The Great Synagogue is an
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
congregation located in a large heritage-listed
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
at 187a
Elizabeth Street in the
Sydney central business district
The Sydney central business district (CBD) is the historical and main Central business district, commercial centre of Sydney. The CBD is Sydney's city centre, or Sydney City, and the two terms are used interchangeably. Colloquially, the CBD or c ...
, in the
City of Sydney
The City of Sydney is the local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the greater metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament in 1842, th ...
local government area of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia.
The congregation is the oldest in the Sydney Jewish community, and comprises around 550 families. There are services every day of the week with the exception of Sunday. The service is Orthodox and traditional, with a professional choir singing on Shabbat and Festival mornings and at some evening services.
The synagogue runs adult education classes, a bar and bat mitzvah program, a course for those who wish to convert to
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
and provides pastoral care to its members. Its Chief Minister is traditionally regarded as a primary representative of Judaism to the wider community.
Situated opposite
Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
, the synagogue building extends to
Castlereagh Street
Castlereagh Street is a major street located in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs in a north-to-south, in a one way direction only.
Description
Castlereagh Street's northern terminus is at the ...
. It was designed by
Thomas Rowe
Thomas Rowe (20 July 1829 – 14 January 1899) was a British-born architect, builder and goldminer who became one of Australia's leading architects of the Victorian era. He was also a politician, who was the first Mayor of Manly.
Early life ...
and built from 1874 to 1878, with stonework by Aaron Loveridge and stone carving by Thomas Wran. The synagogue was added to the
New South Wales State Heritage Register
The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...
on 10 September 2004.
The building is also listed on the (now defunct)
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...
.
History
The Great Synagogue was built to unite two Jewish congregations in Sydney which worshiped at the time in synagogues in
York Street
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...
and
Macquarie Street. The York Street Synagogue had been designed in the
Egyptian Revival
Egyptian Revival is an architectural style that uses the motifs and imagery of ancient Egypt. It is attributed generally to the public awareness of ancient Egyptian monuments generated by Napoleon's conquest of Egypt and Admiral Nelson's defeat ...
style by
James Hume and built in 1844. The first moves were made in 1864 towards obtaining a suitable site for a new, larger synagogue.
In 1871 a meeting was held at
York Street
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a m ...
to discuss buying land available in
Elizabeth Street. It was suggested a meeting be held with the Macquarie Street Synagogue to unite in purchasing the land for a synagogue to serve the whole community. John Solomon, a builder, purchased the land at auction for in 1871 and held it until the congregation could raise sufficient funds. The proposal was for a synagogue and educational facilities. The money was to be raised by sale of land in Kent Street which had been granted for a Jewish school but never used. Further money was raised by the sale of the York and Macquarie Street properties. An appeal was also launched to fund the new building, accompanied by a photograph of the Central Synagogue in London (opening in 1870 and destroyed by bombing in 1941) which was intended to serve as the model for the Sydney building.
Thomas Rowe
Thomas Rowe (20 July 1829 – 14 January 1899) was a British-born architect, builder and goldminer who became one of Australia's leading architects of the Victorian era. He was also a politician, who was the first Mayor of Manly.
Early life ...
, a
Cornish architect based in Sydney, was selected in 1872 by means of a limited competition, the other competitors being
George Allen Mansfield
George Allen Mansfield (15 June 1834 – 20 January 1908) was a prominent Australian architect of the nineteenth century who designed many iconic buildings in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Life
Born in 1834 in Sydney, his father, the Reve ...
and
Benjamin Backhouse
Benjamin Backhouse (182929 July 1904) was an architect and politician in Australia. He was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
Early life
Benjamin Backhouse was born in England in 1829. He was a Bachelor of Arts and was educa ...
. Rowe also acted as the construction manager for the new building. The building of the synagogue was also partly based on the
Princes Road Synagogue
Princes Road Synagogue is a synagogue on Princes Road in the Toxteth district of Liverpool, England. It is the home of the Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation. It was founded in the late 1860s, designed by William James Audsley and George Ashdow ...
, Liverpool. The foundation stone was laid in January 1875 by
Saul Samuel
Sir Saul Samuel, 1st Baronet (2 November 182029 August 1900) was an Australian colonial merchant, member of parliament, pastoralist, and prominent Jew. Samuel achieved many breakthroughs for Jews in the colonial community of New South Wales in ...
,
Postmaster General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...
, the first Jewish minister of the Crown in the British Empire. A bazaar was held by the women of the congregation in Martin Place in December 1875 to raise extra funds.
The principal contractor for stonework was Aaron Loveridge, founder of the modern firm of Loveridge & Hudson. The contract drawings by Rowe, and signed by Loveridge, are held by Sydney's
Mitchell Library
The Mitchell Library is a large public library and centre of the City Council public library system of Glasgow, Scotland.
History
The library, based in the Charing Cross district, was initially established in Ingram Street in 1877 following a ...
. Other notable firms connected with the work were William Coleman (carpentry and joinery), Fletcher Brothers (decorative cast iron), Lewis and Steel (decorative plaster), Cornelius and Co of Philadelphia (gas fixtures), Minton Hollins & Co (tiles), P. N. Russell & Co (cast iron columns), and Lyon & Cottier (stained and etched glass).
[
The synagogue was consecrated on 4 March 1878, but its decoration was not completed until 1883.][Phillips, 1975.][Bersten, 1995.] At the time of completion the synagogue was the most imposing building in Elizabeth Street and was one of the first large Victorian buildings erected in Sydney and reflected civic pride and prosperity.
The Great Synagogue is the mother synagogue of Australian Jewry and possesses records of births, marriages and deaths which have taken place since the first entry was made on 1 November 1826. It also houses the AM Rosenblum Museum which attracts much interest, as does the Falk Library, where weekday services take place.
In 1988 the Bicentennial Council of NSW recognised the importance of the building and recommended a significant grant for restoration work on the Elizabeth Street façade. Each year many tourists visit the synagogue which features prominently in guidebooks as well as special interest groups, especially schools.
Description
The Great Synagogue combines elements of Byzantine style
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire.
The Byzantine era is usually dated from 330 AD, when Constantine the Great moved the Roman capital to Byzantium, which became Constantinople, until the ...
and Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
characteristics. This grand building is often described as the "cathedral synagogue" of Australia.
The Great Synagogue consists of two main sections: the original synagogue (house of worship) with ladies' gallery, at the Elizabeth Street end, and a five-storey modern section at the Castlereagh Street end behind the facade of the original Beadle's residence. The original eclectic design in Victorian Free Gothic style was described at the time of consecration as Byzantine interspersed with Gothic elements. The Elizabeth Street frontage and towers are of Pyrmont stone, and the remainder of the early structure is brick with cast-iron columns and timber floors, and a slate roof. The Castlereagh Street facade is stone at ground floor level, with rendered brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.
Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by s ...
above. The interior is elaborately decorated with moulded plaster, carved timber and stained glass, all embellished with abstract patterns to avoid representation of living forms. Surviving timber stairs at the Elizabeth Street end have strongly carved balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...
s. Walls are painted with gold leaf highlights, and the furniture is mostly of polished timber and brass. Some original colour schemes survive, notably on the ceiling of the Elizabeth Street porch
A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
, while the midnight blue ceiling with gold leaf stars has been repainted to the original design several times. Timber floors are raked at both ground and gallery levels, and the centre section of the ground floor and Ark steps, like the porch, are ornately tiled in tessellated and mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
work. The basement contains a hall which has steel portal frames supporting the columns and floor above, and also contains the A M Rosenblum Museum and Rabbi Falk Library. The modern section, constructed of reinforced concrete, contains offices, classrooms & meeting rooms, together with a lift & fire stairs, and has a top floor with an openable roof. The modern stained glass windows in the Castlereagh Street facade were designed by Louis Kahan of Melbourne. The building contains notable examples of venerable sacred scrolls and religious artefacts, including a menorah (nine-branched candelabrum) made by Rabbi L. A. Falk.[
The present synagogue has the traditional feature of an elevated ladies' gallery. When first erected, the bimah was central, as is traditional. However, to increase seating capacity the bimah was moved forward to the western wall in 1906. Over the years, extensive additions and alterations have been made to the other facilities appurtenant to this building, including the construction of a ]succah
A or succah (; he, סוכה ; plural, ' or ''sukkos'' or ''sukkoth'', often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated w ...
, excavation and construction of a large reception area below the synagogue itself, construction of the Rabbi Falk Memorial Library, installation of electricity in the chandeliers, and installation of a shabbat elevator. A useful overview of the synagogue's history is provided by the 2008 book edited by Rabbi Raymond Apple.
Condition
As at 22 August 2001, the condition of the building is generally good, although the upper sections of stonework require maintenance (1997). There is unlikely to be much archaeological potential owing to the excavations for new sections of the building in the 1950s and 1980s.[
The Great Synagogue is generally intact both externally and internally in the older section fronting Elizabeth Street.][
]
Modifications and dates
*1907 - Bimah moved from the centre to the west end of the synagogue and seats placed in the empty central area. Architects Kent & Budden.
*1911choir gallery moved from east to west end, western semi-circular apse made square.
*1910sgasoliers converted to electric light. Little intrusion.
*1940seastern wheel window strengthened internally with reinforced concrete. Some intrusion internally.
*1957basement deepened and reconstructed as War Memorial Hall. Architect Orwell Phillips. Some intrusion, although the previous basement area appears to have been of little significance.
*1981western section rebuilt behind original facade as Education Centre. Architects Orwell Phillips and David Nathan. Some intrusion mostly in less significant areas, except for the replacement of original timber stairs with concrete fire stairs.
*1987stonework conserved and interiors decorated with stencilling, some based on early patterns found. Sprinkler system installed. Minimal intrusion.[
]
Further information
One of the State significant items used at the launch of the State Heritage Inventory.[
*June 2006: more than $310,000 approved to assist works to the interior - The project includes: restoration works to the interior of the building, reintroduction of natural ventilation, and conservation work to the suspended and wall-mounted gasoliers.][
]
Heritage listing
The Great Synagogue is the earliest surviving synagogue in NSW that remains still in use and has represented a center of Jewish worship and culture in central Sydney since the 1870s. The Great Synagogue is associated with the Mother Congregation of Australian Jewry, together with many subsequent leading members and families of the Jewish faith. By its prominent situation and presence in central Sydney, its magnificent architectural grandeur, its rich symbolism, and its important collection of Hebrew documents and other religious artifacts, the Great Synagogue also embodies and demonstrates the early development and importance of the Jewish faith and culture in New South Wales during the 19th Century.[
The Great Synagogue is a major landmark of Sydney. It is the only high Victorian style Synagogue in Australia and represents one of the most elaborately decorated Victorian buildings in Sydney, internally and externally. The building is said to be one of the finest works of the leading NSW architect, Thomas Rowe; due to the quality of the decorative work in moulded plaster, carved sandstone and timber, metalwork, tiling and stained glass. The Great Synagogue also provides a rich townscape aspect to ]Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
and is an iconic building of Elizabeth and Castlereagh Streets.[Phillips, 2000.][
Great Synagogue was listed on the ]New South Wales State Heritage Register
The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...
on 10 September 2004 having satisfied the following criteria.[
The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.
The Great Synagogue is the earliest surviving synagogue in NSW still in use, and according to some, the earliest surviving synagogue building.
The place has a strong or special association with a person, or group of persons, of importance of cultural or natural history of New South Wales's history.
The Great Synagogue is associated with the mother congregation of Australian Jewry, and many leading citizens and families of the Jewish faith. It is also associated with the prominent architect Thomas Rowe, who designed several other landmark buildings in Sydney of which perhaps the best known is ]Sydney Hospital
Sydney Hospital is a major hospital in Australia, located on Macquarie Street in the Sydney central business district. It is the oldest hospital in Australia, dating back to 1788, and has been at its current location since 1811. It first rece ...
in Macquarie Street.[
The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.
The Great Synagogue is a major landmark of Sydney and represents one of the most elaborately decorated Victorian buildings in Sydney, internally and externally. It contains excellent examples of the best quality work in moulded plaster, carved stone, decorative tiling and stained glass. According to George Proudman, former master mason with the NSW Public Works Department, the Synagogue has some of the finest stone carving in all of Sydney. The form and construction of the building exemplify the traditional 19th century pattern of Orthodox Anglo-Jewish worship.][
The building represents one of the finest works of the leading NSW architect, Thomas Rowe, in association with the architect W. L. Vernon (then in private practice) reputed to have partly supervised Thomas Rowe in the design. The design is reputed to be inspired by the Princes Road Synagogue in Liverpool and the New West End Synagogue in London - a composite Renaissance style, mainly Byzantine but with Gothic overtones, particularly apparent for the main window.][
The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.
The Great Synagogue is socially significant because it continues to be the focus of Jewish communal worship and culture in central Sydney, as it has been since its construction.][
The place has potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
The Great Synagogue has technical and research significance as a living museum of decorative embellishment in 19th century buildings, which contains examples of the work of many leading practitioners of the time. It also contains a number of religious scrolls, books and artefacts. The form and construction of the building exemplify the traditional 19th century pattern of Orthodox Anglo-Jewish worship.][
The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.
The Great Synagogue is remarkable for its richness and originality of decoration, coupled with the excellence of the craftsmanship. It is rare in NSW as the earliest surviving synagogue in NSW still in use, and according to some, the earliest surviving synagogue building.][
The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales.
By its prominent situation and presence in Central Sydney, its magnificent architectural grandeur, its rich symbolism, and its important collection of Hebrew documents and other religious artefacts, the Great Synagogue also embodies and demonstrates the early development and importance of the Jewish faith and culture in New South Wales during the 19th Century. The Great Synagogue has represented the centre of Jewish worship and culture in Sydney (and arguably the State) since its construction in the 1870s. Architecturally, the Great Synagogue represents one of the finest works of the leading NSW architect, Thomas Rowe, and the most elaborately decorated Victorian building in Sydney.][
]
People
Rev Alexander B Davis had been the Chief Minister of the York Street Synagogue since 1862 and became the first Chief Minister of The Great Synagogue in 1878 until his retirement in 1903.
In 1905 Rabbi Francis Lyon Cohen was appointed Rabbi of The Great Synagogue and charged with establishing a Beth Din in Sydney, which still exists today. From 1909 he was assisted by Rev Marcus Einfeld as Cantor and from 1922 by Rev (later Rabbi) LA Falk as Second Rabbi. Rabbi Falk served until his death in 1957, leaving an important library.
Cohen died in office in 1934 and was succeeded briefly by Rabbi Ernest Levy. Rabbi Dr Israel Porush was appointed Rabbi in 1940. Porush was born in Jerusalem, and educated in there and in Germany. He was living in London when he met his wife Bertha Link. Porush became the most senior rabbi in Australia and retired in 1972.
From 1973 to 2005 Rabbi Raymond Apple led the congregation and made several changes to the synagogue, including introducing the priestly blessing on festivals, instituting a male choir and enabling the first individual bat mitzvah on a Shabbat morning.
The cantor from 1964 to 1989 was Rev Isidor Gluck, who guided the service towards a less English and more Eastern European style, while maintaining its cantorial and choral nature.
Rabbi Jeremy Lawrence was Rabbi from 2005 to 2014 and was very involved with interfaith work. In 2015 he was succeeded by the present Chief Minister, Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton.
Presidents of The Great Synagogue have included George Myers, George Judah Cohen, Israel Green, Sidney Sinclair AM OBE Life President, Rosalind Fischl, Stephen Rothman, and currently David Lewis.
Gallery
File:The Great Synagogue in Sydney, bimah.JPG, Bimah of The Great Synagogue
File:Great Synagogue, Sydney Detail.jpg, Architectural detail. This inscription reads Beth Israel (House of Israel)
File:Great Synagogue, Sydney Window.jpg, Elizabeth Street wheeled window. Reinforced concrete spokes were added to the inside of this window during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
for protection against blast damage.[
File:GreatSynagogue1.JPG, Detail of entrance
File:Porch capital The Great Synagogue Elizabeth St. Sydney 1878. DSC o4687 jpg 15 July 2016 1142am.msg.jpg, Porch capital, Elizabeth Street by ]Thomas Wran
Thomas Vallance Wran (6 March 1832 – 9 September 1891) was an English born Ruskinian-Romanesque sculptor, who arrived in Australia in 1870 aged thirty-eight, and spent his remaining years working with three of Sydney's leading architects on ma ...
File:SLNSW 479605 102 Jewish Synagogue SH 707.jpg, The 1844 Old Synagogue in Sydney - very similar Egyptian style to Hobart Synagogue
The Hobart Synagogue is a heritage-listed synagogue located in 59 Argyle Street, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The synagogue is the oldest synagogue building in Australia and is a rare example of the Egyptian Revival style of synagogue architec ...
and Launceston Synagogue
The Launceston Synagogue is a heritage-listed building located in St. John's Street, , Tasmania, Australia, that served as a synagogue from 1846 until 1871, and again during the until its closure in 1961 and reopened in 1984.
History
In the 1 ...
File:R Elton July 2021 touched up headshot.jpg, Rabbi Dr Benjamin Elton, Chief Minister
See also
* History of the Jews in Australia
The history of Jews in Australia traces the history of Australian Jews from the British settlement of Australia commencing in 1788. Though Europeans had visited Australia before 1788, there is no evidence of any Jewish sailors among the crew. T ...
* List of synagogues in Australia and New Zealand
This list of synagogues and Jewish congregations in Australia and New Zealand represents those known to have existed at some time in the history of Jewish communities in either the colonial or national periods of either countries.
Although man ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
Attribution
External links
*
The Great Syngagogue of Sydney
A history of the Great Synagogue, Sydney
Great Synagogue rabbis and the British Chief Rabbinate
* Creative Commons license">CC-By-SA
A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright license
A public license or public copyright licenses is a license by which a copyright holder as licensor can grant additional copyright permissions to any and all pers ...
]
{{authority control
Jewish Australian history
Orthodox synagogues in Australia
Synagogues in Sydney
Synagogues completed in 1878
New South Wales State Heritage Register
Thomas Rowe buildings
Walter Liberty Vernon buildings in Sydney
Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register
Elizabeth Street, Sydney
1878 establishments in Australia
Byzantine Revival synagogues
Gothic Revival synagogues