FROM AUSTRALIAS JEWISH PAST

Posts initially published y J-Wire on behalf of AJHS.

Rose Shappere – Fearless nurse, Jewish adventuress

FROM AUSTRALIAS JEWISH PAST

Ballarat-born Rose Shappere, had a serious taste for adventure. The young Jewish nurse resigned her position at Adelaide Hospital, made her way to South farica and attached herself first to a Boer commando unit, and then to the British volunteers, travelling alone throughout the country by rail and steamer to reach the front lines at Ladysmith.
Her persistence paid off, and whilst she saw many nurses being turned away by the British authorities, she was determined to serve and her efforts to do so were rewarded with success.

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Jewish Divorce in the colony

FROM AUSTRALIAS JEWISH PAST

As far back as 1831, the London Beit Din was confronted with issues surrounding granting divorces, when one or other of the parties had been transported to Australia, which did not have a formal Jewish legal body. The first Beit Din, or religious Jewish court, was convened in Australia in 1864, for the sole purpose of effecting a divorce and arranging a gett, for a Jewish couple that wished to legally separate.

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Striking Gold in Australia

FROM AUSTRALIAS JEWISH PAST

When gold was discovered in New South Wales in 1851 by Edward Hargreaves, the area near Bathurst was actually given a Hebrew name – ‘’Ophir’’ – a name and place from the bible famous for its gold and wealth. Victoria’s gold rush began in 1851 and, over the next ten years, close to 600,000 people flowed into the region in search of their fortune. Many of these adventurers were Jewish.

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