History
Jews came first to Australia as convicts transported aboard the First Fleet in 1788 to Botany Bay.
Over time these convicts became freed men, some of whom were sufficiently attached to their religion to form themselves into a chevra kadisha (burial society). In 1820 the Jews established a Jewish cemetery. The death of one Joel Joseph prompted the application, and he was the first Jew buried there. During the next ten years there was no great increase in membership; and the services of the society were not called for more than once a year.
In the 1820s there was an influx of Jewish merchants into the community and divine worship was performed for the first time. In 1830 a Sefer Torah was purchased by subscription, and divine service was conducted on a more regular basis. In 1832 the Jewish community formed a proper congregation, and appointed J. B. Montefiore as the first president.
In 1830 the first Jewish wedding in Australia was celebrated, the contracting parties being Moses Joseph and Rosetta Nathan. Three years later a Mr. Rose came from England and acted as the chazzan, shochet, and mohel. He was succeeded by Jacob Isaacs. The condition of the Jews improved to such an extent that in 1844 they erected their first synagogue in York Street, Sydney, in which they continued to worship for more than thirty years.
The Australian Jewish community numbered only 23,000 Jews. Between 1933 and 1939 8,000 Jews immigrated to the country. Between 1945 and 1955 another 27,000 immigrated from Displaced Persons camps in Europe. Among those organizations assisting these immigrants were the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Australian Jewish Welfare Societies and Australian Jewish Welfare and Relief Society. A majority of the immigrants moved to Melbourne and particularly to Carlton. Others moved to Kings Cross and Bondi in Sydney.
Jewish immigration came at a time of antisemitism and the Returned Services League and other groups publicized cartoons to encourage the government and the immigration Minister Arthur A. Calwell to stem the flow of Jewish immigrants.
Read more about this topic: Australian Jews
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