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Australian Jewish History
One of the first Jewish people to set foot in Australia was a woman convict named Esther Abrahams. On February 6th 1788, she stood on the deck of a convict ship with her baby daughter in her arms. She waited for the sailors to row her and the other convict women ashore at Sydney Cove.
Esther had been sent to New South Wales as a punishment for shop-lifing 22 metres of black silk lace from a London shop. It was her first offence, but the judge at the London Court found her guilty and sentenced her to 7 years as a convict in Australia.
Esther hoped to see a young officer of the Royal Marines, Lieutenant George Johnston, who had also sailed on the Lady Penrhyn. He had helped and protected Esther and her baby during the voyage and he was eventually to become her husband.
It was good to be ashore again after nine months on board ship. However, the confusion at Sydney Cove and the hot, humid February weather made Esther wonder if she would ever get used to this strange place.
The convicts were usually hungry, bored and homesick. They had to work 6 days a week. Esther and the other women who could sew were employed making men's shirts and trousers out of the coarse material which had been brought from England.
Some women were sent to the harbour beaches to look for shells. The shells could be used to make lime for mortar. Mortar is the mixture that cements bricks together. Others were shown how to make wooden pegs which were used to hold the shingles onto roofs. While the women worked, their children slept or played nearby. Sometimes the women made small toys for them out of wooden pegs and scraps of cloth.
The convict children of Sydney in 1788 had no grandparents or other relatives to look after and amuse them.
Lieutenant Johnson, even though he was not Jewish, married Esther. His house was a tiny 'wattle and daub' cottage built by convicts with local timber. The wall posts were made of timber. The roof was thatched with reeds that were later replaced by wooden shingles. The builders finished off the cottage with a coating of mud. Near the cottage was a vegetable garden planted with potatoes, pumpkins, turnips and corn.
Religion in Sydney
On Sunday mornings at 10 o'clock the drummer boy would beat his drum. Everyone would gather under the trees for a religious service conducted by the Reverend Richard Johnson, the Church of England chaplain. All the convicts and marines had to attend the service and the Governor instructed everyone to be as clean and tidy as possible.
Governor Phillip planned to build a Church of England in Sydney Town, but other buildings such as the hospital and storehouses had to be built first. All religious services had to be conducted in the stores buildings or outside under the trees.
Aborigines and religion
The people of the First Fleet believed that the Aborigines they came in contact with had no religion. They couldn't see any Aboriginal action or places that looked tike their own European form of worship. They didn't realise that all the Aboriginal tribes, including the Lora tribe, whom the settlers first met, had beliefs that explained the creation of their world and a rich religious life.
Jewish religious life begins
Early Jewish convicts found it hard to practice their religion. They were far away from other Jews and had very little Jewish knowledge. They probably also had little interest in establishing a religious community.
Yet as early as 1817 the Jews had formed a Chevra Kadisha to perform burials according to Jewish law. This was the first recorded act of any Jewish life.
By the 1820s many convicts had been set free and Jewish free settlers had come to the colony. Between them they began to organise Jewish life. Joseph Marcus, a convict with good Hebrew knowledge, brought together about 30 Jews to pray together.
By 1827 the congregation of some 400 people established the first synagogue in Australia in rented premises a 4 Bridge Street Sydney.
When Philip Joseph Cohen arrived in 1828 he brought the permission of the Chief Rabbi of London to perform Jewish marriages. Regular services took place in his home in George Street until 1832.
LINKS
Jewish Virtual Library Synagogues of Australia Photo Gallery
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