Celebrating 100 years of service

The Jewish community of Launceston gathered on May 11 to honour a century of dedication and service by the Crawcour and Sandor families to the historic Launceston Synagogue.

The story of this remarkable legacy began in 1916 when Sim Crawcour arrived in Launceston and discovered the Synagogue abandoned and overgrown, with blackberry bushes and moss covering its walls.

Undeterred, he partnered with the only other two Jewish families in the city to begin the process of reviving the community and the synagogue.

In 1925, after a bill was tabled in Parliament in December 1924, Sim Crawcour and Harry Joseph were officially appointed trustees of the Synagogue. Over the next two years, they cleared the grounds and arranged for the building to be rented to the Oliver Cromwell Lodge, which undertook essential renovations as part of the agreement.

By 1929, the local Jewish population began to grow. With the synagogue still rented out, services were held in private homes. In 1938, a formal synagogue board was established, and regular services resumed, often with rabbis flown in from interstate.

Sim Crawcour played a crucial role in maintaining the synagogue and sustaining its religious life. A highlight of this era was the visit of Rabbi Israel Brodie, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and the Commonwealth, in April 1952.

As the Jewish population in Launceston declined, maintaining regular services became increasingly difficult. Although regular services ceased in 1964, Sim and Harry continued to pray alone at the synagogue. Following Sim’s passing in 1975, his daughter Beth Sandor and her husband John took on the care and trusteeship, funding maintenance and keeping the synagogue alive. In 1984, under their stewardship, services resumed and have continued for the past 41 years.

To commemorate 100 years of service, the synagogue hosted a celebration attended by about 40 people, including 11 descendants of John and Beth Sandor, many of whom travelled from interstate.

Rabbi Yossi Gordon was instrumental in reviving services in the 1980s and has served the Tasmanian Jewish community for more than 40 years. Rabbi Gordon spoke passionately about the importance of passing this legacy to the next generation to ensure continued growth.

The Launceston Synagogue remains open for Saturday services and Jewish holidays. While a quorum is needed for a Minyan to take out the Torah Scrolls for the special weekly reading, the community continues to gather in faith and tradition.