Inside the AJHS Archives: The North Shore Temple Emanuel Collection

My internship at the Australian Jewish Historical Society has not only allowed me to develop skills and experience in archiving methods and processes but also to gain insight and knowledge regarding the large and important Jewish community of the North Shore Temple Emanuel (NSTE) congregation. The congregation was formed in 1958 with the purchase of the site 28 Chatswood Avenue for its main location in 1960. NSTE still today, as an accepting community that embraces, supports, and advocates for a Jewish way of life.  Working with the North Shore Temple Emanuel collection highlights the foundational role the NSTE congregation had in building and consolidating a strong and connected Jewish Community. The significant meaning that is attached to this collection, its contents and its connection to many Australian Jewish peoples reinforces the importance of preserving this information for future generations as well as increasing accessibility to this information.

The North Shore Temple Emanuel collection has a wide variety of content in different formats and media types that span across the entire history of NSTE from 1957 onwards. The collection included the following types of content – hardcopy documents and papers of minutes of meetings or financial/property/founding records; a significant number of publications including Hatikvah Bulletins and Journals which were published on a monthly/bi-monthly basis; newspaper articles relating to NSTE; ephemera; large quantities of photographs and audio-visual media including CDS, DVDS, Cassettes and VHS Tapes that required digitisation. The large quantity and wide variety of content types within the collection is a testament to the value and significance of the North Shore Temple Emanuel congregation for individuals in the Sydney Jewish community particularly across the North Shore of Sydney.

Some notable parts of the collection that stood out to me was the continuous authority that North Shore Temple Emanuel has had in the Sydney and Australian Jewish presence and sense of community. The sense of community and cultural memory has continued and developed from the establishment of North Shore Temple Emanuel until present time. Multiple aspects of the collection highlight this point; there are multiple mentions of North Shore Temple Emanuel and its members in the Sydney Jewish News and the Australian Jewish Times and there is large evidence in the collection of association and correspondence with larger organisations including the NSW Association of Jewish Service and Ex-Service Men and Women (NAJEX), Netzer Australia, the Jewish National Fund, The Australian and New Zealand Union for Progressive Judaism (ANZUPJ), the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) as well as connection with other Jewish congregations and Rabbis across Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

Furthermore, North Shore Temple Emanuel has had a wide range of sub-committees, groups and events that involved individuals that have different social interests and passions. Sub-committees included the Ladies Guild, Theatre, the NSTE Choir, Chavurah Steering Committee, WhichCraft Group, Jews for Social Action Committee and Youth groups. There were also a wide range of events for members to participate in including the senior-citizen concerts, farewell dinners, services for high holy days, North Shore Temple Emanuel Annual Golf Day, Bar/Bat-mitzvahs, farewell dinners for members and anniversary/Jubilee celebrations.

Some of the important individuals repeatedly mentioned in documents and photographs of the collection include but are not limited too; Dr Max Joseph, Hans Jensen, Frank Wolf, Rabbi Richard Lampert, Rabbi Allison Conyer, Lou Rose, Julia Blanks, Dr Max Joseph, George Bluth, and Harry Leslie. These individuals were central to the growth and development of North Shore Temple Emanuel as a congregation as well as a community. There was a lot of historical information regarding Harry Leslie and George Bluth especially. Harry Leslie was a former secretary and life member of NSW Association of Jewish Service and Ex-Service Men and Women (NAJEX), he was a Taiwan Prisoner of War in 1944. Leslie released ‘Voyages through my Life’ in 2002 regarding his time as a Prisoner of War and has performed many talks and articles discussing his personal experiences and lessons. George Bluth served in the Australian Military Forces during the Second World War from March 1942 to June 1946 and like Leslie was a member of NAJEX. These two individuals highlight the important historical background and roots of some members of the North Shore Temple Emanuel congregation.

I am very thankful for the opportunity to work with the Australian Jewish Historical Society on this collection and have learned a great deal about North Shore Temple Emanuel congregation and its important role in the Jewish community. Working with this collection has allowed me to reflect more widely on the significance of archiving for preserving collections such as these for future generations. Preservation of these documents, photographs and audio-visual media help to consolidate the continuation of cultural memory and community amongst Sydney Jewish peoples.