TELL magazine: December 2020 - Emanuel Synagogue

{A WALK THROUGH JEWISH SYDNEY}
Adapted from the Australian Jewish News
Discovering Jewish historic hidden gems
Using his detailed knowledge of
Sydney's Jewish history, Emanuel
Synagogue member Peter Keeda discovered
some fascinating facts while
developing the Australian Jewish
Historical Society (AJHS)'s free
mobile app A Walk of Jewish Sydney.
A Walk of Jewish Sydney was developed
by the AJHS with support
from the City of Sydney. Consisting
of 45 stations, the full 5-kilometre
walk takes about 3 hours to complete,
but users can open the map
and browse a few stops at a time.
"On Macquarie Street, there is a mystery
kerbstone inscribed with a menorah,"
he noted. Peter also learnt of
Edmond Samuels, who ran a pharmacy
and "head-ache bar" on Castlereagh
Street — believed to be the only one in
the world. Another "interesting discovery"
was a Magen David in a window
of St Patrick's Church on Harrington
Street. After Patricia Ritchie donated
money towards the restoration of St
Patrick's Church, she asked if a Star of
David could be placed to honour the
memory and Jewish background of
her late husband, W. M. Ritchie.
Within the Sydney CBD there have
been six synagogues. Commercially,
Jews have played a significant role in
the development of commerce within
the city and politically there have been
two Jewish Lord Mayors of Sydney.
This app also visits the sites of some
Jewish personae who might not be so
praiseworthy: a bushranger, a member
of the ‘razor gangs’ and some other
characters of dubious reputations.
These and other details about the history
of Sydney's Jewish community
form a 5km guided route around the
CBD. The seeds for the app were planted
when Peter attended a community
walk of Jewish Sydney with the AJHS
six years ago. Following a walking
path based on Helen Bersten's book
Jewish Sydney: The First Hundred Years
1788-1888, Keeda thought of ways in
which the tour could be enhanced.
Exploring the AJHS archives, he
began gathering material. Around the
same time, Peter undertook a Master
of Arts degree within the Department
of Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish
Studies of University of Sydney,
run by Professor Suzanne Rutland.
"From time to time over the ensuing
years, I returned to the project
spending many, many hours at
libraries, archives and on the internet,"
he said. Around three years
ago, he managed to secure a grant for
the AJHS from the City of Sydney.
"It occurred to me that this would be a
perfect fit — historic Sydney together
with Australian Jewish history ... I love
the research but hate writing it up, to
which two of my mentors, Professor
Suzanne Rutland and Professor
Konrad Kwiet, will attest. "However,
I have found that in modern technology
such as a phone app, you don't
have to be academically perfect ... As
long as you get the facts straight, readers
are happy." With social distancing
measures now relaxed, Peter believes
now is a good time to download the
app and discover more of Sydney's
rich Jewish history. "It will be a good
activity to get people outdoors because
you don't have to gather in groups
or crowds ... You can do it at your
own pace and on your own terms."
While conducting research for the
app, Peter gathered additional material
which he hopes to include in future
walks. A Walk of Jewish Newtown,
A Walk of Jewish Parramatta, A
Walk of Jewish Darlinghurst and
A Drive in Jewish New South
Wales are all slated as possibilities
for projects down the track.
The app is available on
Google Play and Apple.
York Street Synagogue, circa 1870
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