A Networked Community

Jewish Melbourne in the Nineteenth Century

Sue Silberberg
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A Networked Community

Published

28 April 2020

ISBN

9780522876352

Ebook File Size

11.2MB

Imprint

Melbourne University Press

A Networked Community

Jewish Melbourne in the Nineteenth Century

Sue Silberberg
In 1835 a renegade group of Tasmanians wishing to expand their landholdings disembarked in what was to become Melbourne. This colonising expedition was funded by a group of investors including the Jewish emancipist Joseph Solomon. Thus, in Melbourne, as in the settlement of the continent itself, Jews were at the foundation of colonisation. Unlike many other settlers, these Jews predominantly came from urban backgrounds. Although principally from London, some of them had experienced other forms of Jewish urbanism—in central and eastern Europe, the Ottoman Empire and the Caribbean—and applied their experience to the formation of a new emancipated conceptualisation of urban Judaism In Victoria, as in the other new Australian colonies, there were no civil or political restrictions on the Jewish community. With the establishment of Melbourne, Jewish settlers were required to create new communal frameworks and the religious bodies of an active Jewish life. The community's structure and the…
In 1835 a renegade group of Tasmanians wishing to expand their landholdings disembarked in what was to become Melbourne. This colonising expedition was funded by a group of investors including the Jewish emancipist Joseph Solomon. Thus, in Melbourne, as in the settlement of the continent itself, Jews were at the foundation of colonisation. Unlike many other settlers, these Jews predominantly came from urban backgrounds. Although principally from London, some of them had experienced other forms of Jewish urbanism—in central and eastern Europe, the Ottoman Empire and the Caribbean—and applied their experience to the formation of a new emancipated conceptualisation of urban Judaism. In Victoria, as in the other new Australian colonies, there were no civil or political restrictions on the Jewish community. With the establishment of Melbourne, Jewish settlers were required to create new communal frameworks and the religious bodies of an active Jewish life. The community's structure and the institutions they founded were a pragmatic response to the necessities of communal formation and the realities of maintaining Judaism within this colonial outpost. As with other Jewish communities in the large centres of the world, they responded to the freedoms of an emancipated society, while the political and social environment of a new city such as Melbourne provided a unique set of opportunities. Unlike in other cities where Jewish property ownership was restricted, here Jews could live and work where they chose, becoming, from the first land sales, investors in property. Subsequently as the city expanded, as developers and builders they influenced the formation of the urban fabric, while their intellectual and economic connections brought new political and intellectual ideas and networks to the colonial experience.

Book Chat: Sue Silberberg on 'A Networked Community'

Commendation, Victorian Community History Award 'Community Diversity Award' 2020

Sue Silberberg has left no stone unturned, or rather, no periodical, book or paper unscrutinised, in chronicling the lives, activities and influence of Jews in Melbourne throughout the nineteenth century. She brings to the task, the forensic eye and mind of an academic.”
Melbourne Jewish Book Week

In this meticulously researched and insightful study, the tension between maintaining orthodoxy and adapting to the challenges of a new society is superbly captured. By exploring the political, social, cultural and economic dimensions of Jewish life and contributions, 'A Networked Community' transforms our understanding of colonial Melbourne and enhances our understanding of its complexity, richness and diversity.”
Professor Joy Damousi

Sue Silberberg

Sue Silberberg

Sue Silberberg is a historian, curator and arts administrator. She was educated at the University of Melbourne, Monash University, Deakin University and the International Centre for the Conservation of Cultural Material (ICCROM). She holds a doctorate in History from the University of Melbourne, where she has been a research fellow at the eScholarship Research Centre. Previously Silberberg was a museum curator and director in London and Victoria, specialising in historic buildings. She held senior government…

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