Great Synagogue, Sydney, Australia

Jews have lived in New South Wales since 1788; at least eight Jewish convicts were aboard the First Fleet, and several hundred more on subsequent transports. Like Catholics, Jews could not observe their religious beliefs until the early 1820s, as until then all denominations were required to attend Anglican Church ceremonies.

The arrival of a significant number of free Jewish settlers in Sydney in the late 1820s prompted the organization of Jewish communal and religious life. The Sydney Jewish community was officially established in 1831, and the first recorded meeting took place in rooms above "Mr. Rowell’s shop on George Street." This location continued to be used until 1837. The first clergyman, Reverend Michael Rose, arrived in Sydney in 1835. After that, the community moved through various temporary premises across the city center. It was only in 1844 that Jews had a permanent place of worship in Sydney, when land was allocated for a synagogue on York Street.

The gold rush of the 1850s brought many more Jewish settlers to Australia, with the population nearly tripling during that decade. Most of these new settlers emigrated from the United Kingdom, which meant they recognized the Chief Rabbi of the British Empire as their supreme spiritual authority.

In 1859, debates over the circumcision of a son of a non-Jewish mother caused a split in the Sydney Jewish community. Many of the founders of the Sydney Synagogue broke away and established the Sydney New Synagogue in a former Baptist chapel on Macquarie Street.

The Sydney Synagogue continued to operate at its York Street location until the building could no longer accommodate the growing Jewish community. By that time, the New Sydney Synagogue was experiencing financial difficulties. Both synagogues soon realized the futility of existing as separate communities.

The Great Synagogue was built to unite the two Jewish communities in Sydney, which at the time worshipped in synagogues on York Street and Macquarie Street. The synagogue on York Street was designed by James Hume in the Egyptian Revival style and built in 1844. In 1864, the first steps were taken to find a suitable site for a new, larger synagogue.

In 1871, a meeting was held at York Street to discuss purchasing land on Elizabeth Street. It was proposed to meet with the Macquarie Street synagogue to unite in acquiring land for a large synagogue that could serve the entire community. John Solomon, a builder, purchased the land at auction for £2,000 in 1871 and held it until the community could raise sufficient funds. The money was to be raised by selling land on Kent Street, which had been allocated for a Jewish school but was never used. Additional funds were raised by selling properties on York Street and Macquarie Street. A call was also published to finance the construction of the new building, accompanied by a photograph of the Central Synagogue in London (opened in 1870 and destroyed by bombing in 1941), which was to serve as a model for the Sydney building. Thomas Rowe, a Cornish architect from Sydney, was selected in 1872 through a limited competition; other competitors were George Allen Mansfield and Benjamin Backhouse. Rowe also acted as the construction supervisor for the new building. The synagogue building was partially based on the synagogue on Princess Road in Liverpool. The foundation stone was laid in January 1875 by Saul Samuel, Postmaster General and the first Jewish minister of the Crown in the British Empire. In December 1875, the women of the congregation held a bazaar at Martin Place to raise additional funds.

The chief contractor for the stone masonry was Aaron Loveridge, founder of the modern firm Loveridge & Hudson. The contract drawings, prepared by Rowe and signed by Loveridge, are held in the Mitchell Library in Sydney. The synagogue was consecrated on March 4, 1878, but its finishing was not completed until 1883. At the time of completion, the synagogue was one of the first major Victorian buildings erected in Sydney.

The Great Synagogue combines elements of Byzantine style and Gothic features. This building is often called the "cathedral synagogue" of Australia. The Great Synagogue consists of two main sections: the original synagogue (prayer house) with a ladies’ gallery at the Elizabeth Street end, and a five-story modern section at the Castlereagh Street end behind the façade of the original Beadle’s residence. The original eclectic Victorian Free Gothic design was described at the consecration as Byzantine with Gothic elements. The façade and towers on Elizabeth Street are constructed of Pyrmont stone, while the rest of the early building is brick with cast iron columns, wooden floors, and a slate roof. The façade on Castlereagh Street is stone at the first-floor level and brick above.

The interior is decorated with plaster moldings, carved wood, and stained glass, all adorned with abstract patterns to avoid depicting living forms. The surviving wooden stairs at the Elizabeth Street end have carved balustrades. The walls are painted with gold leaf, and the furniture is mostly polished wood and brass. Several original color schemes remain, especially on the ceiling of the veranda on Elizabeth Street, while the dark blue ceiling with gold leaf stars has been repainted several times to match the original design. The wooden floors are leveled both on the ground floor and gallery level, and the central part of the ground floor and the arch steps, as well as the porch, are tiled with mosaic. The basement contains a hall with steel portal frames supporting the columns and the floor above, as well as the A.M. Rosenblum Museum and the Rabbi Falk Library. The modern section, built of reinforced concrete, contains offices, classrooms, and conference rooms, as well as an elevator and fire escape, and has an upper floor with an opening roof. The modern stained glass on the Castlereagh Street façade was designed by Louis Kahan from Melbourne. The building houses samples of revered sacred scrolls and religious artifacts, including a menorah (nine-branched candelabrum) made by Rabbi L.A. Falk.

The current synagogue has a traditional feature — a raised women's gallery. When it was first built, the bimah, as appropriate, occupied a central position. However, to increase capacity, in 1906 the bimah was moved to the western wall. Over the years, extensive additions and changes have been made to other facilities related to this building, including the construction of a sukkah, earthworks and the creation of a large reception area beneath the synagogue itself, the building of the Rabbi Falk Memorial Library, installation of electricity in the chandeliers, and the installation of a Sabbath elevator. A useful overview of the synagogue’s history is contained in a 2008 book edited by Rabbi Raymond Apple.

The Great Synagogue holds records of births, marriages, and deaths dating back to the first entry made on November 1, 1826.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Synagogue_(Sydney)

https://oztorah.com/2007/05/a-history-of-the-great-synagogue-sydney/

https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/stories/australian-jewish-community-and-culture/great-synagogue