting, pathetic, and only too common story, which I know has been related, at least up to the end of the nineteenth century, by Rabbi Goldman. The picture of Bendigo congregation in the 1900's is of a small community making a valiant attempt at survival, but gradually dying out. The congregation had a Minister for some years in the person of the Rev. Jacob D. Goldstein (who had been trained in Ballarat). After Goldstein's death in July, Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 55 1904, the Minister for a few months was the Rev. Isaac Amber Bernstein. Mr. Bernstein was born in Ballarat in 1869, and even to-day he still returns to his native city to conduct the High Holy Day services. When he was in Bendigo, there was little scope, due largely to the diminish- ing size of the congregation, and he left in early 1906 to go to Ohristchurch, New Zealand. Bendigo Synagogue was dying out, although contemporary papers seem to indicate there still being some provision for Kashruth. After Mr. Bernstein's departure, there were very few Barmitzvahs, and the infrequent marriages and funerals were probably conducted by the Rev. Benzion Lenzer of Ballarat. High Holy Day services were generally led by L. Matenson, who had a Hebrew school in Carlton. The leaders of the dying community appear to have been the Hon. J. Sternberg, M.L.C., who at the end of the decade was President of the Synagogue, and H. Fryberg, who around the same time was Treasurer.2 There is now no Synagogue or organised Jewish community left in Bendigo, although I believe there are about a dozen Jews there, all having settled in the last ten years or so.3 The position at Geelong in the 1900's was not so pessimistic.4 The congregation was small, but intensely interested in its Jewishness. Kashruth was in existence. The Rev. Joel Falk was Minister from 1893 to 1896, and later, from about 1907 to 1917, he led the High Holy Day services. He later became a reader in the St. Kilda Synagogue. Stalwarts of the congregation included Messrs. Morris Jacobs, senr., who was President from 1887 until he died in 1927, aged 102; Henry Isaac Crawcour, a solicitor, who was at different times Secretary and President; Samuel Michael; Alderman Julius Solomon, J.P.; and Cr. Solomon Jacobs, J.P., Mayor of Geelong in 1901 and on several later occasions, Solomon Jacobs was the son of Morris Jacobs.5 The Geelong community is still active, and last year (1954) the congregation cele- brated its centenary. A much more turbulent community was Ballarat.6 The strong congregation there was led by the Rev. Israel Morris Goldreich for 37 years, until his death at the age of 71 in 1905. Goldreich, who lives on in his appearance in many of the stories of old Ballarat written by Mr. Nathan Spielvogel, was truly beloved by the Ballarat con- gregation, and was a strong force making for the unity which was shattered three years after his death. Goldreich 56 Australian Jewish Historical Society. had formerly been with the East Melbourne, Hobart, and Macquarie Street (Sydney) congregations. He was eminent in Masonic circles, and had a reputation as a staunch civic representative of his people. Goldreich's successor was the Rev. Benzion Lenzer, brother of the Rev. Jacob Lenzer of East Melbourne. Benzion Lenzer had previously been Shochet in Perth, and came to Ballarat in 1902 to assist the Rev. I. M. Goldreich.7 Benzion Lenzer introduced in the 1900's a Jewish Literary and Debating Society in Ballarat, and was an enthusiastic Zionist.73 He was in Ballarat until 1921, when he became Minister of the Newtown Synagogue (Sydney). In 1908 an open dispute broke out between two sections of the Ballarat community, one faction, consisting mostly of Russian refugees who were in the main fruit hawkers, condemning the Minister and Board of Management as not being sufficiently orthodox.8 The result was the formation of a breakaway Minyan, which, calling itself the Central Hebrew Congregation, held its first services on Rosh Hashanah, 1908. Mark Rosenthal was president of this congregation, H. S. Simmons was treasurer, and S. Spiel- vogel secretary. The Rev. M. M. Levy was appointed Minister. Mr. Nathan Spielvogel, in one of his articles in our Society's Journal, describes Mr. Levy as a bright young man."9 The new Minyan rented a shop in Victoria Street, a Hebrew school was commenced with apparently as many as thirty pupils, and the erection of a permanent Synagogue was mooted. There were at the time no more than thirty or forty Jewish families in the district ! The feud between the factions was patched up after four years, with the return in 1912 of the breakaway section to the main congregation. THE MELBOURNE COMMUNITY. We now come to discussing the Melbourne community in these years, and this will be done under broad headings of communal activity—, Zionism, etc. THE PRESS. Much of the source material for this period comes from issues of The Jewish Herald, which was first issued on 12th December, 1879. It was published from an office in Alfred Place, off Collins Street, and its editor from its Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 57 inception to 1904 was the Rev. Elias Blaubaum, Minister of the St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation.10 Perusal of issues of his day shows with what distinction he edited the communal organ. He came here in 1873 from , with no knowledge at all of the English language. In fact, his first sermons were delivered in German—which was little hardship to many of his congre- gants, who were themselves German Jews. After only a few years here, he founded and edited a journal with a comprehensive cover of news from all over Australia, New Zealand, and the world; with scholarly and yet not abstruse articles; and with masterly editorials, written in impeccable but not pompous English.11 Mr. Blaubaum died in 1904, and was succeeded as Editor by Moses Moses, M.A., LL.B., the Superintendent of the United Jewish Education Board. Moses was editor until his death in 1919. In these years the technical format of the paper was still Victorian, with closely-printed columns and few illustrations; although with the later years of the decade there came gradual improvement and modernisation in appearance. THE SYNAGOGUES. Let us consider some of the affairs Jews of those days were interested in. One topic of conversation was always Shule politics. There were in Melbourne at the time three main Synagogues—Melbourne, East Melbourne, and St. Kilda. At the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Bourke Street, one of the main internal bones of contention was, as ever, finance. In 1900 the Synagogue was mortgaged for fG^OO^2 In 1902 urgent repairs were needed to the Synagogue buildings, but these were deferred for lack of finance until 1905. In that year the Synagogue wTas closed and the repairs effected. In the meantime, services took pla<3e in the old Synagogue at the rear of the Bourke Street property. This was the original Synagogue building, erected in 1847 and superseded by the larger Synagogue in 1854, after which it was used for the Melbourne Hebrew School rooms, and for overflow services when necessary. It was later used as a gymnasium for Jewish clubs, and its last use was for services held between the demolition of the main Bourke Street Synagogue in April, 1929, and the opening of the Toorak Road building on 25th May, 1930. The Minister at Bourke Street in the 1900's was Rabbi 58 Australian Jewish Historical Society. Dr. Joseph Abrahams, M.A., Ph.D. Dr. Abrahams, who had held office since 1883, was a scholar of no mean order, and a profound thinker. In his early manhood he had been offered the opportunity to train to be Haham—head of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogues in England. He was the brother of the famous Dr. , of Jews' College and Cambridge.13 Rabbi Abrahams' views were deep, but shrewd. He was never afraid to speak his 'mind. What is more, when he was outspoken people listened and took note. On one occasion in 1900, when the garden and fence of the Monte- fiore Homes needed attention, Moss Marks,14 the then Treasurer of the Philanthropic Society, suggested raising the necessary funds from a ball or a euchre party. Dr. Abrahams did not mind a ball, but objected to a euchre party. "There is," he said, "quite sufficient gambling amongst the community."15 Dr. Abrahams was the centre of a great controversy in 1903. More than one reason has been advanced for this. There had been some sort of conflict with the lay leaders over the question of admitting proselytes. There seemed also to be some inability in Dr. Abrahams to work harmoniously with the Rev. S. M. Solomon, Assistant Minister of the congregation. When both matters came to a crisis, Dr. Abrahams, in September, 1903, resigned his position.'16 A deputation of Past Presidents of the Syna- gogue waited on him to try to induce him to withdraw his resignation. After two months of uncertainty, their efforts were successful. But, at this juncture, the Rev. S. M. Solomon resigned as second reader, although he retained the post of Synagogue Secretary. After a brief interval, the Rev. Joel Falk was appointed second reader in his stead.17 This arrangement lasted until 1906, when the congre- gation was again in financial strife. In December, 1906, a meeting of the congregation, in the interests of economy, dispensed with Mr. Falk's services and agreed that the Secretary should be reinstated as second reader.18 At the second oldest congregation, East Melbourne, affairs during these years were much less tempestuous. The Minister there was the Rev. Jacob Lenzer, who had been with the congregation since 1888. Lenzer had an artistic style and a rich voice, and was a cantor in the best traditions of Chazanuth. He was a very popular Minister, without whom, I am told, no communal function was ever Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 59 considered complete. He was an eminent Freemason, the Worshipful Master of the Lodge of Australia Felix (1908) and Grand Chaplain of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria (1910). His congregation, regarded as the most orthodox in Victoria, was led by men who, time after time, showed their loyalty when the congregation was in financial difficulty. One such was Mendel Cohen, who was on the Board of Management almost uninterruptedly from 1875 for 34 years, becoming Treasurer in 1885, and President, for the first of many terms, in 1890. Cohen, a jeweller and pawnbroker in Russell Street, died in 1909. In 1903, Mendel Cohen was presented by A. Harris, J.P., the then President, with an illuminated address from the congregation in recognition of his services,19 This honour was also accorded by the East Melbourne congre- gation in these years to, among others, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Altson and Mr. and Mrs. B. H. Altson.20 At St. Kilda congregation, the Rev. Elias Blaubaum, who has been mentioned above, was Minister.21 He must have wielded rather a powerful influence on communal thought in his triple capacity as Minister, member of the Beth Din, and Editor. He died after a serious illness on 21st April, 1904. He had been the first Minister of the St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation, and had held office for nearly 31 years. A memorial service took place in the St. Kilda Syna- gogue on 3rd June, 1904, conducted by the Revs. Dr. J. Abrahams, J. Lenzer and I. M. Goldreich, and Joel Fred- man and Abraham Feuerman. The latter two gentlemen were both officials of the St. Kilda Congregation for many years, and they accepted the burden of the whole of the congregational work for over a year until a new minister could take over.22 The St. Kilda Synagogue, at this time situated on a different site in Charnwood Grove, underwent in 1904 structural alterations designed by Mr. Nahum Barnet, a prominent architect,23 For the purpose of these altera- tions a sum of £500 had been bequeathed to the congregation by Moritz Michaelis, principal founder of the congregation, who died in November, 1902. Michaelis had been the first President of the St. Kilda Synagogue, and had laid the foundation stone of the original building.24 To return to saying something of the St. Kilda Minister, at the end of 1904 F. D. Michaelis and Meyer Zeltner were in London, and these two gentlemen, members of the Con- 60 Australian Jewish Historical Society. gregation's Board of Management, recommended that a new Minister be appointed in the person of the Rev. Jacob Danglow, then aged 24, a senior student at Jews' College and President of the Jews' College Union Society. Mr. (now Rabbi) Danglow arrived in Melbourne on 15th September, 1905—fifty years ago this year—and it is obvious from reading different accounts, and from the opinions of people who remember Rabbi Danglow's early years here, that he infused new life into the community.

RABBI DANGLOW.

People soon realised that a force had come among them. Early accounts, which we to-day can so well corroborate, speak of his unboasting character and his tire- less energy. This Society would do well to celebrate Rabbi Danglow's jubilee year of activity in Australia by inviting him to address a. future meeting on the subject of his reminiscences. Rabbi Danglow's name will be mentioned shortly with regard to several organisations he had a hand in founding. It is worthy of note that, at the end of 1908, Rabbi Danglow was first appointed a Chaplain to the Citizen Military Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 61 Forces. He is to-day the Senior Jewish Chaplain for the Commonwealth, and for his services to Jewry and Australia has been awarded the decorations of V.D. and O.B.E. In addition to the three metropolitan congregations, all through the decade we are discussing the new arrivals of our people held services in Carlton and elsewhere in little minyanim. These minyanim, a notable one of which was at No. 6 Grattan Street, and was held by J. E. Stone and the Rev. Moses Saunders (the senior Melbourne Shochet of the day),25 later grew into the Woolf Davis Chevra, the Carlton United Hebrew Congregation, and the North Carl- ton Beth Hamedrash. MOVES FOR FEDERATING THE CONGREGATIONS. This was a decade that saw quite a lot of agitation for some framework for co-operation between the three main Melbourne congregations, and even between all Synagogues in Australia. Back in 1898, a meeting of delegates from Melbourne, East Melbourne and St. Kilda had resolved : "That a Board . . . be formed for the purpose of adopting joint action in connection with such communal matters as may be agreed upon."26 The Hon. Nathaniel Levi, mention of whom will be made later, wished to extend the scheme to found a United Synagogue, on English lines, but the time was not yet ripe, and all that was achieved was some form of loose consultation. In 1901, the Commonwealth celebrations in Sydney were attended by Rabbi Dr. Abrahams as a guest of the New South Wales Government; inspired by the federal idea and by the Melbourne Rabbi's presence, the Sydney Great Synagogue suggested periodic conferences of ministers and lay representatives of the various congre- gations in Australia. The Story of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation records that that congregation notified that "it wras willing to fall in with their view," but goes on to say that "once again, the proposal remained only an expression."27 The St. Kilda Congregation's Annual Report for 1901 ascribes the abandonment of the project to the members of the local Beth Din declining to attend an inaugural meeting.28-29 There the matter has since remained, except for the recent formation of the Congregational Committee of the Board of Deputies. 62 Australian Jewish Historical Society.

KASHRUTH, PROSELYTES AND THE CHEVRA KADISHA. The main communal problems of the 1900's which needed united action included Kashruth, the ever-recurring problem of the admission of proselytes, and the formation of a united burial society. Of these, Kashruth was placed on a much more satisfactory footing than previously when the Melbourne United Shechita Board was formed, consist- ing of representatives of the Melbourne, Bast Melbourne and St. Kilda Synagogues. I noticed in a 1903 Jewish Herald an interesting para- graph referring to Kashruth in Melbourne. The paragraph reads :— A visit on Saturday evening to one of the Kosher butcher shops, say that in Little Collins Street, shows that there is still much demand for Kosher meat, and people from the far outlying districts do not mind the extra trouble in coming to town for their regular supply and to have their poultry killed in the prescribed way.30 Another problem needing concerted action was that of proselytes. There had been, in the 1890's, a Board for the Admission of Proselytes, with representatives of both the Beth Din and the lay leaders, but this had ceased activity by 1899. The 1900's dawned as a decade of crisis. In 1903 there were, it seems, quite a number of people wishing to be accepted into the Jewish faith, and some arrangement had to be arrived at which would satisfy both the conscience of the Ministers and the wishes of the community. The problem, as stated above, was partly responsible for Dr. Abraham's resignation in that year. No happy solution presented itself, however, and it was not until two yea,rs later that all Victorian congre- gations sent representatives to Bourke Street for the purpose of considering re-formation of a Proselytes' Board. In June, 1905, they established a "Guerim and Gueros" Board, comprising two representatives from each of Melbourne, East Melbourne, St. Kilda and Ballarat congre- gations, and one from each of Bendigo and Geelong. The Board lasted till 1910.31 Apart from the movement to form this Board, another important matter was agitation from different quarters to form a united Chevra Kadisha, or Jewish Burial Society. As early at September, 1900, the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation had proposed establishing a Chevra Kadisha, and wrote to the St. Kilda Congregation in the matter. St. Kilda replied, however, that it was their intention to establish such a society locally, and the proposal was then apparently dropped by its initiators.32 Joseph Waxman, Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 63 Philip Blashki and others tried throughout the decade to get people interested, and finally, in 1909, the Melbourne Chevra Kadisha came into being, its initial officers being : Philip Blashki, J.P., President; Vice-Presidents, Joseph Waxman and Isaac Altson; Hon. Treasurer, S. Rothberg; and Hon. Secretary, Dr. J. Leon Jona. Rabbi Danglow moved the resolution which brought the Chevra Kadisha into existence.

MOVES FOR A BOARD OF DEPUTIES. The moves to federate the congregations were widened and extended by a movement, started in 1906, which aimed at establishing a Board of Deputies of the Jews of Victoria. In that year, correspondence in the Jewish Herald, as well as personal opinion, reflected the need for an official and properly accredited body for the community. The scheme was for the various congregations, through their representatives, to constitute the Board, and the move- ment was supported by most communal leaders, both lay and ministers, especial support coming from the Rev. Jacob Danglow. The proposal seems, however, to have met some opposition, particularly among leaders of the East Mel- bourne Hebrew Congregation. Nothing came of the scheme at the time. But an interesting sidelight on the idea, as well as an indication of the people most actively associated with it, comes from a letter of appreciation sent in October, 1906, to Mr. B. A. Levinson, M.A., LL.B., by the prime movers. I think it is useful to quote the letter, in part at least :— It is to the great interest you (Mr. Levinson) have taken in the project, and the pains and skill you have expended in investi- gating its details and in devising a constitution for its practical realization that is principally due the bringing of the idea before the Jewish community in a concrete form. Although recent events have shown that public opinion in that community is, on the average, not yet ripe for the adoption of the proposal, we are nevertheless con- vinced that your labours have not been thrown away, and that the suggestion, once promulgated, will slowly but surely germinate and bear fruit at some future time, when wider and sounder views shall prevail among our congregations.33 The letter is signed by Joseph Abrahams, Jacob Danglow, P. Blashki, B. H. Altson, Louis S. Benjamin, Louis P. Jacobs, A. Kozminsky, Bernard Marks, Edward J. Michaelis, and M. Moses. The scheme did not wholly go by the board, for there came eventually after the First World War the formation 64 Australian Jewish Historical Society. of the Victorian Jewish Advisory Board, which is now the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies. .s׳JEWISH EDUCATION IN THE 1900 I would like now to say something of the facilities available for Jewish education in the 1900's, As well as some congregational Hebrew and Sabbath schools, the United Jewish Education Board, founded in 1895, was functioning, and there were a couple of private teachers holding classes in Carlton. These two were L. Matenson and Joseph Barkman, father of the late Miss Frances Barkman. Both of these teachers imparted a Zionist flavour with their teaching. There was a state of standing rivalry between their respective pupils—something which some members of the community will still remember. For some years there was also, I believe, some sort of a Hebrew school run by the Rev. Solomon M. Solomon, of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, who had taught at the Melbourne Hebrew School, the Jewish day school, during its last years. At St. Kilda, the congregation conducted the St. Kilda Hebrew and Sabbath Schools,34 of which the Headmaster was Joel Fredman. He was for very many years not only Headmaster, but also Secretary, Choirmaster, and Second Reader of the St. Kilda Congregation. The Principal of the St. Kilda Hebrew and Sabbath Schools was the Rev. Elias Blaubaum, and later the Rev. Jacob Danglow. The biggest educational institution at the time, just as to-day, was the United Jewish Education Board. This Board had been set up in 1895 to assume control of Hebrew education after the closing of our first day school, the Melbourne Hebrew School. The Board's first President' was the late Sir Isaac Isaacs. In 1899 it had a total of 373 children on the rolls.35 Its main teaching centre was the Old Model School in Spring Street, where it had classes on Sunday mornings and week-day afternoons. Other centres included Scotch College, where a teacher came twice a week to instruct four Jewish pupils; and a school named the University High School, where there were ten Jews. This school was not the present Government-run University High School, but a private school of the same name. In 1905, with the closing of the Model School and the opening of the Melbourne Continuation School—-the jubilee Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 65 of which, incidentally, the is cele- brating this year—the Hebrew classes were transferred to Rathdown Street State School, Carlton.36 The complete list of centres in 1905 was as follows : Rathdown Street, Faraday Street, Lithgow Street, Lee Street, West Melbourne, South Melbourne, and South Yarra, and there were altogether 252 pupils on the roll.87

HON. NATHANIEL LEVI.

The Education Board had a general meeting at the East Melbourne Synagogue on 19th November, 1907, and passed a very interesting resolution, which reads : "That, in the opinion of the United Jewish Education Board, it is desirable to extend its usefulness by adding English instruc- tion to its subjects," It is, however, doubtful whether the resolution was ever put into effect. Presidents of the Board at this time included the Revs. Dr. J. Abrahams, J. Lenzer, and E. Blaubaum (who was 66 Australian Jewish Historical Society. in office at the time of his death), and the Hon. Nathaniel Levi. Levi accepted the Presidency in 1905 chiefly to attempt to put into operation his schemes for the re- establishment of a Jewish day school in Melbourne. In April, 1903, at the Education Board's annual meeting, he had declared that he was still hopeful of seeing a Jewish college established in Melbourne.38 He said he had an absolute promise of £5,000 towards it, and if he could enlist the sympathy of others, and got what he required, the scheme could be successfully carried into effect. However, nothing concrete came of his endeavours in this direction. The Melbourne Hebrew School, closed in 1895, was by that time a memory, and the community apparently did not desire its re-establishment. THE COMMUNAL, ORGANISATIONS. Among the earliest of our communal organisations was the group of philanthropic societies which received no small support from the community, and to which I would like now to refer briefly. There was, first, the Melbourne Jewish Philanthropic Society, which ran, as it still does, the Montefiore Homes for the Aged; then there were the Melbourne Jewish Aid Society, granting interest-free loans; the Jewish Orphan and Neglected Children's Aid Society; and the Melbourne Jewish Mutual Aid Society (now the Melbourne Jewish Friendly Society). Women's organisations included the Melbourne Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Society and the Melbourne Jewish Women's Guild. As always, Jews were active in the philanthropic efforts of the general community. Some examples are the frequent donations to charity given by Joseph Kronheimer, whose liberality also benefited the United Jewish Education Board, and whose estate still makes periodic grants to Jewish and other charities. The principals of most Jewish firms, such as Michaelis, Hallenstein & Co., were also generous givers to all appeals.39 The names of many of the non-philanthropic organisa- tions of the community at the time have long been forgotten. For example, there was a Melbourne Jewish Literary and Debating Society, which ceased in the early years of the century, and which was succeeded in a similar field by the Maccabean Union, founded in 1906. In this, the moving force was the Rev. Jacob Danglow. This Union met regu- Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 67 larly, usually in the St. Kilda Synagogue rooms, to discuss Jewish and other cultural subjects. In Carlton, there existed at No. 6 Grattan Street a Jewish Club and Library, which was probably the prede- cessor of the present Kadimah. Jewish social clubs existed in abundance in this decade. There was the Jewish Lyric Club, established in Carlton in November, 1908, with the aim of producing Jewish opera and comedy in Melbourne. Its first president was L. Loffmann, its treasurer A. Rosen- thai, and its hon. secretary A. Goldstein.40 In the same year, 1908, the Jewish Montefiore Club was formed. This was a social club with rooms in Nichol- son Street, near the Exhibition Building, and these rooms were regularly used for receptions and other simchoth. The Montefiore Club's leaders included Sol. M. Lyons and L. Hyams. Senior to both of these clubs was the Jewish Social Club of Melbourne, founded in December, 1903, under the presidency of Cr. Moses Alexander. One of this Club's notable features was its Annual Jewish Cricket Match. In 1909 a Jewish boys' athletic club was formed, under the name of the Emu Athletic Club. The only name I have been able to discover is that of the hon. secretary, who was P. Levoi.41 Another social club came into being in 1910, when the Melbourne Jewish Harmony Club was organised. This club advertised in the Jewish press that its club room at 189 Lonsdale Street would be available for Jewish functions, and that Minyan was available every evening for those desiring to say Kaddish. REPERCUSSIONS OF THE RUSSIAN POGROMS. There were also organisations that aimed at assisting oppressed European Jews—a very appropriate object in the first decade of the century, which was a decade of particularly fierce pogroms in . The Anglo-Jewish Association (led by Isaac Jacobs) was noted for its willingness to relieve, where possible, the lot of our less fortunate brethren abroad. Isaac Jacobs went abroad in 1907-8. He came back incensed at the persecutions and fired with enthusiasm for the Zangwill movement, the Jewish Territorial Organisation (known as I.T.O.). This organisation aimed at settling oppressed Jews from Eastern Europe in suitable unoccupied areas in other countries. 68 Australian Jewish Historical Society. Jacobs had tried to arrange for a number of Russian Jewish farmers to come to Australia—perhaps to the Northern Territory—but he had met with little definite success.42 On his return to Melbourne, he urged formation of a local branch of I.T.O., and an inaugural meeting on 30th April, 1908, elected as president of the branch Joseph Kronheimer; vice-president, Isaac Jacobs; treasurer, P. Perlstein; hon. secretary, B. A. Levinson; and committee, the Rev. Jacob Danglow, Moss Marks, Max Hirsch, Meyer Zeltner and F. D. Michaelis.43 The efforts to bring Jewish farmers here did bear fruit in 1913 with the formation, on the initiative of Dr. M. A. Schalit and Isaac Jacobs and Abraham Kozminsky, of the first Jewish agricultural settlement in Australia, situated at Shepparton; and, some fifteen years later, with the establishment at Berwick of a similar settlement, under the auspices of the Australian Jewish Land Settlement Trust. I should mention, with regard to assistance to Russian Jews, that in June, 190:3, the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Samuel Grillott, presided over a meeting at the Mel- bourne Town Hall to inaugurate a relief fund, which raised over £600.44 A similar fund, started in 1906 by the St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation, raised more than £2,000.45 BEGINNINGS OF THE LIBERAL MOVEMENT. Isaac Jacobs, whom I have just mentioned, was also very actively interested in another Jewish movement—the agitation for some reform in Judaism. Whenever he could, he urged modification of the ritual and introduction of Sunday services, and throughout the decade the Jewish Herald regularly published long letters from him, often taking up two or more whole pages of the paper, advocating reform.46 Reform was, in fact, his hobby-horse. Some prominent communal workers supported him. Among them were S. Leon, Reuben Moss, Nahum Barnet, A. Benjamin, H. Levinson, Angel Ellis, Alfred Hart and Bernard Levy, and these people held a meeting in December, 1902, to discuss ways and means of "introducing more reverential and de- votional feelings by worshippers at Divine Service." The result was a protracted Press controversy. Its only prae- tical outcome seems to be a decision of the St. Kilda Congregation in August, 1903, arrived at after conferences between the Minister and Board of Management, with the Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 69 effect of introducing several alterations, none contrary to Din, to that Synagogue's services. The prescribed prayers would be said in Hebrew, but before and after the statutory services additional prayers were to be recited in English.47 Isaac Jacobs was still not satisfied, and, due to his agitation, the question flared up repeatedly in the Jewish Herald's columns right through the decade.48 It was, however, not until 1930 that a Liberal Synagogue came into being. THE BEGINNINGS OF ZIONISM. Another auspicious movement begun in this decade was organised Zionist activity. Theodor Herzl had aroused the Jews of the world to enthusiasm with his writings and by means of his speeches and political activity, and Zionism began to be heard of even in far-away Australia.483 But there was, here as elsewhere, much opposition. At the beginning of the decade, the Jewish Herald stated in an editorial : "Except in making speeches the Zionists have not so far met with any success, nor have they im- pressed those outside the circle that they are likely to meet with success. The whole idea is Utopian and nothing more."49 The Victorian Zionist League was founded in 1902 or 1903 with the aim of altering this impression. I think it is quite appropriate and interesting to list some of this League's early stalwarts. They include the Hon. Nathaniel Levi, Abraham Kozminsky, Nahum Barnet, Uscher Richard- son, Marks Herman, Isaac Barnet, J.P., and Barnett Sniders. The Rev. S. M. Solomon was the Secretary. There is another name I must mention—the revered Lazar Slutzkin, whose philanthropy here and in Eretz Israel was a household word. In those days, Zionist finance was not counted in the thousands of pounds of to-day. The leaders were very happy to be given shillings, and even pence, and the Jewish Herald recorded from time to time a list of donations of one shilling. Enthusiasm spread to the country, and a meeting was convened in Ballarat in 1903 to discuss the movement. Benzion Lenzer was a prime mover, and he spoke long and earnestly in an effort to gain support for Zionism, but most speakers were uncertain whether it was wise to form a Zionist Society or not.50 In the end, no society was formed, but those individuals interested gave their support to the Victorian Zionist League in Melbourne. In 1906, the Melbourne Ladies' Branch of the Inter- national Zionist Organisation was formed. The ladies were led by, among others, Mesdames B. H. Altson, L. 70 Australian Jewish Historical Society. Benjamin, S. Moss and Marks Herman, and Misses Frances Barkman and Phoebe Myers. This ladies' group reported in 1909 a very successful year's work, in which £10 had been sent to the J.N.F. and £10 to the Orphan Fund, £5 being in hand.51 In 1907 the Zionists formed a Juvenile League, which held a bazaar at the Protestant Hall on 25th July, 1907, raising over £80 in aid of children orphaned in the Russian pogroms. This bazaar was opened by Mr. Justice Isaacs.52 In time, new names became prominent in the V.Z.L. Some were B. H. Altson (President, 1908), Joseph Levi, J.P. (President, 1910), Cr. H. F. Barnet (Vice-President, 1910), and D. Rosenberg, who succeeded the Rev. S. M. Solomon as Hon. Secretary in 1910. At this time the world Zionist movement was centred at , and in 1907 a letter came to Melbourne from the Zionist Central Bureau there, suggesting that the Australasian Zionist Societies form themselves into an Australasian Zionist Federation.53 A meeting of the V.Z.L. approved formation of the Federation, but nothing seems to have been achieved until many years later, when Rabbi and others succeeded in establishing the present Zionist Federation of Australia and New Zealand. SOME PERSONALITIES OF THE PERIOD. No account of this community during the 1900's would be complete without some reference to individual Jews who distinguished themselves in public life during this period. The record of such people is a worthy one, and one of which our community can rightly feel proud. Names such as Benjamin Benjamin, Nathaniel Levi and Isaac Isaacs spring to mind. The Hon. Sir Benjamin Benjamin, Kt., J.P., died on 7th March, 1905.54 He had been the second Jew in Aus- tralia to receive a knighthood.543 Born in 1834, he was the son of Moses Benjamin and a relative of the founders of the Melbourne Synagogue. Benjamin Benjamin arrived in Victoria in 1843, aged nine years, and was educated at an academy conducted by one Rev. "W. H. Jarrett. He became a partner with his father and brother Elias in M. Benjamin & Sons, merchants and importers, and in 1864 he joined Edward Cohen in conducting a tea import- ing and general commission agency. He was with Cohen until 1878, when, aged 44, he retired from business and devoted the rest of his life to Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 71 public service. In 1870 he was elected to the Melbourne City Council as representative for Albert Ward; he became an Alderman in 1881, and was Mayor of Melbourne from 1887 to 1889. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1889 to 1892. He acted as a Commissioner for the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in 1888, and it was in recognition of his services and hospitalities for this exhibition that he was knighted.

SIR BENJAMIN BENJAMIN. Sir Benjamin had many active philanthropic interests, among them the Hospital Sunday Fund and the Jewish communal charities. He was many times President of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation—from 1868 to 1875, 1879 to 1880, and 1885 to 1891, a total of fourteen terms ! He was one of Jewry's finest representatives. Another very well known name was that of the Hon. Nathaniel Levi,55 who, born in 1830, was the first Jew to be returned to the Victorian Parliament. He was elected 72 Australian Jewish Historical Society. as the Member for Maryborough district in 1860, subse- quently being elected for East Melbourne, and later to the Legislative Council for the North Yarra Province. Levi had left England at the end of 1853, and had quite an adventure on the way, involving shipwreck and marooning—unfortunately time does not permit me to say anything of it at the moment. His political and commer- cial activities were extensive, and it is not my intention to try to evaluate them to-night. It is more useful for me to mention that he was, like Sir Benjamin Benjamin, also very active in the Jewish community. He was the President of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation from 1880 to 1882 and from 1904 to 1905. The Story of the Hebrew Congre- gation records that when, in 1904, Levi was the congre- gations President, Henry Cohen, the Treasurer, deputised for him in the Synagogue. Levi had explained that "owing to his not riding on the Sabbath he would not be present in the Melbourne Synagogue."56 I have already referred to Levi's efforts in connection with federating the Melbourne congregations, to his advocacy of a day school, and to his Zionist activity. Another of his energetic efforts was his persuasion of the Melbourne City Council in 1905 to preserve the old Jewish Cemetery in Peel Street, West Melbourne, which, it had been proposed, should be absorbed into the new vegetable markets.57 Levi arranged for the Jews of Melbourne to draw up a petition on the subject, and it was also proposed to start a fund to keep the graves in the old cemetery in order. These efforts were for some time successful. But now the Victoria Markets occupy the site of the old ceme- teries, and the graves have been transferred to the General Cemetery in Carlton. These, then, were some aspects of the life of the Hon. Nathaniel Levi, a man whose interests were as positive as they were ubiquitous. I must mention, too, the man who later became the Right Hon. Sir Isaac Alfred Isaacs, Chief Justice of the Australian High Court and first Australian-born Governor- General of the Commonwealth.58 At this time he was plain Mr. Isaacs. He married Daisy Jacobs, daughter of Isaac Jacobs, of whom we have already heard something, and Lady Isaacs is to-day still alive at an advanced age in Sydney. Isaac Isaacs was, from 1892 to 1901, member for Bogong in the Victorian Parliament, and was Attorney- Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 73 General from 1894-9 and from 1900 to 1901. In 1901 lie was elected to the first Federal Parliament as Member for Indi, and he became Federal Attorney-General in 1905. He was appointed in 1906 to the High Court of Australia. In a congratulatory sermon to Mr. Justice Isaacs, preached on 15th October, 1906, the Rev. Jacob Lenzer declared : "Given the opportunity, the Jew can progress to the highest position in the land, as has the honourable gentleman under notice, from the State School bench to the High Court Bench." It is not for me, at the moment, to evaluate Sir Isaac Isaacs' work as a High Court Judge over a period of 25 years. Suffice it to say that he was one of the framers of our Commonwealth Constitution, and he was one of its most lucid exponents. In an article I wrote about him some three years ago, I quoted this sentence of his : "I say reverently, all honour to those great men who, with such prescience, placed such a noble legacy in the hands of our future generations . . ."59 In the ranks of those great men, Sir Isaac Isaacs himself assuredly stands. John Monash is another name which was prominent at this time.60 His brilliance as student, lawyer and engineer needs no description on my part. His achievement is very well known. In 1904, when he was a Major, and Officer Commanding the C.M.F. at North Melbourne, Monash was decorated at Victoria Barracks with the Volunteer Decora- tion. This, as subsequent events proved, was only a start in the outstanding career of service to his country that unfolded in the years to come.61 Other names I must mention include Philip Blashki, J.P., founder of the well-known Blashki family and a magistrate in the District Court. Blashki was another active philanthropist and communal leader, as was Joseph Waxman, an auctioneer, who was prominent in most com- munal bodies and was a member of the Brunswick Council. Then there was S. Leon, Victorian Crown Prosecutor; P. D. Phillips, barrister and Shakespearean scholar. (I possess Mr. Phillips' own typescript copy of one of the many fine Shakespearean addresses he delivered over a long period.) I have mentioned Joseph Kronheimer, the philanthropist. He, by the way, was presented by the community with an illuminated address to mark his eightieth birthday in July, 1906.62 Another leader was Alderman Jacob Marks, President of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation from 1897 to 1901 and 1907 to 1908—it was 74 Australian Jewish Historical Society. Ms efforts that were largely responsible for the establish- ment of a Mikvah at the City Baths in Swanston Street. One could go on for a long time to mention the out- standing figures in Melbourne Jewry during the decade. It is a matter for some pride that there were so many, and that they were active both in the Jewish and the general community. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen : I have tried to present to you a picture—a picture of a decade in the life of an always active and ever interesting community. I have traced the state of the provincial communities; I have discussed affairs in the Melbourne Synagogues; I have mentioned the movements to federate the Synagogues, to introduce Liberalism, to popularise Zionism; the begin- nings of the Board of Deputies movement have been re- ferred to; education and the communal organisations have been discussed; and, lastly, I have touched on some prominent personalities. I have thus given you some facts about men and women and incidents and movements. But facts on their own are harmless. It is what we do with them that counts. I leave it to you whether we, members of the Victorian Jewish community in the year 1955, have learned anything from the facts of the early days and formative years of our community. I will only suggest that, if we have maintained a com- munity that is positive in outlook, rich in structural sub- sance, and never intolerant of new ideas and new move- ments for no other reason than that they are new—if we have done these things, then we have really built on the foundations laid and strengthened by our fathers in the first decade of this century and in every decade.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES. BIBLIOGRAPHY. JOURNALS—("J.") 1. The Jewish Herald, Melbourne. 2. Journal of the Australian Jewish Historical Society, Sydney. 3. The Argus, Melbourne. ״).B״) —BOOKS AND PAMPHLETS 4. The Story of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, 1841-1941. Melbourne, 1941. 5. The Sephardim of England, by A. M. Hyamson. London, 1951. 6. "The Jewish Press of Australia, Past and Present/' by Percy J. Marks : A paper read before the Jewish Literary and Debating Society, Sydney. Privately printed, 1913. Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910. 75

7. Sands & McDougall's Directory of Victoria, 1909. 8. The History of St. Kilda, from its First Settlement to a City and After, 1840-1930, edited by John Butler Cooper. Melbourne, 1931. Containing on pp. 356-359 a history of the St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation, prepared by Rabbi J. Danglow. SYNAGOGUE RECORDS—("R.") 9. St. Kilda Hebrew Congregation Annual Reports. ! 10. Melbourne Hebrew Congregation Annual Reports. REFERENCES. .1 4B, p. 27. .(Hebrew Congregations in Victoria ׳7B, p. 2325 (list of 2 3 Another leading Bendigo Jew was the late Dan. Lazarus, who once represented Bendigo in the Victorian Legislative Council. He bequeathed a large sum of money for the benefit of the local Jewish poor, and founded the Dinah and Barnet Lazarus Trust. 4 2 J, Vol. 2 : Paper by Mr. Isidor Solomon, "Geelong Jewry," p. 332 et seq., especially pp. 341-2. In 1904, an L. Freedman was the Hon. Reader at Geelong (10R, 1904). 5 Solomon Jacobs was Mayor again in 1928, 1929 and 1930. He died in 1942. His son, Cr. Morris Jacobs, was Mayor of Geelong in 1952-3 and 1953-4. 6 2 J, Vol. 1 : Paper by Mr. Nathan F. Spielvogel—"The Ministers of the Ballarat Congregation," p. 93 et seq. 7 Lbid. 7a 2J, Vol. 3, p. 171. 8 2J, Vol. 2 : Paper by Mr. Nathan F. Spielvogel : "Ballarat Hebrew Congregation," p. 350 et seq., esp. p. 356. At the time of the dispute, Cr. Abraham Levy, J.P., a Mayor of Ballarat, was President of the Congregation, J. Marks was Treasurer, and A. Casper was Secretary. 9 2J, Vol. 2, p. 356. 10 See issues of the Jewish Herald, 1900-1910. The paper was printed and published by Alex McKinley & Co. 11 6B, pp. 12-13 : "The Herald has always been distinguished for its literary merit." 121J, 14/9/1900; 3B, p. 30; 10R, 1901. 13 5B, pp. 340, 357, 360-1. 14 Moss Marks was later President of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation from 1905 to 1906. 15 1J. 3/8/1900. 16 10R, 1904. 17 A further result of the crisis was the resignation in March, 1904, of the entire Board of Management of the Congregation, led by the President, Cr. Moses Alexander (10R, 1904). Moses Alex- ander later became Mayor of Richmond (1906) (10R, 1906). 18 In September, 1908, the Congregation celebrated Rabbi Dr. Abrahams' completion of 25 years as its Minister, and presented him with a testimonial address and a purse of sovereigns (10R, 1909). 19 L.J, 13/2/1903. 20 1J, 21/2/1908. Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Altson (formerly Altschul) were the parents of B. H. Altson. 21 8B, pp. 356-9. 22 Further mention of Joel Fredman occurs later in this paper. Abraham Feuerman had, previous to his appointment as Shochet, Collector, etc., at St. Kilda, been with the Ballarat Congregation as assistant to the Rev. I. M. Goldreich (2J, Vol. 2, p. 355). 76 Australian Jewish Historical Society. 23 The old St. Kilda Synagogue was consecrated on 29th Sep- tember, 1872, superseded by the present Synagogue consecrated on 13th March, 1927, and demolished in 1941. 24 The inscription on Moritz Michaelis' grave reads, when trans- lated into English : "Here is buried Moses, the son of Eeuben. In peace and uprightness he walked all his days; to the poor and needy his hand was at all times open; and when he died people lamented after him. Alas ! brother. Alas ! Master !" 25 J. E. Stone was the son-in-law of Woolf Davis, who had quarrelled with the East Melbourne Congregation in the 1880's and had opened a chevra in Drummond Street, which, after his death, was carried on by J. E. Stone. Moses Saunders had been in the last years of the nineteenth century the Shochet and Second Reader in the Bourke Street Synagogue. He died in 1908, aged 65 (10R, 1909). 26 4B, pp. 27-8. 27 4B, pp. 29-30; 10R, 1901. See also 1J, 26/10/1900. 28 9R, 1901. 29 10R, 1905, 1906, etc. 30 1J, 10/4/1903. 3110R, 1905, 1908, 1910. ' 32 9R, 1900; 10R, 1900. 33 This letter appears in full in 1J, 2/11/1906. Mr. Levinson had been Hon. Secretary of the Provisional Committee. 34 The St. Kilda Hebrew and Sabbath Schools were founded in February, 1874. 35 1J, 2/3/1900. 36 1J, 13/1/1905. 37 1J, 5/5/1905• 38 1J, 8/5/1903. 39 At a function in 1900, tribute was paid by the well-known Q.C., J. L. Purves, and by the Lieutenant-Governor (Sir John Madden), to the fine record of the Jewish community in its support for all charitable institutions (1J, 6/7/1900). 40 1J, 16/11/1908. 411J, 25/6/1909. 42 1J, 20/3/1908. 43 1J, 15/5/1908. 44 1J, 5/6/1903. This meeting was a public meeting of sym- pathy with the Jews in the Kishinev massacres. 45 9R, 1906. 46 1J, 28/9/1900, 13/3/1903, 30/1/1903. 47 1J, 17/7/1903, 14/8/1903. Isaac Jacobs had placed before the Board of Management a petition signed by 30 residents of St. Kilda. 48 Similar modifications were made in the Melbourne Synagogue in 1910. 48a In 2J, Vol. 3, p. 165, there appears a paper by Mr. M. Z. Forbes on "Early Zionism in Sydney, 1900-1920," which contains some interesting material for comparison. 49 1J, 12/10/1900. 50 1J, 8/5/1903. A correspondent, "Benzion" (probably Benzion Lenzer), wrote in 1J, 22/5/1903, that "if a voting had taken place the amendment ('that we form a Zionist Society in Ballarat') would have been carried with a vast majority and a Zionist Society would have been formed there and then." Benzion Lenzer had convened the meeting, and he claimed there was a good attendance. Bibliography and References. 77

511J, 27/4/1909. 521 J, 4/8/1907. 53 1J, 22/2/1907, 3/5/1907. 54 3B, p. 27; 1J, March issues, 1905; etc. 54a Sir Saul Samuel was the first. 55 Sources of information on, the Hon. Nathaniel Levi include several volumes on Victorian life in the late 1800's, but for the purpose of this paper the most useful source is the Jewish Herald. 56 4B, p. 30. 57 1 J, 5/9/1905. 58 2J, Vol. 2 : Obituary, pp. 502-507. 59 3J, 4/1/1952. 2J, Vol. 2 : Article by Col. A, W. Hyman, "General Sir John Monash," p. 20. 611J, 10/8/1904. 62 1J, 13/7/1906. N.B.—I am grateful to several people, including Rabbi J. Danglow and Mr. Nathan F. Spielvo-gel, for personal reminiscences and other information on the subject of this paper.

Miscellanea. We publish hereunder three short articles from the issues of the Great Synagogue Journal for September, 1954, December, 1954, and January, 1955, respectively. All of them deal with aspects of Australian Jewish history, and are worthy of a place in this Journal as Miscellanea. The Society hopes to continue this policy in the future. The Great Synagogue and Grafton. Jewish communities which have come up in a night and died in a night like Jonah's gourd are not infrequent in Australian Jewish history. The names of Coolgardie, Bendigo and Toowoomba come to mind. Cases in which a community showed promise of growth but never came to fruition are less common. Perhaps only Lismore and Grafton can come into that category. This note tells briefly the story of Grafton as far as it can be gleaned from the records of the Great Synagogue in connection with the land granted by the Crown for a Synagogue. The story begins on November 18, 1870. On that date land was dedicated as the site for a Synagogue under the provisions of the Crown Lands Alienation Act 1861. Section 5 of this Act enabled the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council, to dedicate by notice in the Gazette any Crown land as the site for a place of public 78 Australian Jewish Historical Society. worship. It further provided that on publication of the notice in the Gazette the land should become dedicated accordingly, and might at any time thereafter be granted for such purpose in fee simple. The grant issued on February 16, 1872, to Samuel Cohen, Lewis Samuel Loe- wenthal and Lewis Jacobs as Trustees. The land involved was a plot of one acre in the Town of South Grafton, Parish of Great Marlow, County of Clarence, bounded on the north side by Oliver Street, on the west by Queen Street, on the east by Alumny Creek, and on the south side by a line cutting Section 50 of the Town Plan. ! The land has never been built on or used for any Jewish religious purposes. The story of it cannot even be glorified into the story of an attempt to use it, but rather illustrates the failure of the Jewish community which no doubt Cohen, Loewenthal and Jacobs hoped would evolve. Nothing occurs between the grant of the land in 1872 and the search which Abraham Lipman made in 1916 to find trustees who could replace the original trustees, two of whom were then dead. It is apparent that he was successful since Edward Solberg was appointed to one of the vacancies. In 1923 Lipman wrote to the Great Syna- gogue on the subject of rates which were now for the first time being claimed by the City of Grafton. In his letter he explains that Solberg had been appointed in place of Cohen and Jacobs, but he does not give the date of the appointment. It seems probable that this would have been some time in 1916, since it was in that year that Solberg was appointed one of the trustees of the Cemetery—as to which a little more will be said later. If that were the case, he could not have been chosen in place of Cohen, who was still alive in 1916. In his letter of March 7, 1923, Lipman explained the difficulty as being due to the fact that he and Solberg and their families were the only Jews of the town. He there- fore did not feel inclined to pay rates on the land, but was unwilling to see it lost because of mounting claims for rates. In a letter later the same month he gave the value of the land as £150. By July, 1923, other people in the city were beginning to look at the site for their own purposes, and on July 26 that same year the District Surveyor wrote from the Local Land Board Office at Grafton to Lipman asking whether he would have any objection to the dedication of the site being revoked so that the Grafton Boy Scouts Troop could acquire Miscellan&a. 79 part of the land to build a hall. Lipman referred the suggestion to the Board of the Great Synagogue. The reply made by the Synagogue Board was that the trustees plight lease the land to the Scouts' Committee at a pepper- corn rent for a period of some fifteen to twenty years so as "to enable the trustees ultimately to erect a Synagogue if required." Whether this suggestion was the result of carelessness or optimism does not appear on the records, but in any case legal opinion was that the trustees had no power to sell or lease. The matter dropped. The next development consisted of a letter from the Under Secretary, Department of Lands, to the Secretary of the Great Synagogue : Department of Lands, Sydney, January 30, 1924. Dccir Sir SITE FOB SYNAGOGUE AT GRAFTON. Referring to your letter of December 14, 1923, I have to point out that the site for a Synagogue at Grafton, area one acre, dedicated November 18, 1870, is not used for the purpose of its dedication, and to request that you will be good enough to inform me what are the Great Synagogue Board's intentions in regard to the subject area, which is capable of being put to good use. Yours faithfully, E. P. FLEMING, Under Secretary. H. I. Wolff, Esq., Secretary, Great Synagogue, 166 Castlereagh Street, Sydney. The reply ran as follows : 166 Castlereagh Street, Sydney, February 14, 1924. Under Secretary for Lands, Department of Lands, Sydney. Dear Sir, SITE FOR SYNAGOGUE AT GRAFTON. Your letter dated January 30, 1924, was submitted to my Board yesterday and in reply I am instructed to state that while the site cannot be used for its intended purpose at present, it may be required in the future with the possible growth of the Jewish population in that district. Yours faithfully, H. I. WOLFF, Secretary. Once again matters remained peaceful without any- thing being done until March, 1934, when a local resident asked Lipman, who was still then a trustee (and by then 80 Australian Jewish Historical Society. probably the only one alive), to sell him part of the site for the purpose of building a home. There was much eorespondernce, but once again it was clear that the legal advice that the trustees had no power to sell or lease would have to be accepted. Meanwhile, however, Lipman had decided that some action would have to be taken to provide funds for the rates now mounting beyond the amount which could be paid, so he allowed a local resident to pasture her cow on the land in return for the payment of rates. In September, 1935, Lipman referred the question of rates to the Great Synagogue, which obtained counsel's opinion to the effect that the land was not rateable. The reasons which counsel gave are somewhat technical, and need not be included in this note. It may, however, be said that the claims for arrears of rates had now reached £21. By November, 1935, the Synagogue Board felt con- vinced that no community was ever likely to use the land for a Synagogue. The Secretary (Mr. H. I. Wolff) was instructed to interview officials of the Department of Lands and to suggest to them that the land should be resumed and the proceeds held on trust for Jewish religious purposes in Sydney. At the interview he was told that the Govern- ment had power to revoke the gift of land if it was not required for its original purpose. The officials pointed out, however, that if the land were sold the proceeds would be paid into Consolidated Eevenue. This must have dashed the hopes of the Board of the Great Synagogue that they would be able to use the money from Grafton in the same way as money from the grant for Jewish purposes at Goulburn was being used. There was one ray of hope, for the departmental official explained that, if they were sympathetically disposed, the Premier and Minister for Lands could place on the Estimates a sum equal to the proceeds of the land as a gift to the Jewish community for a specific object. This, they added bleakly, would be an act of grace. Nothing happened. In September, 1937, approximately £50 was due for rates to the Grafton Council. By this time Abraham Lipman was dead, and his son, J. Percy Lipman, wrote to the Great Synagogue that his father, as trustee, had to his credit in the bank the sum of £17. This amount, owing to the death of Abraham, Lipman, was frozen, and the son was asking the advice of the Great Synagogue as to what he should do. Miscellan&a. 81 Within a fortnight the story of the 60-year-old Jewish site was about to end. In September, 1937, the Minister for Education wrote to Rabbi E. M. Levy, then Chief Minister of the Great Synagogue, suggesting that the Grafton site, which now adjoined the Public School built on the other portion of Section 50, might be acquired by the Education Department as an addition to the school grounds. The Minister said that he had been advised that there were a few families of the Jewish faith in Grafton, and that in interviews with them they had raised no objection to his request. The Board of the Great Synagogue was in full agreement, and on December 21, 1937, so informed the Minister. It had long been clear that there would never be a Synagogue in Grafton, and that for the community to retain possession of the land in these circumstances would be wrong. This little tale of optimistic pioneers and their blighted hopes might fittingly end with a note on the Jewish Cemetery. The date of the grant or reservation of part of the, General Cemetery at Grafton for Jewish purposes is not known, but it was certainly well before 1916, and in all probability dates from about the same time as the grant of the Synagogue site. A letter from the Lands Depart- ment to the Great Synagogue of February 25, 1916, shows that according to departmental records the trustees at that date were Samuel Cohen, Henry Maurice, Lewis Jacobs, C. Sampson and C. C. Lyons. The Department apparently was not aware of the fact that only Cohen and Lipman were then alive. The Synagogue Board wrote to Lipman asking for his views as to the appointment of new trustees. As a result, the Government Gazette of April 20, 1916, recorded the appointment of Solberg to join with Cohen and Lipman. These few facts do not profess to be a history of the Jews of Grafton. They have been compiled only to show the work of the Great Synagogue over the years as the guardian of the community's rights in the religious sphere. They do, however, provide a faithful picture of the struggles which have been made in various places to pre- serve Judaism and the Jewish way of life. Although this has been the tale of a failure, it is none the less noble for that. 82 Australian Jewish Historical Society. The Jews of Eureka. The Centenary of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade falls on 3rd December, 1954. This event, a turning point in Australian history, may be briefly summarised as a rebellion of the gold miners of Ballarat against harsh rule by the local authorities and the deprivation of rights normally accorded to British subjects. It was not a military engagement on a grand scale (276 soldiers and police attacking the Stockade, which was defended by about 200 miners and others), but the emotions to which it gave rise have had an immense effect on the growth of Australian democracy. At least 14 of the defenders were killed on the spot, and some others died of wounds. Immortality was freely forecast for all of them, though perhaps only the name of the leader, Peter Lalor, became a household word, and he lived for many years afterwards. Two Jews played their part—one among the dead, one among the fighters who survived. They deserve to be recalled as Australia keeps this centenary of their flash over the pages of history. Edward Thonen, who was killed instantly when a bullet struck him in the mouth, was born at Elberfeld, in , and was well known in Ballarat as a lemonade seller. Raffaello Carboni, an Italian participant, who wrote an account of the events published on the first anni- versary, says this of Thonen : He was five feet high, some thirty years old, thin, but robust, of vigorous health, used no razor. His eyes spoke determination and independence of character. There was no mate on the gold- fields to match Thonen at the chess-board. He would turn his head, allow his opponent the move and then he would give him such a glance at the chess-board that the right piece would jump to the right place, as it were of its own accord. Shrewd, yet honest, benevolent but scorning the knave; of deep thought though prompt in action, Thonen possessed the head belonging to that cast of men whose word is their bond. Carboni's tribute to this Jew, who gave his life for what he deemed right and fair, explains why he found a ready place on the council which directed the miners' resistance. The other Jew, Charles Dyte, was much better known. He came to Ballarat in the early stages of the gold rush and joined the miners in their fight against oppression, though he does not appear to have been a miner himself. His action at the Stockade, though he was not among the wounded, raised him high in the estimation of the locality Miscellan&a. 83 and the Hebrew Congregation. He became President of the Ballarat Synagogue in 1858, laid the foundation stone of the new building in 1861, and sat on the Board at various times during the next twenty years. For a while after 1876 he was secretary; in fact, he filled every honorary office the Congregation could confer upon him, and on occasions even celebrated marriages. Dyte, a descendant of that David Dyte who was in- volved in protecting George III. from the attempt on his life in 1800, had a feeling for public service. In 1861 and 1862 he was Mayor of Ballarat East, and served on the local Council for several years. He laid the foun- dation stone of the new Town Hall in 1861. Eventually he became so popular in the district that he ran for Parlia- ment, and during the sixties represented it several times, earning a reputation as a vigorous advocate of a. customs tariff, a subject then in the forefront of Victorian politics. During his parliamentary term, he sat on a Government Commission appointed to investigate the system of edu- cation then in vogue in Victoria. That was not all. He was a staunch Freemason, and became Master of his Lodge. He served as Secretary of the Fire Brigade, as a Director of the local Gas Company, as a committeeman of the Mechanics' Institute, and on a dozen or more special bodies set up in the area for specific purposes. With all this he still found time for his business as an auctioneer. By the time of his death in 1895 he had well earned the title of "Father of the Congregation." The Rothschild Family and Australia. The important part which this family played in the last century and the early part of the present century has been the subject of one of the recent series of addresses given at the Great Synagogue. This makes timely a mention of their relations with Australia. The Countess of Rosebery, who visited Australia in 1884, with her husband, was the only daughter of Baron Mayer de Rothschild. While in Sydney she attended the Great Synagogue, and together they gave a donation to the Sydney Hebrew Philanthropic and Orphan Society (which is now incorporated with the Sir Jewish Home), a fact which was recorded on an Honour Board formerly attached to the wall of the school room adjoining the Synagogue. 84 Australian Jewish Historical Society. Government House, Sydney, nearly had a Jewish chatelaine, Lady Battersea, a daughter of Sir Anthony de Rothschild. She was married to Cyril Flower, who in 1893 was offered, but at his wife's request refused, the Governorship of New South Wales. The incident is noted in the book by Lucy Cohen, Lady de Rothschild and Her Daughters, where the writer says : "The decision about New South Wales was the turning point in Lord Battersea's career. He gave up the idea of public life . . . and lost much of his interest in politics. He was a disappointed man, and to the end of her days Co'nstance (Lady Battersea) worried herself for her refusal to go to New South Wales." Cyril Flower himself had some relationship with this country since his father was a partner in the firm of Flower, Salting & Co., Sydney merchants, the junior member of which founded the Salting Exhibition tenable at the Univer- sity of Sydney by former students of Sydney Grammar School. During the Great War, Lady Battersea devoted much of her time to entertaining soldiers on leave in her beautiful home, "The Pleasaunce," Overstrand, Norfolk. Large numbers of Australians will remember her gracious hospi- tality. Alfred Charles de Rothschild, a patron of the arts and a partner of the firm of Messrs. N. M. de Rothschild & Sons, used to advise Madame Melba, the famous soprano, on financial matters. In 1903, when on a visit to England, Mr. George J. Cohen, of Sydney, mentioned to the first Lord Rothschild that, although his firm had interests all over the world, they had none in Australia. Lord Rothschild said he believed the dog should wag the tail, but that in Australia the tail appeared to wag the dog. In 1917, at the request of Rabbi D. I. Freedman, the Jewish Chaplain of the A.I.F., Baron de Rothschild invited the Jewish members of the A.I.F. to Seder at his home in Paris. He told Rabbi Freedman that he did not observe the Service, but he would be glad to accede to the request. Leave was granted by Lieutenant-General Sir William Birdwood accordingly, but was subsequently cancelled when complaint was made that the Australian Jewish troops were being given a privilege not accorded to English Jews. Two matters from earlier years deserve mention. The first is the fact that Philip Joseph Cohen, the first to Book Reviews. 85 organise regular Services in this country in 1828, came here originally on a mission for the Rothschild firm. He lived for nearly forty years afterwards, and became the moving spirit in much of the Jewish pioneer work. The second matter concerns the mass meeting held in Sydney in 1858 to celebrate the admission of Jews to the Imperial Parliament and the election of Baron Lionel de Rothschild. On that occasion a letter, full of thanks for the reform achieved and containing much praise of the new Member of Parliament and his collaborators in the cause, was sent to Baron Lionel on behalf of the Jews of Sydney. Since these early days, the relationship of the family to Australia has continued spasmodically. Perhaps none of the incidents here recorded is of great importance, but they are of interest as little known facts of Australian Jewish life.

Book Reviews. MORRIS ALEXANDER. This is a biography of her late husband, Morris Alexander, a former member of the Society, by his widow, Mrs. Enid Alexander. It deals almost wholly with political and Jewish life in South Africa, and is therefore somewhat beyond the scope of the Society's work. It deserves notice, however, by reason of the Australian interest that arises from Alexander's visit here and his personal Australian associations. An obituary of him has already appeared in the Journal, so that it is not necessary here to recapitulate the facts of his life. Mrs. Alexander has done well to record them. She has written with verve and love, mingled with respect, for one who worked so hard for his people, his country, his clients and his friends. The book maintains a fair balance between the political, Jewish and personal facets of his active life, and includes a description of his tour here, when he met the leaders of the nation and the Jewish community as an official guest at the Melbourne Centenary celebrations in 1934. The book is well worth reading for the facts it offers and for the spirit in which it is written. Perhaps intended merely as a tribute of affection, it has become an excellent biography. (Morris Alexander : A Biography, by Enid Alexander. Tuta & Co. Ltd., Capetown and Johannesburg, 1953.) 86 Australian Jewish Historical Society. THE JEWS IN VICTORIA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. The event of the year in Australian Jewish historical studies is the appearance of Rabbi L. M. Goldman's The Jews in Victoria in the Nineteenth Century. This is a full-scale work of 410 pages, complete with index and bibliography. It is a landmark which every member of this Society will welcome, for it shows what can be done in our field by hard work, care and devotion. Rabbi Goldman has set out to describe life in the Jewish community of Victoria from its earliest beginnings until the end of the century. He has dug out of news- papers, minutes, letters and books what seems to be the whole of the facts. He has, however, gone much further than this. He has made these facts into a living story. We see not only the externals, but the vital, virile, quarrel- some, cheerful and intensely Jewish activities of a growing community. We see its problems, settlement, migration, proselytes, kosher meat, financial stringency, personal ambitions, divergent views, the Minister versus Board question, against a background of growing size and pros- perity. The book abounds in neat little character sketches of people and organisations, negligible quarrels from the law courts, stinging letters which to-day no one in com- munal life would dare write. All this combines to give us a first-rate history book and lively entertainment. The work which must have gone into it is prodigious, but the learned author will no doubt feel repaid by this knowledge, that he has made the past of Victorian Jews a real force for the present and the future. He has given the coup de grace to those who say there was no Jewish Life in this country before the Second World War. He has shown how our ancestors lived and thought, how it was that they built so well for us, the motives which lie behind the magnificent institutions we have inherited. In fine, he has put Australian (not only Victorian) Jewry deeply and permanently in his debt. This is a scholarly work, the fruit of immense research, and will take its place among the important contributions to Australian history. Excellent though it is, it yet has its faults, perhaps the most noteworthy of which is a tendency to diffuseness that impresses because of the scholarly treatment the subject receives. There is a certain lack of organisation brought about by the author's reliance on the purely chronological method of putting the book together. As an example, one may cite the recurring Book Reviews. 87 crises over proselytes, which would have been better treated as a connected story rather than as a series interspersed among other things—though that is how, in fact, they happened. Illustrations would have been of great assistance. The people, buildings, books, documents, tombstones, and a host of other subjects offer themselves as pictures, but, no doubt, .cost played its part in having them excluded. There is a lack of footnotes, but one can clearly see how they would have increased bulk and, therefore, the cost of the book. On the other hand, the writing is good, the index excellent, and the general appearance very pleasing. This is a book of deep learning, but eminently read- able. No member of this Society who values work in Australian Jewish history should pass it by unread. (The Jews of Victoria in the Nineteenth Century, by Rabbi L. M. Goldman. Published by the author, Melbourne, 1954. 410 pp., with Bibliography and Index.) D. J. B. H• H• H• # JEMMY GREEN IN AUSTRALIA. Dr. Roderick, in his very interesting annotations on Jemmy Green, has reported a number of versifiers who, in the Maitland area during the 'forties of last century, wrote ballads that were popularly acclaimed. Tucker, alias Rosenberg, a ticket-of-leave hired man who was under assignment in the area, was for good reason deprived of his ticket-of-leave and transferred to the harsher discipline of the penal settlement at Port Macquarie. Nevertheless, he was able to escape the harsh rigours of his sentence, and, with the connivance of an overseer who was interested in drama, he obtained the wherewithal and was given the leisure to compose Jemmy Green. It was from Billy Barlow in Australia, one of the Maitland or Hunter River ballads, that Tucker in true Shakespearean manner derived the plot of Jemmy Green. This will appear obvious, Dr. Roderick says, on comparison of the two. Of the four and possibly six ballad writers in the Maitland school, the author of Billy Barlow is desig- nated the best. A special Jewish interest attaches when Dr. Roderick reports argument that the composition and/or the publi- cation of Billy Barlow might possibly have been the work of one Simeon Joseph Cohen. Simeon was a brother of Philip Joseph Cohen, in whose house in Sydney was held the first Jewish public religious service in Australia. The 88 Australian Jewish Historical Society. brothers were located for a few years in Maitland, where they were in business, but •soon returned to Sydney. As a hotel-keeper and a commission agent respectively, they maintained throughout their renewed residence in Sydney a very keen and active interest in synagogal and community affairs. Though an adaptable person, nothing that is known of him by this Society would indicate that Simeon had other than a town dweller's indirect connection with the ups and downs of life as a sheep farmer in New England or elsewhere. Dr. Roderick sets out fairly the facts and details upon which a theory might be based that Cohen was the com- poser and/or the publisher of Billy Barlow. At least two other persons named might also, says Dr. Roderick, have been responsible for its composition. The text of the ballad does not, in the reviewer's opinion, support the suggestion that Cohen was its composer. A creative writer writes well and interestingly when he possesses a full, free and intimate first-hand knowledge of the life he describes. If there is a confident ring in it —and there is in Billy Barlow—a double assurance is pro- vided that the writer is not creating at second-hand; that he is at home in the experiences he describes. Was Cohen at home even remotely in the experiences related in Billy Barlow f In the early colonial days, it was not unusual for merchants to lend material aid and comfort to writers of popular poetry. They did so as patrons of learning, and probably also for advertisement of themselves. The publication in 1826 of Wild Notes from the Lyre of a Native Minstrel by Charles Thomson Junior, an Australian, was made possible by the pre-purchase of copies at half a guinea each. B. Levy took fifty and S. Levy five, and the former acted as a collector of subscriptions (Sydney Gazette, 15th April, 1826, page one). Along such lines of aid and comfort, not necessarily financial, is to be explained, the reviewer thinks, any connection which Cohen may have had with the publication of Billy Barlow in Australia. Dr. Roderick is to be congratulated on his labours in a little known field in Australian letters. He has shown that there was a flowering of literary worthwhileness even in the harshest period of our history. (Jemmy Green in Australia. A comedy in three acts. Edited with an introduction and notes by Colin Roderick, M.A., Ph.D. Angus & Robertson Ltd., Sydney, 1955.) SYDNEY B. GLASS. Book Reviews. 89 SYDNEY'S JEWISH COMMUNITY. Encouraged by the welcome given to his first venture in this series, Dr. Kimmel has now produced a second effort which, apart from the literary supplement at the close of this work, is designed much after the pattern of the earlier volume. The foreword by Rabbi Porush aptly describes this book as "a compact mosaic of loose events and sketches, pointedly gleaned by a devoted amateur-historian, which mirror the local scene in its religious, cultural and social settings." The author's intention is not the writing of a comprehensive history, but rather to furnish the materials. There is a wealth of detail in this second volume, but Dr. Kimmel's selection of the materials is a purely personal one. It has been culled, for the greater part, from the Jewish Press. If the present work were merely an anthology from Press sources of developments in local Jewish life, it would undoubtedly merit the commendation of the thoughtful elements in our community. In his references to the Australian Jubilee, the Chief Rabbi's visit, the passing of the late Saul Symonds, the comings and goings of and of Ministers of Israel, and even the establishment of new congregations and many other such events, Dr. Kimmel is factual enough and is no stranger to historical method. For the rest, however, the general reader will probably find that the scope of this work is set by the author's own preferences. It is right, for instance, that the Board of Deputies should be featured in this source material, but opinions will no doubt differ as the manner of presentation. e find such items as־Thus, on pages 218 and 219 w "Stormy Folk Centre Meeting Recalls Deputy" and "September Meeting of the Board of Deputies : Language Issue." These items may be of the highest importance from the personal viewpoint, but are they evidence of an objective selection with added historical value ? Other7 items are purely critical material which the author has previously published in the Press. Even where the reader shares Dr. Kimmel's reactions to passing events, does he expect that these same views should receive special prominence in a work of this nature ? Our Community is only too devoid of literary and historical work. For this same reason the author has done well to include a selection from the pens of Aus- tralian Jewish writers. Indeed, not only this supplement, but even the body of this volume, is liberally interspersed 90 Australian Jewish Historical Society. with items of purely religious and cultural interest. Finally, although this series is designed as historical source material, it is rather strange that the Australian Jewish Historical Society is nowhere mentioned by Dr. Kimmel. The interests of this Society lie in historical research—an objective field—but surely this is another indication that our author would do better to rise above so many of the controversies which sometimes threaten to fill almost the whole of our local horizon. It is hoped that Dr. Kimmel will offer us yet another volume in this series. We will be doubly in his debt if he can produce a work with a definite historical standard. (,Sydney's Jewish Community (1951-1953). By Dr. Hans Kimmel. Sydney, 1954; 324 pp.) M. Z. F.

Obituary.

MRS. A. E. PHILLIPS. Mrs. Rebecca Michaelis Phillips, affectionately known as "Brightie," died in Sydney in January, 1954, at the age of 77 years. She was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, a daughter of Hyam Edward Hart, and married the late Albert Edward Phillips, a member of a family of communal benefactors and leaders in Sydney. The late Mrs. Phillips was notable for her generosity and for the work she did for numerous organisations, both Jewish and non-Jewish, particularly those concerned with the welfare of children. Much of her work was for the Infants' Home at Ashfield and for the Great Synagogue Women's Auxiliary. She was a staunch supporter of all bodies working for Jewish education, and most liberal in her attitude to their financial needs. Her most notable benefaction was made anonymously in 1951, when she gave £100,000 to the for a new chemistry building. Her identity was kept secret until after her death. Mrs. Phillips will be missed not only by her family and a wide circle of friends, but by those organisations to which she was such a tower of strength. Historical Society Library Notes. 91 Historical Society Library Notes

Latest publication to hand of the American Jewish Historical Society features the three inspiring addresses delivered at the American Jewish Ter-Centenary Dinner at Sheraton-Astor Hotel, New York City, on 20th October, 1954, of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, of Governor Thomas E. Dewey, and of Mayor Robert T. Wagner. Dr. Arnold Wiznitzer, Research Professor of Rio de Janiero, gives the latest information anent the arrival in New Amsterdam of the first handful of Jews and Jewesses in 1654 from Pernambuco, in Brazil. Reproduced is a photo of the Spanish commander who sheltered the pilgrims in Brazil from the rigours of the Inquisition, "except those Jews who have been Christians, they being subject to the Holy Inquisition, wherein I cannot interfere." There is a copy of the despatch from watchful British agents in the Azores reporting to Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell the passage of the French-owned vessel to the New Nether- lands and the protest by the Netherlands Government to the King of Spain against interference with some of the pilgrims who were of Dutch allegiance when shipwrecked at Jamaica, then Spanish territory. Incorporated are interesting notes on President Lincoln's Jewish chiropodist and unofficial go-between, and on the instance of Lincoln's permitting a Confederate Jewish soldier captured by Union forces to visit his dying father. There are reviews of two recently published histories of Jewish life in America, and one of Funk and Wagnalls, The Life and Times of General Two-Gun Cohen. Of the last of these, Dr. Lee M. Friedman, who is also a member of the Australian Jewish Historical Society, criticises the lack of Jewisn content. The number is historically informative in the best tradition of our sister Society. It is also refreshing in the spirit of deductive criticism in which the papers are presented. SYDNEY B. GLASS. 92 Australian Jewish Historical Society. Sixteenth Annual Report and Financial Statement.

To be Presented at the Annual Meeting of Members to be held oh 25th August, 1955. Noteworthy among the events in the Jewish world was the recent celebration of the 300th anniversary of the foundation of Jewry in what is now the United States of America. On behalf of, and in the name of Australian Jewry, your President forwarded congratulations to the President of the American Jewish Historical Society. The celebration of the Ter-Centenary is further referred to on page 91 of this number. The President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Mr. Sydney D. Einfeld, a member of this Society, represented the Jews of Australia at the conference held in New York in 1954 on Jewish material claims against Germany. Your Society was among those represented at the annual celebration of Anzac Day at the New South Wales Jewish War Memorial. Mr. A. A. Keysor, a member of your Committee, pleaeed a wreath on the Memorial on behalf of our members. At the Annual Meeting held on 15th December last, the retiring President, Vice-President, Hon. Officers, and the Hon. Auditor were elected for a further term. Two papers read at the meeting of Victorian members on 9th August, 1954, were again read before this meeting. At the Half-Yearly Meeting on 2nd March last, Mr. D. J. Benjamin read a paper entitled "Essays in the History of Jewish Education in New South Wales." An Index of Volume III. was forwarded to members, together with notice of the March meeting. Obituaries of members who have recently died are included in recent numbers of the Journal. On 9th March last, the Victorian branch of this Society held a meeting by courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Cohen at their home at 30 Montalto Avenue, Toorak, when papers were read on "The Victorian Jewish Community, 1900-1910," by Mr. Raymond Apple, and "Some Victorian Jewish Politicians," by Mr. L. E. Fredman, B.A. By courtesy of Sir Archie and Lady Michaelis, another meeting of Victorian members was held at their home at 281 Williams Road, South Yarra, on 22nd June last, when the following papers were read : "The Golden 'Fifties," Sixteenth Annual Report. by A. Newton Super, M.A., LL.B., and "Jacob Saphir and his Travels in Australia," by Hirsch Munz. Under arrangements made early this year, the Victorian branch of this Society keeps a register of its members and collects the subscriptions of members resident in Victoria. Sir Archie Michaelis is the President, and Mr. L. E. Fredman, B.A., and Mr. Stuart Cohen are the Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer respectively of the Victorian branch. Appended is a list of financial members of the Aus- tralian Jewish Historical Society for 1953, together with the names of new members who joined in 1954 and 1955. Including Benefactors and Life Members, there were 199 members financial for the year 1953. The labours of your Hon. Officers would be lightened and an appreciable saving of costs would be effected if our members would pay their subscriptions promptly on receipt of the first notice, and without reminder. A number of members have in the past delayed payment until reminders have been forwarded. Increased charges, for typewriting, stationery and postages have resulted. Rabbi Dr. I. Porush being absent abroad, this report is signed on behalf of the Committee by H. L WOLFF, Vice-President.

AUSTRALIAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Statement of Receipts and Payments for Year ended 31st December, 1954.

RECEIPTS. PAYMENTS. To— £ s. d. By— £ s. d. Balance, as at 31/12/53 . 93 11 3 Printing, Stationery and Stamps 123 14 11 Subscriptions . 177 1 7 Insurance 1 3 0 interest 1 12 2 Hire of Hall for Meetings .... 3 5 3 Donations 1 1 0 Subscriptions to Other Societies 1 1 0 Exchange 4 11 Exchange 16 10 Benefactions—Ralph Symonds 15 0 0 General Expenses 1 17 11 Sales of "Journals" 2 18 10 Subs, to Other Journals 2 2 0 Advance by Secretary 9 10 1 Refund 25 6 7 Balance : Commonwealth Savings Bank of Australia, as at 31/12/54 141 12 4

£300 19 10 £300 19 10

A. D. ROBB, F.C.A. (Aust.), Hon. Treasurer. I have examined the books and vouchers of the Australian Jewish Historical Society for the year ended 31st December, 1954, and hereby certify that ?he above Statement of Receipts and Payments is in accordance therewith. D. BOLOT, A.T.C.A., F.A.S.A., Hon. Auditor. 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney. 28th April, 1955. 94 Australian Jewish Historical Society. AUSTRALIAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY. LIST OF FINANCIAL MEMBERS FOR THE YEAR 1953. BENEFACTORS : Green, Simon. Green, Mrs. Israel. LIFE MEMBERS: *lAhronson, M. Alexander, Gordon, Brass, Mrs. Marise, B.A. Robb, Arthur I)., F.C.A. (Aust.). Robb, Mrs. Arthur D. Symonds, Ralph.

MEMBERS : , . Lismore, New South Wales. Adelson, Myer. Cohen, Lionel. Benson, Rev. M. B., B.A. London, England. Hains, Mark. Mandelson, Norman L. Apia, Western Samoa. Soref, Harold. Gurau, A. M., M.L.A. Masterton, New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand. Nathan, Percy H. Moses, Claude H. Melbourne, Victoria. Nathan, Lawrence D. Benjamin, Alan L., LL.B. Phillips, Louis, LL.B. Benjamin, Miss Myra. Ballarat, Victoria. Bennett, Samuel. 5Spielvogel, N. F. Boas, I. H., M.Sc., F.A.C.I. Bankstown, New South Wales. Brendon, Erie L. Green, Solomon. Cohen, N. S. Bathurst, New South Wales. Danglow, Rabbi J., O.B.E., V.D., Lapin, Martin. M.A. Lapin, Norman. Davis, Dr. Morris C. Boston, U.S.A. Feiglin, A. 3Friedman, Lee M. Feiglin, David. Brisbane, Queensland. Feuerman, Miss Hettie. Fabian, Rabbi Dr. A. Glass, Phillip. Hoffman, S. H. Goldman, Rabbi L. M., B.A. *Ravdell, N. Groenewoud, Mrs. A. Canberra, A.C.T. !Gurewicz, S. B,, B.A., LL.B. Australian National University Jewish Council to Combat Fas- Library, cism rnd Anti-Semitism. Capetown, South Africa. Jona, J. Leon, D.Sc., M.D., Raphaely, J. F.R.A.C.S. , New Zealand. Michaelis, Hon. Sir Archie. Levy, Charles. Michaelis, Roy. Teplitzky, Harry. Munz, Hirsch. Zelas, Leo. Patkin, Benzion. Florida, U.S.A. Plottel, J., F.R.A.I.A. Asher, Rabbi J. Sage, Mrs. I. M. Germany. Samuel, A R., LL.B. Harrassowitz, Otto. Shannon, Dr. H., M.D., D.P H., Johannesburg, South Africa. D.T.M. South African Jewish Board of Sicree, L. H. Deputies. Solomon, Isidor. Launceston, Tasmania. Super, A. Newton, M.A., LL.B. Crawcour, Sim. Theomin, Miss J. Goldberg, Eber. Wynn, S. List of Members. 95

Panama, New South Wales. Goldman, Dr. Joseph. Newman, Edgar. Goldstein, Harry S. Newman, Mrs. Reiba. Goulston, John. Parramatta, New South Wales. Green, Israel. Barg, P. Guss, Mrs. S. J. 6Houison, J. K. S., F.C.A. Harris, Lewis A., B.A., LL.B. Perth, Western Australia. Hart, Miss Hannah. Boas, Harold. 2Havard, W. L. Masel, Philip, O.B.E. Himmelferb, Miss H. Smith, Phillip S. Hollander, Miss Mina. Taft, Dr. Ronald. Horwitz, Israel, B.Sc. Zeffert, M. E., M.B.E. Hyman, Mrs. A. W. St. Marys, New South Wales. Indyk, S. Cohen, I. A. L. Isaacs, Maurice, B.A. Sydney, New South Wales. Israel, John. Aaron, C. Karpin, Sam. *Balkind, Z. Kellerman, M. H., B.Ec. Baruch, Mrs. E. R. Kellerman, Mrs. Millie. ?Benjamin, David J., LL.B. Kessler, Mrs. T. Blashki, Eric P., M.B., Ch.M. Keysor, A. A. Bloom, H. M., B.A. Kimmel, Dr. H. Blumenthal, J !King, G• A. Bolot, David, A.F.C.A., A.F.I.A. Landor, Dr. J. V. Brasch, Rabbi Dr. R. Ledermann, E. Brukarz, H. Lee, M. L. Castle, H. P. Lesnie, Allan. Cohen, A. Lesnie, E. H. Cohen, Lieut.-Col. Alroy M. B.A., Lesnie, Harry. LL.B. Lesnie, Mrs. H. Cohen, Mrs. A. M. Levi, Edward. Cohen, Mrs. Burnett D. Levi, Miss Louise. Cohen, David L. Lewinnek, I. *Cohen, Lewis, G. Lewinnek, Mrs. W. M. Cohen, Mrs. Lewis G. Lipson, Samuel, A.R.I.B.A. Cohen, L. W. Luber, Cecil. Cohen, M. H. Luber, Mrs. L. D. Davis, Leslie D. Luber, Myer M. Einfeld, John I. Marks, Jonah, B.A., Dip.Ed. Einfeld, Sydney D. Marsden, Mrs. D. H. 4Esserman, N. A., B.Sc., F.Inst.D., Meinrath, Clive D. A.M.Z.E. (Aust.). Moses, Braham L., B.Ec. Esserman, Mrs. N. A. Moss, Mrs. Helen. Falk, Rabbi L A., C.F. Myers, George. יי' .Forbes, M. Z., B.A., LL.B. Newman, H. B 1 Freeman, Felix. New South Wales Jewish Board Freeman, Mrs. Felix. of Deputies. Freilich, Max. Owen, A. B. S., M.B. Freilich, Mrs. Max. Owen, Lieut.-Col. Hyam, M.B., Ginsburg, Dr. Maurice. Ch.M. Glass, David. Perkins, M. Glass, Harold H., B.A., LL.B. *Phillips, Mrs. A. E. Glass, Kenneth M., B.A., LL.B. Phillips, Joseph A. Glass, Mrs. K. M. !Phillips, Orwell. !Glass, Sydney B. Phillips, Mrs. Orwell. Glass, Mrs. S. B. TPorush, Eabbi Dr. I. Goldberg, Mrs. A. Rabinovitch, A. Goldberg, Frank. Reading, A., M.B., B.Se. Goldberg, Norman, B.A., LL.B. Reading, Fanny, M.B., B.Sc. 96 Australian Jewish Historical Society. Redelman, I. Fredman, Lionel E., B.A. Renensson, T. G. Isaacs, John L. Rosen, H. Kohn, F. Rothfield, A., M.C., B.A. Levi, J. Sampson, I, K. Marks, E. N. Schalit, M. A., M.D. Plotkin, M. Schultz, Sidney. Reidin, Zell. Schureck, Norman. Silberberg, M. Selby, D. M., B.A., LL.B. Geelong, Victoria. Simblist, S. H., B.A., LL.B. Rosenberg, Miss F. M. Simblist, Mrs. H. S. Rosenberg, Miss I. Z. Sofer-Schreiber, L. Sydney, New South Wal:s. Sperling, Sidney. Beecher, George. ^Stephen, Alfred E. Davisj Gerald de Yahl. Sugerman, Mr. Justice B., LL.B. Hatfield, R. H. Symonds, Mrs. Saul. Ladd, Mrs. E. M. Wars, John. Levy, Gerald. Whitmont, E. Symonds, Reub. Wolff, Herbert I. Tamworth, New South Wales. NEW MEMBERS, 1955. !Cohen, Mrs. Victor I., M.B.E. Melbourne, Victoria. Wellington, New Zealand. Billigheimer, Dr. S. Heinemann, J. W. Hallenstein, Mies Ann. Myers, Frank. Hallenstein, Mrs. D. Myers, Philip. Jona, Walter. Pitt, M. S. Krantz, Mrs. Roy. Weinstein, Charles. Mendes, Mrs. A. F. NEW MEMBERS, 1954. Sydney, New South Wales. Davis, Mrs. M. Auckland, New Zealand. Green, David. Robinson, Harry. Green, Jack N. Melbourne, Victoria. Green, Lionel. Apple, Raymond. Greenfield, H. Blashki, Arnold R., B.A., L.LB. Temple Emanuel. Cohen, S. A. Hobart, Tasmania. Davis, M. J. Mrs. H. Fixel.

* Since deceased. 1 Member of the Royal Australian Historical Society. 2 Fellow of the Royal Australian Historical Society. .3 President, American Jewish Historical Society. 4 Member of the Jewish Historical Society of England. 5 President, Ballarat Historical Society. 6 Vice-President, Royal Australian Historical Society. Member of the Royal Australian Historical Society and of the ד Jewish Historical Society of England. NOTE.—The Hon. Secretary will be obliged if members will notify him of any omissions or any necessary corrections. :! Benefactions have been received in memory ij of the following: j| ERNEST SAMUEL MARKS, C.B.E. j; ADOLPH AND AMELIA ALEXANDER.

I; GERALD AND ISABELLE BENJAMIN.

|| ERNEST R. BARUCH. jj SIMON JOSEPH GUSS. j! SIR SAMUEL AND LADY COHEN, j! HYAM SHOLOM AND KATHLEEN HIMMELFERB.

|! HERMAN AND RACHEL AHRONSON.

:! Mrs. WILLIAM L. COHEN. <

| .j ELIAS AND LEBA GREEN־

1; SIR BENJAMIN BENJAMIN AND LADY BENJAMIN. |

5 ALFRED AND MAY PHILLIPS. ! Representative of the Society for Great Britain : NORMAN L. MANDELSON, 18 Meadow Road, Pinner, Middlesex, England.

! Corresponding Member for Great Britain : CECIL ROTH, 31 Charlbury Road, Oxford.

Representative of the Society for United States of America : Miss FANNY GOLDSTEIN, West End Branch, Library of the City of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Representative of the Society for New Zealand : ׳ ,.DAVID W. FAIGAN, M.A 22 Ferry Building, Auckland, C.l.

Representative of the Society for Victoria: Rabbi L. M. GOLDMAN, B.A. Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, Toorak Road, South Yarra, Melbourne.

Benefactor Members : Mrs. ISRAEL GREEN. SIMON GREEN. ORWELL PHILLIPS. RALPH SYMONDS.

Life Members: Mrs. RONALD BRASS, B.A. GORDON M. ALEXANDER. ARTHUR D. ROBB, F.C.A. (Aust.). Mrs. ARTHUR D. ROBB.

Members of Publication Committee: SYDNEY B. GLASS. DAVID J. BENJAMIN, LL.B. HERBERT I. WOLFF.

The amount of the subscription payable by a member is one guinea per annum, commencing from the 1st of January in each year. A person donating an amount of not less than £25 in one sum may be elected by the Committee a Benefactor Member of the Society. —(From the Fules of the Society.)

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