The Australian Jewish Historical Society has redesigned its interactive timeline, offering a new way to explore the history of Jewish Australia. Rebuilt using the Histropedia timeline engine, the timeline presents more than two centuries of Jewish life on this continent in a visual, navigable format. From the earliest arrivals to the community builders and leaders of the modern era, visitors can scroll, zoom, and explore history at their own pace.
One of the most significant improvements is the quality of the event summaries. Each entry has been rewritten to provide a clearer and more complete account of the people and moments that shaped Jewish Australia. The summaries are also now linked to the wider AJHS collection: readers will find direct links to relevant AJHS journal articles, as well as to AJHS person records, which in turn connect to our burial and marriage registers. This linking effort makes the timeline part of a connected research experience rather than a standalone resource.
The visual presentation has also been improved. Informative and colourful photographs now accompany events throughout the timeline, bringing faces, and places — whether a portrait of a community founder or a historic synagogue.
Navigating the timeline is straightforward thanks to a set of filtering tools. Events are organised into several categories that can be toggled on and off, allowing visitors to focus on the themes that interest them. You can also filter by decade to explore a particular era, by state to follow the story of Jewish communities in a specific part of Australia, and by importance to view landmark events at a glance or examine community life in finer detail.
The timeline can be viewed at collections.ajhs.com.au/Timeline/. Whether you’re a researcher or simply interested in the Jewish contribution to Australian life, we hope the timeline proves a useful and engaging resource.
Note, to move the timeline, click and drag it horizontally. You can also use the next and previous buttons, or the arrow keys on your keyboard.