| Historical notes: | STATEMENT OF COUNTRY
The NSW Jewish War Memorial and Sydney Jewish Museum is within Gadigal country (alternatively Cadigal) of the Eora nation (AIATSIS 1996). Nearby Oxford Street follows an Aboriginal maroo (track) walked over millennia that connects South Head with a ceremonial site for dispensing justice, now Hyde Park. Several other present streets follow Gadigal pathways, retaining a tangible link to the pre-colonial landscape and demonstrating the enduring influence of Aboriginal movement routes on the development of Darlinghurst's urban form (UTS 2022).
The ridgelines and freshwater sources of the Darlinghurst area formed part of a rich cultural landscape that supported Aboriginal life for thousands of years.
Despite the impacts of European colonisation, including dispossession from land, Gadigal and Aboriginal communities continued to camp in the area regularly until the very end of the 19th century (AUSWHN 2024) and connections to Country have endured.
EARLY JEWISH HISTORY IN NSW
Jewish migration to NSW began with the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788. Eight hundred Jewish convicts, most commonly from London's poorer areas, were transported for relatively minor offences and established a small Jewish community (Sydney Jewish Museum, 2019). From the 1830s, free Jewish settlers arrived in Sydney from the United Kingdom, strengthening the diaspora in both major cities and rural centres (Sydney Jewish Museum, 2019). Pogroms in Russia and Poland saw increased refugee arrivals in the late 1800s, with about 3000 Eastern European Jewish people arriving (Sydney Jewish Museum, 2019). By the end of the 1800s, approximately 6000 Jewish people were living in Australia and established community organisations, places of worship, and successful local businesses (Sydney Jewish Museum, 2019).
By 1933 there was a sizeable population of 33,000 Jewish people in Australia. From 1933 to 1940, as conditions for Jewish people living in Germany became intolerable, 10,000 Jewish refugees arrived in Australia and after World War II, over 15,000 Holocaust survivors migrated, principally from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. Unlike other displaced persons, most Jewish immigrants were personally sponsored. The Australian Jewish Welfare Society played an important role in sponsoring and supporting new arrivals in the absence of support from the International Refugee Organisation and discriminatory actions of the Australian Government (Arriving and Settling in Australia, 2012). At that time, and still today, the largest Jewish community in NSW was in Sydney. Today the Jewish community in Sydney is second only in Australia to that in Melbourne (Australian Jewish News, 2024).
There were additional Jewish migrants from Hungary after the Hungarian uprising in 1956, and Poland between 1957 and 1966. In the 1960s, additional Jewish migrants came from South Africa, Israel and the former Soviet Union (Arriving and Settling in Australia, 2012). In 2021, the estimated Jewish population in NSW was around 47,099 people, roughly 0.6% of the total state population (Census of Population and Housing, 2021).
140-148 DARLINGHURST ROAD, DARLINGHURST
The site on which the NSW Jewish War Memorial and Sydney Jewish Museum now sits forms part of land originally granted to colonial commissary John Palmer in 1794, as part of an extensive Woolloomooloo estate. Following subdivision of the Riley Estate in 1844, the area was gradually developed with residential buildings and contained a number of brick dwellings fronting Darlinghurst Road and Burton Street by the late 19th century (Australian Dictionary of Biography, 2022). The buildings at 140-148 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst, remained on site until their demolition in 1923 to make way for the construction of the Maccabean Hall and NSW Jewish War Memorial. The purchase of these properties was facilitated by Orwell Phillips, who advanced a substantial portion of the purchase money to secure the properties, though it is unclear when this sale happened or why this site was chosen (Weir Phillips, 2023).
MACCABEAN HALL/NSW JEWISH WAR MEMORIAL (1923-1965)
Before World War I, there had been longstanding calls within the Jewish community of NSW for a permanent communal centre. Following the war, these ambitions were merged with a proposal for a Jewish war memorial, resulting in the establishment of the NSW Jewish War Memorial and Maccabean Hall. This project brought together synagogue leaders, returned servicemen and the wider Jewish community, and was funded entirely by public subscription (Hebrew Standard of Australasia, 1923).
The centre was established in 1923 as both a memorial to the Jewish men and women of NSW who served in World War I and a permanent community centre for Sydney's Jewish community, the largest in NSW. Designed by architect Gordon S Keesing, the building was opened by General Sir John Monash, considered to be the foremost Allied military commander of World War I, on Armistice Day 1923. From the outset, the building was intended not only to commemorate Jewish military service, but to also provide a permanent home for Jewish social, cultural, educational and charitable activities. On the intended future of the site, Monash noted 'it has the aim of keeping the Jewish people together and preserving the creed, perpetuating the faithto prevent the regrettable drift that is making many of our people cease from owing allegiance to the religion of their fathers' (Sydney Jewish Museum, 2019). The site quickly became the centre of Jewish social and cultural life in Sydney. It provided facilities for meetings, lectures, dances, community events, religious observances and charitable organisations (Hebrew Standard of Australasia; 1923, Sydney Jewish Museum, 2019).
During the 1940s and 1950s, the hall played an important role in welcoming Jewish refugees from Europe, hosting social gatherings, English language classes, welfare activities and community support programs. The Australian Jewish Welfare Society moved into the Maccabean Hall and used it as a base from which to support Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors arriving in Australia. Sydney was major point of entry and settlement for Jewish refugees and Holocaust survivors arriving in Australia after World War II, many of whom were sponsored and supported by established Jewish organisations based in the city (Arriving and Settling in Australia, 2012). Without support from the International Refugee Organisation or Australian Government programs, Maccabean Hall became an important part of the support infrastructure that enabled settlement for Jewish refugees, providing a centre for welfare and support to assist new arrivals settling in NSW(Arriving and Settling in Australia, 2012).
In 1950, the three storey inter-war period building (Kadimah Building) was acquired, as well as two cottages and two shops adjoining the Maccabean Hall to facilitate the growing needs of the site (Weir Phillips, 2023).
NSW JEWISH WAR MEMORIAL AND COMMUNITY CENTRE (1965-1992)
In 1965-66, the complex was substantially expanded through the construction of the Rupert Michaelis Building, designed by immigrant architect Dr Henry Epstein. The new NSW Jewish War Memorial and Community Centre reflected the substantial post-war growth of Sydney's Jewish community and provided accommodation for a range of Jewish organisations, including the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Australian Jewish Welfare Society and community groups. The new Brutalist building featured a monumental four storey concrete menorah designed by prominent sculptor Lyndon Dadswell and reinforced the complex's role as the principal centre of Jewish cultural and commemorative activities in NSW (Sydney Jewish Museum, 2019).
SYDNEY JEWISH MUSEUM (1992-PRESENT)
The Sydney Jewish Museum was established within the former Maccabean Hall and officially opened by Governor Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair on 18 November 1992. Initiated by Holocaust survivors and led by John Saunders AO, the museum was founded to preserve the memory of the Holocaust, honour survivors and educate future generations through exhibitions, research, oral histories and public programs. The Sydney Jewish Museum holds over 2500 testimonies from Holocaust survivors, with over 30 active survivor volunteers sharing histories. The museum expanded the site's functions beyond commemoration and community use, now becoming a major centre for Holocaust remembrance, Australian Jewish history and education while continuing the site's long standing role as a focal point for Jewish community life in NSW (Sydney Jewish Museum: Arriving and Settling in Australia, 2012).
The Jewish organisations that function from here include NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, NSW Jewish War Memorial Community Centre, NSW Association for Jewish Service & Ex-Service Men & Women (NAJEX), Jewish Communal Appeal, Australasian Jewish Historical Society, reference library for Jewish studies and a number of other agencies that service the Jewish community of Sydney and NSW. |