Milestones of Jewish migration
THE story of Jewish migration to Australia has its origins with the First Fleet and each wave of new arrivals left its mark on the nation.
It is against this scenario that Jewish Museum of Australia (JMA) curator Dr Deborah Rechter has selected a treasure-trove of artefacts, photos, letters, books and memorabilia for the new permanent exhibition, Calling Australia Home, which has just opened in the new Zelman Cowen Gallery of Australian Jewish History.
Most of the 150 items on display come from the museum’s own extensive collection, which have not been exhibited before.
The gallery is a tribute to Sir Zelman Cowan, a former governor-general, academic and constitutional lawyer who died last December, aged 92. He had been patron of JMA since its inception in 1982.
“Visitors to the museum can engage with the items in this new exhibition,” says Dr Rechter. “Many people in the community feel ownership of them.”
Dr Rechter says the exhibition explores the diversity of the present-day community, looking at why they came to Australia, the lives they built for themselves and what it means to be Jewish.
The exhibition is divided into six distinct chronological sections dating from early settlement to modern times.
“The displays have been structured around the migration of each period,” she says, noting that many Jews settled in Australia as a refuge from war, persecution and hardship.
“As they established new lives and integrated into Australian society, Jews sought to maintain their distinctly Jewish identity.”
The oldest object in the exhibition is a silver snuff box from 1833 that Englishman Samuel Moss Solomon carried with him to Australia when he visited his sons Emanuel and Vaiben, who had been transported in 1818 to Van Diemen’s Land (renamed Tasmania in 1856).
“This is one of the few surviving objects from the convict era,” says Dr Rechter. “It is valuable for us to tell these stories from those days.”
Other items include the World War I helmet belonging to General Sir John Monash, a piano accordion belonging to Leo Rosner who survived Hitler’s death camps by playing the accordion and was made famous by the movie Schindler’s List, and Sir Zelman Cowan’s Order of Australia medal that he received in 1977.
Footy fans will delight in seeing the premiership jumper worn by St Kilda player Ian Synman in the team’s 1966 Grand Final win over Collingwood that was played on Yom Kippur, alongside a premiership football with the names of all the players.
The period from the 1850s to Federation in 1901 was an important time for Jewish involvement in wider community affairs, according to Dr Rechter.
“Many Jews contributed to local politics, which reflected the freedom they enjoyed compared to other parts of the world. Victoria was a liberal place at that time.”
One of the items on display is the gold mayoral chain from Emerald Hill (now South Melbourne).
The exhibition also features several exhibits from World War I when a large number of Jews enlisted for war service and the postwar period, which signalled the start of migration from Eastern Europe.
Also on display are items from the Hay internment camp in NSW where about 2000 Jewish German refugees were sent from Britain in 1940 aboard the Dunera. They were released in 1941 and many settled in Australia.
The exhibition includes a metal sign with the word “Shalom” on it that came from a home in Bentleigh East in suburban Melbourne in the 1970s.
“The exhibition also speaks to the wider communities in Australia,” says Dr Rechter.
“The themes are familiar for most people living in Australia today.”
Calling Australia Home is at the Jewish Museum of Australia, 26 Alma Road, St Kilda. Enquiries: www.jewishmuseum.com.au.
REPORT by Danny Gocs
PHOTO of Dr Deborah Rechter at the Jewish Museum of Australia’s new exhibition, Calling Australia Home. Photo: Peter Haskin