Families to gather
During the May 5-7 weekend reunion, descendant Michael Komesaroff will retrace how his extended family was brought to Australia from Grafksoy in Ukraine by family member Yaakov
THE ties of Melbourne’s Zmood, Grinblat and Komesaroff families to Ballarat will be celebrated at a reunion next month, with a Shabbat service at the Ballarat Shule.
Communal figure Roger Mendelson, a member of the Komesaroff clan, noted the Zmoods and Grinblats have links with Ballarat from the 1880s, and the Komesaroffs from the 1920s.
The Grinblats and Zmoods lived in Ballarat until about 1920, with figures including Moishe Rabinov, Aaron Moishe Grinblat, Abraham Grinblat, Zvi Wolf Grinblat and Harry Zmood.
They became interrelated with the Komesaroffs over generations, starting with Yaacov Leib Komisaruk, who came to Melbourne from a region of Russia that is now eastern Ukraine in 1913. Changing his name to Mendelson, he moved to Ballarat in about 1917, where he hawked and opened dress shops.
“After a major campaign, assisted by William Allen, a Ballarat journalist, he got approval from federal cabinet to return and bring his family out to Australia, which he did in 1922,” explained Mendelson.
The Komesaroffs, originally from Lithuania, were among the descendants of the Vilna Gaon, revered leader of the 18th century Jewish Enlightenment. Lured by the promise of land for farming and exemptions from military service, they joined a colonisation scheme by Tsar Nicholas I to “Russify” eastern Ukraine.
However, the new arrivals were not welcomed by local Ukrainians, whose anti-Russian feelings were strongly laced with antisemitism. Departing Ukraine early last century for North America and Australia enabled these families to avoid the Shoah.
During the May 5-7 weekend reunion, descendant Michael Komesaroff will retrace how his extended family was brought to Australia from Grafksoy in Ukraine by family member Yaakov Leib.
Michael Zmood, representing the Zmood and Grinblat families, will relate connections to Ballarat in the post-Gold Rush era, dating back to the late 1880s.
Attendees can visit a house at 1306 Sturt Street, Ballarat, where most of the Komesaroffs lived; historically important city sights relating to the Zmoods and Grinblats; and a cemetery to honour the graves of family members.
Noting that the Komesaroffs, Grinblats and Zmoods have organised multiple reunions over the years, Mendelson reflected, “The custom in our family, going back to the first international reunion in San Franscisco, is that we are all cousins – whether first, second, third, twice-removed, married a cousin, honorary cousin – it doesn’t matter.”
Contact roger@rmendelson.com.au or 0438 906 181 for more information or to sponsor the event.
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