Inside AJHS: Strathfield Synagogue Collection

During my internship at the Australian Jewish Historical Society, I was given the opportunity to catalogue the collection of the decommissioned Strathfield Synagogue.

Strathfield synagogue was established in 1959, on 19 Florence Street, opening on the 27th of September. It operated for over six decades, finally closing its doors in 2013. The collection itself was given in two separate donations from Geoff Toister and Eddy Neuman.

The Strathfield Synagogue collections contain a lot of insight into the practices and members of the congregation, as well as the surrounding organisations that were tied to the congregation such as the Yolanda Kramer Kindergarten and the Ladies Auxiliary of Strathfield Synagogue. It provides details such as building plans, foundational documents, membership application or leadership nomination forms, as well as details into meetings, financial practices and events held by the congregation.

The most interesting information I found to be within the collection was series pertaining to membership names, publications, induction and foundational documents. The synagogue kept a comprehensive list of members, through means such as membership lists, seating plans, payment receipts, leadership nomination or announcement lists, enrolment in classes or kindergarten This was to keep track of the people who entered the congregation and who were a member of their community. It’s very insightful to see the members names and be able to track them back into real life events. Another interesting aspect was from the Toister Donation, which includes publications from the Synagogue named, ‘The Centre’, which were a series a self-publicised pamphlets by the synagogue to share Jewish teachings as well as events happening at the Synagogue. Foundational documents as well as documents relating to inductions, provide insight into how the synagogue became established. Files on the induction on Rabbi Gutnick, as well as documents relating to buying the land, building rights, education laws dating back to 1944, shows the preparation and work put into creating and building the congregation and the Synagogue as a whole.

An interesting aspect to note about this collection is that there are some complications within the information. Within the files, there are gaps, with some files dating in the 1940’s, and gaps with information not resurfacing again until the late 1950’s, as well as some documents not appearing in some areas until the 1970s, when the Synagogue started in the 1950s. Some evidence as well, such as call up cards, seating plans and ephemera have no dates at all meaning we can’t place where they belong in the timeline of the Synagogue. Items have been damaged due to age or water damage, making them both fragile and harder to read. However, their information and importance to their collection overall is not lost due to these complications.