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AUSTRALIAN JEWISH -- HISTORICAL SOCIETY

NEWSLETTER Vol. 1 No. 3 December, 1969

EDITORIAL

" The Committee at its last meeting decided to continue the Newsletter in its present fonn for another year and to seek the opinions of members concer ning format, contents, value and so on. As the Society publishes two, rarely three Journals a year it was felt that a Newsletter containing items of current interest, news of members, and happenings abroad should be issued at regular intervals to stimulate and to maintain interest among members. A great deal of correspondence and many references to people and events come to the office each week, ~1uch of this would r emain unknown to members if we had to' depend upon Journals -alorie to · · disseminate information, As it is, only a selection appears in this issue of the N~wsletter, and then some as the merest summary. Interesting details of necesiity have been omitted.

The aim has been to strike a balance between events of the past and the present; personalities and events; activities calling for action; domestic and overseas interest; N.-s.-w. and other states; notices and short complete -articles. ·

It is hoped that in future editions there will be more items from individual contributors. We seek your opinions, we want your help. Above all we need your active responses.

Your attention i s drawn specifically to the preliminary notice of the Cook Bi-centenary Celebrations. Full details will be given ._~n _du~ ~-~urse. __ :If_y~u -hav.~.- ~!lY_J..:t.~!11s you can l end . to enrich the scope of the Exhibition please let us know. The Jew~sh image is worth reflectint!

I am -indebted to· all contributors of items, and to Mrs. Rosenberg for her pai nstaking collation of them. . MHK. - 2 -

_!;Of-UNG EVENTS

,North Shore Synagomie 1 s 3~th Anniversary Celebrations.

In :March and April, 1970, the North Shore at Lindfield, as part of its 30th Anniversary Celebrations, will be presenting a Life and Arts Exhibition depicting the development and progress of the Congregation. The celebration will begin with a commemorative service on Saturday, 12th April, to mark the 30th anniversary of the• osfublishment .. in April 1940 of what was originally known as the Northern Sydney Hebrew Congregation. A variety of events is planned. The Celebrations will conclude with a Gala Dinner Dance in September. A representative Anniversary Committee has been formed to begin immediate preparations. * * * £aptain Cook Bi-centenary Cel ebrations.

This Society in conjunction with the Great ~gogue will organise an Historical Exhibition featuring the contribution made by the Jewish Community to the development of the State. All facets of Jewish endeavour will be displayed in the Auditorium of the from 3rd - 10th May, 1970.

The special committee (M.H. Kellerman, convenor) charged with the preparation of the Exhibits and activities connected with the functions is hopeful that the ,-;hole Jewish Community will participate to make it a true picture of Jewish life and interests and its unique position in the wider general community.

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Anglo Ame-!:._ican Conference of Jewish Histori ans - 12th - 13th July. l,9,70J

The first Anglo-American Conference of Jewish Historians will be held on 12th and 13th July, 1970, at University College, London. The theme of the conferonce will be ,11!-ligration," and historians from both sides of the Atlantic will present papers on the movement of to Britain and the U.S.A. , discussing such issues as why they - 3 -

went there, how _they got there, and their effect on the societies to which they caine. Tour_s to places of Jewish interest will be organised. Invitations have been issued' to overseas visitors who may be in London at the timeo Those i nterested· should contact Dr. A. Newman, Dept., -of Hist ory, University of Leicester, England. * * * JEWS OF THE DARLING :OOWNS, QUEENSLAND.

Dr, Duncan Waterson, Lecturer in History, Monash University, formerly Research Scholar in the Institute of-Advanced Studies at the Aust:!:'alian°National' University, has written a book, "Squatter, Selector and Storekeeper," a history of the Darling Downs. It contains much of Jewish interest. In one of his recent letters to this Society he writes: "I have spent a considerable amount of time and energy in attempting to find our more about Jacob Horwitz (r-1.1.A, for Warwick, Queensland, 1878--87), but in spite of efforts in Gennany and Poland I have been unable to discover his f amily background. All birth registrations were destroyed during the war, and as his birth place has changed hands several times the quest f or additional material seems a hopeless one. Furthermore his Berlin death certificate was appar ently destroyed during the Allied air raids. I have, however, been abl e to discover some other · facts which may be of interest to you. Horwitz was born about 1830 i~ that part of East Prussia which was transferred to Poland after the Gr eat War, In 1851 he arrived in wi t h his two Brothers and pursued a successful car eer on the Victorian goldfields, In 1865 he purchased, ui th his brothers, the "Exchange Sto.r e 11 at Warwick, This partnership built l argely on the wines and spirits trade, was dissolved in 1883. In 1874 he purchased the Wa~iick flour mills which he sold i n 1886, Hi s mercantile business was sold to G.P, Barnes (this firm i s still in existence in Queensland), and his l a~ge farm at Swan Creek was also di sposed of.

Between March, 1887, and October, 1889, he visited Egypt, Great Bri tain and t he .Continent and on return to Warwick was tendered a magnificent banquet. In .1912 he made a libcra~- bequest to the Warwick Hospital providing £2,500 f or capital expansi?n end £5,000 for its upkeep, The Horwitz Ward i s named after him., In 1918 he returned with his brothers to ~oland and died on 24tt March, 1920, at Berlin i n Germany. Horwitz speculated in real ostat0 and farmers' produce. He al so operat ed as a successful moneylender. I have a referGnce which states t hat he closely observed the Jewisl holidays. While he never married he was unfortunate enough to have r paternity case brought against him on 6th September, 1878, when h.: was Mayor of Warwick (1876-78). It appears he had got his servant with child and had only managed to avoid a pa.terni ty order by meking a substantial cash payment, - 4 - On the whole-, however, he em.erges as an extremely shrewd busipess aan an effective roads and bridg°es politician and a popuiar Mayor e.o.ongst the Warwick business community. Further information about the cnv7.ronment in which Jacob Horwitz flourished can be found in my book 11 Sq_uatter, Selector and Storekeeper: A History of the Darling fuwns" (Sydney, 1968). , · In this book I mention the existence of an apparently J.nrge and influential Jewish community in Toowoomba. · In fact, the Tfvr11oomba cemetery has a fair number Qf Jewish graves in a special seG"Li•:m. The most outstanding and influential member of this group was O!le Henry Spiro who died .at Toowoornba . on 9tl:i . December, 1876. He was the main supporter of the Jewish Synagogue built at Toowoomba in

:i.ff/5 1 and, was a shrewd financier and merchant as well as being · M:ayor of" Toowoomba in 1870-71. Spiro was a close political associate o~ vi.3. Groom, the leadi-ng political figure .on the Darling fuwns. Ee waa born at Posen in Prussia and commenced business as a store­ keopor in Ips.Tich in 1861. He came to Too:woomba in 1863 ·and operated as a stor0keeper with one, Samuel Benjamin. He was generally rcga~dod as a most generous person.who readily lent money to the needy and gc.1;vo a great ~eal to charitable concerns. "

* * 'rFF: !Ar::1I: SIR ERNEST DAVIS. ------;-~·------Mr. Esmond J. Selby has prepared a remarkable family tree of the JE'.,;ob::; 1 fnm.ily. On this 'Tree I are many families who have made rirnificant.contributions to progress and development. Daisy Jacobs manied. Isaac Isaacs and their family joined that of the prominent Coh~n l''amily of N. s. w. when their daughter married Sefton Cullen. fu:i.sy J acobs' first cousin was Sir Ernest fuvis of New Zealand - hj.s m0ther and her father were brother and.sister. The following is a sil~~uette of Sir Ernest Hyman Davis. He was born at Nelson in nw. Zealand, in 1872; the son of Noss Davis and Leah (nee Jacobs) Dnvis. ' Elucated at the Bishop of Nelson's School and Auckland GraLllpB.r S~hooL He · had a long a successful business career, was associated with m.::.n~r lcad:l.!'..g companies, takir.g part· in the development of Auckl~nd~ Ho served as I·:ayor of Auckland from 1935 to 1941 one of many Jewish Ha~:r.rs of Auckland, Sir Ernest fuvis also served as Mayor and' Councillor :in ra";:--2.rket Bor0ugh. He was Chainnan of A~ckland and Suburban Drainage B~ard~ a member of the Harbour, nospital and Fi.re Boards and 9haimnn Ca~ tl:'.) Provincial Centennial Council and the. St. John and Red Cross Joint Council. ne was knighted in 1937 and ~ade a Chevalier of the_ Logi.cn o( Honour in 1938. In 1959 he invested £100,ooo" and arranged_· f0r the interest to be sent annually to Israel to help sick and elderly p'2opJ0. In 1960 to mark his 88th birthday, he presented the 'city · or /:.'.'.~kland with £35,000 principally to establish·a I-1edical Library aDd Le-::,tu:re Hall for the Auckland Hospit':l.l in memory of his wife who died in 1955. · In 1961 he made D.n endowu1 mt of £100,000 to maintain the :rjnrary :i.'1 perpetuity. He also gave £10 . 000 to · the Auckland Synagogue· (I:' which he was a Trustee • . He -died at tho age of 90 years in 1962.

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' :w ·.··: • . . A pamphlet on a brief history of the Australian Jewish Collll!lunity, i-equestod by :-~ J . D. Isaac, &'pecial Representa~ive fa the United Kingdom for QANTAS, i~ being prepared by Dr. Joseph.

Dr. Joseph and his kinc::ia··. in America , Mr W. S. J e ssop, are prepar~ an a:rticie in t ::ic nature of a revlewof 7h~ pedigrees of Au st ralian families. Nr Jessop. has . . ·:, -written an introduc-cJ.on E-.."'l..d fc. :rword on t he review which Dr. Joseph will be writ ing in the fo:t'lll of an ap:prcci nti::m PJ."..d cc:!1111'3ntary on the various families.

Dr. Jos~ph i;:rites that :·.n a r scent i ssue of the regular weekly broadshaet :f:ran . · Australia Hou:::a in londc:i, .there l'~:-.s an article called II Australia's Id.nlcs with Li..l'lcolru:hire ." n · mentions c.n h::.~torical exhibition mounted to cel ebrate t !1e bi-c0ntenary cf Geor ge fu.s:J, who was born in Lincolnshire. Joseph Ba.."lks .and Matthew Flinders a l ~o ,·1ere oor.a ·chere • . The exhibiHo!l :13 r.c~r to ·be :!.:".li:-011_:J:rated into the Lincoln Huseum, as part of' its ·oolle~tion. lm ances'::or of Dr. Joseph, Isaac Iaza.rus, who came · from Lincoltr S:ure, a.ud la te1· took ·!ib.0 su.rnc.mc of Lincoln,' emigrated to Australia. There w0re several othe1• f amilies, c::, it :'.:J exper::ted that the Australian Collection at the • Li.TJ.col...'1 . Museum will l'..:.vc a Jc:·r:·.-· . cc.1t'.!'ibution. Should anyone wish t o add :further to this, the Curato..'.:' of t i1e H·ur.01:·:1 ic 1I::- B. Ioughbrough, Old Barracks Burton Road, Lincoln. He 1-rishes ~o hce.-r f r om rcople whose ance stors lived :in Lincoln, and who would be abl e to help build up the Aus,~:.:-R. lian section.

Dro Josep:1 a ~.:::o \r.::·.l:t- ~c t'l:.i=tt an Institute of Race Relations has been formed to help improve re) at:i.ons b::t:·ra0n -Li.18 Yt.rious races in England. The first Director of t he LTJ.sti tutc fa Hr E. J . f...)~0 ( :Jc:!enheim ) , a great-grandson of the .~on. Lewis Uolfe wvy (1 815~5), uho fi.g.1.lJ:-cd pr c-ninently b the Cohen genealogy of Australia. Tho Iondon Jewlsh Ch:n;:li. -~ :· publ.:rhed a. biography of H:r Rose , 18th July issue , . and i n its 15th Aue-..w'.; ie::;:J.e, :l.t 1'.''.lblished a l etter f rom Dr. Joseph pointing 01.1t certain errors in the b:'.og::.·ar ~JY. Si.TJ.CP. then, ¥.tr Rose and his mother, l-".trs E. A~ Rose have been in cont act wi t!.1 D-.:. .J 0s0ph and have arranged to became members of our Society.

The Jewi:3h li:'..stork al So'Jje'uT of Engl and i s promoting a campaie,n to i_ncrease · h:1.storical a'tnµ-enes3 llit hi n t ;.1e Cul:Jilltl.-:ity. Dr. Joseph ha s offered to organise a zae0til1G of Birrn.::ngh.mn members to try to stimulat e inter est, and to put f or1·1ard. · mat·~ers of Aus t:::-alian Jewi sh ~.nterest, in t he hope t hat there may be peopl e in Engl and with information or mat erial of val ue,to our -Societ y •

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TI@_EAftLIB.§.T BURIAIS OF JEWS IH AUS~I_&.

On 15th April, 1788, the first Jew died in Australia and was buried in Aust- ralian soil, This was Joseph Levy who had arrived' with the First Fleet in "Scarbr­ 1 ough" . On 13th July, 1790, another Jewish convict, Uzziel ·aarruch or "Huser Brew0· , died at Sydney Cove and was buried in the piece of ground which Governor Phillip had designated as a burial place, the exact location of which has however, not been clearly determined. This cemetery was probably located in the vicinity of the Rocks or at the end of George Street North. ( 1) In June, 1791; the Reverend Richard Johnson who kept t:1.eBirths, Ieaths and Matr:uo­ onial Registers of tho Colony, noted :L.1 the "Register of Burials at Sydney Cove 11 that on 16th June, 1791, he had buried11 Solomon Bockson (or Bockron ) , convict, a. Jew." (2) This was probabzy the first time that a Jew was mentioned in a register of the Colony. The Nal name of this Jcwia1 convict was Solomon Bockerah, and he was probably one of the rare Sephardi Jews to be deported to Australia. Solomon Bockerah and Robert Hobbs were indicted for 11burglariously breaking and entering the dwelling house of James P:inkington, about the hour of seven in night 6n the 1st of November last (1788) , and ·burglariously stealinG one piece of velveteen, containing thirty'-nine yards,value, £8-4s. , his property." They were tried. ~· fae I.ondon Jury before :Mr Recorder at the Central Cr:L1rl.nal Court of Old Baiey on 10th December, 1788. :Bockerah denied havine stolen the piece of velveteen, and said that he had nQt even seen the roll at all. He called two witnesses to his character, but he was not· believed. The . testimony of a witness showed up the "milku" in which Bockera.h. moved, one of a gang of young thieves. Abraham Abrahams, one of the witnesses, told the court; 11 I went out with Hobbs, Bockerah, and Isaac Bell at night, the 1st of Novembar, with the intent to get some money as well as we could. We were out between 7 and 9, but we met with no ·suc0ess •. Then I went towards home. Coming home they showed me a roll of velveteen. . . • Bockerah was in custody. " Constable·Th. Whithers who had been called in by M:r Pinkington, had put :Bockerah · into a coach to take him to t he watch-house, but passing Houndsditch, the Jews there pelted the coach ,,ith sto~es and cut the traces, so that the coachma.~ could dT.ive no further•. They tried to liberate Bockerah, but W'nithers sought the help of other constables and took Bockorah :L.~to custody. The missing velveteen was later f ound at a pawnbroker's shop. From the evidence of tho witnesses it appeared that tho whole gang of Jewish a.~d Gentile hooligans had been implicated b the robbery, but it was Bockera.h who had b8on caught. P.e was found guilty and sentenced to death, the sentence in September, 1789,being commuted to tra.nsportationfor life to Botany Bay. (3) He arrived in 11 Scarbrough11 with the Second Fleet on 28th June, 1790. A year later h0 was dead and buried, probably in the cemetery mentioned above. G.F.J.B. Potes. (1) See W. Frea..11, Historical Burial Places. R. A.H. s.,J.&P,7.111, P. 10. (2) Register of Burials at Sydney Cov0. (Mitchell Lib. D. 362 ) (3) The whole proceedings in the Old Bailey in 10.1 2.78 & foll.days, case 82. London, 1788. * * * .,

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~-.:r Terry Ifom:ia..YJ., together wih our Hon. Secretary, Hrs L. Rosenberg, is currently er-.·, G~!7Cd in collecting and collating information from old tombstones t h.row{nout tho State and would lilco to rece ive any infonnation not readily obtainable by him. ;I-:i is proparine a volume of photographs and data gained from th8 stones in the cld. s ~ctip!'l of Rookwood Cemetery, Raphael' s Ground, and Bot2.ny Cemetery. In r esponse to an ea.rli0r appeal, Mr Goldberg of the Bombala Trust is prepar:L-rig a lisi,; of namos from stones in Bombala Cemetery, and :Mrs M. Corn0lius sent photon of th..: graves of Mr and Mrs lewis Solomon at Cookto.m, ~ eensland. ( I-'i.t' ~olomon· was f{Jayor of Cooktown for many years.) '1he inscriptions sh ow that Lewis di ed in 1926, aecd 85, and Esthe r, in 1941 , aged 85.

A yery interesting paper, "The Old Jewish Cemeteries of Sydnoy11 has been 1;.:-i tton by Dr. Bergman, and will be -published in the Journal in the near future. * * *

Father F. nceham,Ch.aplain of St. Michaella University College, 150 Clty :-id., Darlington is C

* * * Fr Harold Boas has sug:;'Csted that we research and r e cord t he many examples of th0 irnpe.ct made on the industrial anc.l commercial life of Australia by early Jewish IJ.Wat::.on. He cites Gollin & Co. , Ltd. , a.s an outstanding example . A.ny :LYJ.fonnation and sug93stione? * * * At the Sixth Almual Conf'ercnce of Socie ties affiliated with t he Royal Austr alian Historical Society, 17th-19th October, 1969, Mrs L. Roser.ber g and Hrs P. Josepnson represented our Society. The varied programme of l ectures, doQonstrati ons, outi..~s, and discussions wer e of inestimable valuo to all administrators of itls-~o:dcal societies, and our Secre tary came away greatly enriched by t he exporicnc·..; , * * * k ,)ng the recent attempts of this Society to assist· other Organisations and to :i.n:i;e::-c::; t the ir members in Jewish historical· matters, was a l ecture ovening spent Nith tho Hillel Graduates at the Falk Library. A lively discussion followed addross~s by r1r M. z. Forbes and T'Irs L. Rosenberg on s3l cctcd topics of Jewish interest/ Tho So~iety is prepared to provide speakers for cultural evenings at a...vry tine. T:1c'.':.'El is a wide r ange of topics. * * * -8-

Rabbi Fabian I s Paper, 11 Jewish C-naplaincy in Australia"has be:)n well received. °ryosid0s favom~ablc comment within the m8mberaliip of the SociG"b.,r, the Chapll'.in General's Conference recorded the article . in i t.3 minutes·, t ho Jewish Ex-Servioemon 1 s J ou.rnal, ' 11 1 :Ixltail ' publis..ri.ed it in toto, and the Official History of World Wa:r LL has noted . · tho ccntents of tho article for inclusion in subsequent reprintings mt the History • Copies h3.ve bo .. n presented to the Australian War :r-'iemorial, Canberra, the Ch.aplain ·'.kln.Jral 1S Conference, and to Ministers who have hold tho office and gave R. Fabian help. * * * In a cavcring note to a list of names and addresses of 128 J ewish Royal Wavy Agents to the end of April, 1814, Dr. Henry Shannon of 7ictoria, write s; 11itr great-great maternal gr.and.father was (by family tradition) connected witl-..­ the 1shipp:ing1 trde in Southampton a11d died there about 1843 (name,NaphtaU Solomon) . On8 of his sons, Solomon Solomon, is rioted in a family biblo as dying thore, 6th Juno, 1866. His brother, Phillip; (MY great-grandfather) arrived here in 1830 i.-ri compeny with Rub bi Levi. If at a.r..y t:ilne you should have correspondence with Southampton or with a.nfone visiting there I would be mos-c grateful for any informat ion from either of the a.bov .: tombstones. * * *

i'Ir s Robert D. AbrM.ama; a writor with Australian connections, of 8204 Ceda:r Rd., EJ.ki..-.lS Park, Pennsylvania, 19117, wialies to know whether there are any descende.nt s of Coleman Pru.Hips, born 10th Tocember, 1846, and mentioned in Vol.1 of Colonial Gentry by 8:L-r:-vJoh.YJ. Bernard Burke . The father of Coleman Phillips was Nark, brother of Sir be!ljamin S2.IIIUel P-nillips, the second Jewish Lord Mayor of London. · ~Iis mother was Hannah, and his siblings were PM.Hip, Sa.mu.el, Rebecca, Clara, and Sophl.a. Coleman Phillips· lived · i..-1 New Zealand· for many years, and was a prominent r:iombcr of the J e:-rish community there.

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All comrntl!1i.cations should be addressed to ' thc

Hon. Secretary, · 166 Castlereagh Strec t, SYDNEY 2000.

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