Curator's Corner #31-
150 years ago
on 26 January 1875, the Jewish community in Sydney laid the foundation stone of The Great Synagogue.
While today many Australians debate over the appropriateness of celebrating Australia Day on 26 January, there was no hesitation in the minds of Jewish leaders in Sydney 150 years ago. In 1875, they chose the anniversary of the foundation of the colony as an appropriate day when to lay the keystone of the new Synagogue in Elizabeth Street.
Objects in our Museum illustrate the significance of this event. In difficult times, we can turn to our past, and to celebrate the 150th anniversary, we present a small selection of our museum artefacts. Whilst we acknowledge here those who donated these treasures, our utmost gratitude is extended to all generous donors who enriched the collection over the years.
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#31 High from above
That The Great Synagogue in Sydney is photogenic is well known. But recent drone-aerial photography has taken our iconic building to a new height.
Please note visitor's Drone photography is not permitted in The Great Synagogue.
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#32 The Great Synagogue’s humble “shtender” שטענדער
For years, this unassuming lectern stood forgotten in a corner, collecting dust and moths.
Recently, a historian familiar with colonial furniture revealed that it could be a rare example of early synagogue furnishing in Australia. Made locally from red cedar and standing over a meter tall, this shtender could be some 200 years old. Perhaps it was used for the early Sydney Jewish congregation’s first religious services as reported by The Sydney Monitor in 1828. A Chumash, the Torah in the form of a book, would then rest on the inclined plane of the lectern.
It would take several years for the congregation to acquire the first Torah scroll and ornaments, and a larger, more sophisticated Torah Ark which is still in our Museum collection. In 1844 the first synagogue opened in Sydney’s York Street. Its interior, featuring the ark and bimah, was last year researched and virtually recreated by Jana Vytrhlik and Zac Levi of The Great Synagogue.
Similar wooden lecterns with a top compartment made for storing ritual objects have been used all over the Jewish Diaspora for centuries. Well known are the examples from Prague’s oldest synagogue, or the old Moldavian synagogue in Romania.
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#33 Great’s Locks and Keys
Our latest treasure comes from the recently restored Great Synagogue’s front gate. A set of nine-inch, iron, draw-back rim locks, (almost) complete with large keys, started life the same day our gates opened in 1878. Manufactured in England, the round stamp on brass plate can be deciphered as belonging to the Carpenter & Tildesley, a successful hardware company in Willenhall, Midlands.
Interestingly, while the massive iron gates for the synagogue were made in the Sydney’s Fletcher Bros foundry, iron rim locks were imported from England until early 1900s.
These items are part of our growing collection of original hardware, stones, bricks, tiles, metal or glass pieces, all carefully cleaned and catalogued. They too tell story of the Sydney Jewish community and our congregation.
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