Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Convicts and Early Settlement
- 2 Waves of Migration
- 3 A Place in Australian Society
- 4 The Watershed Years
- 5 Diverse Voices
- 6 Israel and Zionism
- 7 Transformation or Disappearance?
- 8 Jewish Women
- 9 The Broader Community
- 10 Recent Immigrants
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 Synagogues
- Appendix 2 Parliamentarians
- Appendix 3 Hostels, 1945–1960
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
2 - Waves of Migration
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- 1 Convicts and Early Settlement
- 2 Waves of Migration
- 3 A Place in Australian Society
- 4 The Watershed Years
- 5 Diverse Voices
- 6 Israel and Zionism
- 7 Transformation or Disappearance?
- 8 Jewish Women
- 9 The Broader Community
- 10 Recent Immigrants
- Conclusion
- Appendix 1 Synagogues
- Appendix 2 Parliamentarians
- Appendix 3 Hostels, 1945–1960
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Australian Jewry experienced three waves of immigration between 1850 and 1930 – German Jews and others arriving during the gold rushes, refugees from Tsarist Russia from 1880 to 1914, and Polish Jews after 1918. However, the numbers arriving with each of these waves were comparatively small, and Australian Jewry remained a tiny, isolated outpost of the Jewish world until the 1930s.
The gold-rush era
Gold was discovered in New South Wales in 1848, and shortly afterwards larger goldfields were found in Victoria. Amongst those adventurers who came were some young Jewish men, often from Germany. German Jews had been very active in the 1848 democratic revolutions and, when they failed, many sought a democratic life in the New World, mostly in the United States.
Travel to Australia by sailing ship was a lengthy journey, and after arriving they faced a difficult journey to the goldfields. Abraham Abrahamsohn, who initially worked at the Californian goldfields and then travelled to Australia, described these hardships:
During the march it rained without letup, so that a compass was our guide. The paths were bottomless and our hardships incredible. We often had to swim horse and wagon across water, and strip, and carry our goods to the other shore on our heads. When, after a trip of one hundred and sixty miles, we had reached Mount Alexander, our horse, which until then had been fed on grass, was so weak that it could not continue. We had no other choice than to burn our implements during the preparation of a meal, and rest for a day.
After a journey of eight days with the thus, less burdened horse, we reached the Bendigo River, along which the canvas tents of thousands of workers extended for miles.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Jews in Australia , pp. 22 - 35Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005