East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation
{{Short description|Heritage-listed synagogue in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2015}}
{{Infobox religious building
| building_name = East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation
| native_name = {{langx|he|ק"ק מקוה ישראל}}
| native_name_lang =
| image = East Mealbourne Synagogue.JPG
| image_upright = 1.4
| caption = The synagogue façade
| map_type = Australia Melbourne
| map_size = 250
| map_caption = Location of the synagogue in Melbourne
| location = 494-500 Albert Street, {{VICcity|East Melbourne}}, Victoria
| country = Australia
| geo = {{coord|-37.80926|144.97415|display=inline,title_type:landmark_region:AU-VIC|format=dms}}
| religious_affiliation = Orthodox Judaism
| rite =
| province =
| district =
| consecration_year = {{start date|1877}}
| status = Synagogue
| functional_status = Active
| leadership = Rabbi Dovid Gutnick
| website = {{URL|melbournecitysynagogue.com}}
| architect = Crouch & Wilson
| architecture_type = {{nowrap|Synagogue architecture}}
| architecture_style = Renaissance Revival
| facade_direction = South
| groundbreaking = 20 March 1877
| year_completed = {{end date and age|1877}}
| construction_cost = A£7,000
| capacity = 470 worshippers
| length = {{convert|22.2|m}}
| width = {{convert|12.8|m}}
| width_nave =
| height_max = {{convert|9.4|m}}
| dome_quantity = 2
| dome_height_outer =
| dome_height_inner =
| dome_dia_outer =
| dome_dia_inner =
| minaret_quantity =
| minaret_height =
| spire_quantity =
| spire_height =
| materials = Brick
| nrhp =
| designation1 = Victorian Heritage Register
| designation1_offname = East Melbourne Synagogue
| designation1_type = State heritage (built)
| designation1_date = {{nowrap|4 November 1991}}
| delisted1_date =
| designation1_partof =
| designation1_number = 353
| designation1_free1name = Type
| designation1_free1value = Synagogue
| designation1_free2name = Category
| designation1_free2value = Religion
| designation1_free3name = Builders
| designation1_free3value =
}}
The East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation ({{langx|he|ק"ק מקוה ישראל|Mickva Yisrael}}), also known as East Melbourne Shule, East Melbourne Synagogue, Melbourne City Synagogue or City of Melbourne Synagogue{{cite web |url=http://www.melbournecitysynagogue.com/ |title= East Melbourne Synagogue |accessdate=19 July 2015}} is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and historically significant synagogue, located in East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The synagogue, consecrated in 1877, is the oldest in Melbourne.
History
The congregation was formed in 1857{{cite web|url=http://jewishhistoryaustralia.net/jha/timeline.htm|title=Timeline for Australian Jewish History from 1788 |publisher=Jewish History Australia |accessdate=19 July 2015}} under the leadership of Reverend Moses Rintel following his leave from the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation.{{cite book |chapter-url=http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A060040b.htm |title=Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Rintel, Moses (1823–1880) |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |date= |accessdate=19 July 2015}} Initially named Mikveh Israel Melbourne Synagogue, it was provided with a government land grant in 1859 on the corner of Little Lonsdale Street and Stephen Street (today Exhibition Street) in Melbourne's City Centre.{{cite web |url=http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne-city-synagogue |title=Melbourne City Synagogue |publisher=Only Melbourne |accessdate=19 July 2015}} A small synagogue was erected on the site in 1860.{{cite book |title=Historical Sketch of the Two Melbourne Synagogues ... Together with Sermons Preached |author1=Brodzky, M. |author2=Jacobson, D. |author3=Rintel, M. |date=1877 |publisher=A. & W. Bruce |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=184NAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA47 |page=47 |accessdate=19 July 2015}} The congregation consisted primarily of Rintel's followers, including German{{cite web |url=http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/353 |title=East Melbourne Synagogue |work=Victorian Heritage Database |accessdate=19 July 2015}} and Eastern-European{{cite book |title=The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins |author=Jupp, J. |date=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521807890 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wgoFxfSTfYAC&pg=PA528 |page=528 |accessdate=19 July 2015}} Jews who lived in Melbourne's inner-city suburbs within walking distance of the synagogue.
Seeking new premises, the congregation received government permission to sell its property in 1870. It moved to a new site on Albert Street, East Melbourne, where a new synagogue building was consecrated in 1877.{{cite book |title=The Jews in Australia |author=Rutland, S. D. |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781139447164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lBVoAGKulA8C&pg=PA23 |pages=23–24 |accessdate=19 July 2015}} Rintel served the congregation until his death in 1880.
Notable members of the congregation included Sir Isaac Isaacs{{Cite web|title=$500,000 for East Melbourne shule|url=https://ajn.timesofisrael.com/500000-for-east-melbourne-shule/|access-date=2021-05-03|website=ajn.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US}} and Sir John Monash. Monash celebrated his Bar Mitzvah at the synagogue and also sang in its choir.{{Cite book |last=Serle |first=Geoffrey |title=Australian Dictionary of Biography |chapter=Monash, Sir John (1865–1931) |chapter-url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/monash-sir-john-7618 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |date= |access-date=2021-05-03}}
In March 1977 the synagogue's centenary was celebrated with a special service led by Rabbi M. Honig.{{cite web |date=21 March 1977 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eAgRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jJIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7105,6199576&dq=east-melbourne-synagogue&hl=en |title=Centenary for a synagogue |newspaper=The Age |page=12 |via=Google News |accessdate=19 July 2015}}
On 4 July 2025, a 34-year-old Toongabbie man set fire to the entrance of the building with 20 people inside after failing to gain access to the inside of the synagogue.{{Cite web |last=Groch |first=Chris Vedelago, Chip Le Grand, Sherryn |date=2025-07-06 |title=Police reveal identity of man charged over East Melbourne Synagogue fire |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/charges-over-east-melbourne-synagogue-fire-20250706-p5mcsd.html |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2025-07-05 |title=Police lay charges over synagogue fire as attorney-general condemns antisemitism |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-06/synagogue-fire-charges-protest-laws-victorian-parliament/105498480 |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}} The man had earlier rang the synagogue's doorbell before moving against the wall of the synagogue with a petrol bomb, waiting for the doors to open. After the doors did not open, the man rang the bell a second time, before pouring a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and setting it on alit before fleeing the scene on foot.{{Cite web |last=Grand |first=Chip Le |date=2025-07-05 |title=The night hate came calling: Inside the East Melbourne Synagogue attack |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/inside-the-synagogue-attack-the-night-hate-came-knocking-20250705-p5mcpx.html |access-date=2025-07-06 |website=The Age |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2025-07-04 |title=Synagogue set alight and Israeli-owned restaurant targeted in Melbourne |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-05/police-investigate-arson-attack-at-east-melbourne-synagogue/105497760 |access-date=2025-07-06 |work=ABC News |language=en-AU}}
Architecture
Continuously in use since 1877, the East Melbourne Synagogue is the oldest in Melbourne and the largest 19th-century synagogue in Victoria. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register and is classified by the National Trust of Australia{{cite web |url=http://www.nattrust.com.au/trust_register/search_the_register/mickva_yisrael_synagogue_east_melbourne_synagogue |title=Home |work=National Trust of Australia |accessdate=19 July 2015}} due to its historical, social, and architectural significance.
The two-storeyed synagogue was designed by noted Melbourne architects Crouch & Wilson. The internal space is surrounded on three sides by a gallery carried by cast iron columns, each surmounted by an unusual arrangement of an impost block flanked by consoles. The main ceiling is paneled, with a row of large and unusual ventilators marking the location of former suspended gas lights. The original interior, particularly the bimah and Torah ark, remain in an intact state.
The building's facade, constructed in the style of Renaissance Revival, was completed in 1883. It comprises five bays. Tuscan pilasters divide the bays of the lower floor, and Corinthian pilasters divide the upper floor bays. Two dome-like mansard roofs flank the central pediment.
Today
Led by Rabbi Dovid Gutnick since November 2007,{{cite web |url=http://www.zcv.org.au/site/images/downloads/szcannualreport2008.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2010-04-09 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110227072333/http://www.zcv.org.au/site/images/downloads/szcannualreport2008.pdf |archivedate=27 February 2011 |df=dmy-all }} the congregation has a current membership of around 200 families.{{cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/national/sharing-a-new-shule-of-thought-20081225-7552.html?skin=text-only |title=Sharing a new shule of thought |newspaper=The Age |date=25 December 2008 |accessdate=19 July 2015}} It is currently the only synagogue in Melbourne's inner-city area.
In January 2012, the congregation celebrated its 155th anniversary with a double Torah dedication ceremony and fundraising gala dinner attended by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (later Baron Sacks), Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.{{cite web |url=http://media.theage.com.au/news/national-news/historic-day-for-jewish-australia-2923409.html |title=Historic day for Jewish Australia |newspaper=The Age |accessdate=19 July 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.jwire.com.au/news/chief-rabbi-in-melbourne-the-video/22297 |title=Chief Rabbi in Melbourne – the video |publisher=J-Wire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323092328/http://www.jwire.com.au/news/chief-rabbi-in-melbourne-the-video/22297 |archive-date=2012-03-23 |url-status=dead |accessdate=19 July 2015}}
See also
{{stack|{{Portal|Victoria|Judaism}}}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
Further reading
- Morris C. Davis, History of the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation "Mickva Yisrael", 1857–1977, East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, 1977 {{ISBN|0-9596899-0-7}}, 978-0-9596899-0-7
- Maurice Brodzky. Dattner Jacobson and Moses Rintel, Historical Sketch of the Two Melbourne Synagogues Together with Sermons Preached, 1877, Kessinger Publishing LLC, 2009 {{ISBN|1-104-17771-4}}
External links
{{commons category|East Melbourne Synagogue}}
- {{official website|http://www.melbournecitysynagogue.com}}
- [http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/heritage/353 East Melbourne Synagogue], Victorian Heritage Register
- [http://www.nattrust.com.au/trust_register/search_the_register/mickva_yisrael_synagogue_east_melbourne_synagogue East Melbourne Synagogue], National Trust
{{Synagogues in Australia}}
Category:German-Australian culture
Category:Synagogues in Melbourne
Category:Synagogues completed in 1877
Category:East Melbourne, Victoria
Category:Synagogue buildings with domes
Category:Jewish organizations established in 1857
Category:Synagogues completed in 1860
Category:Renaissance Revival synagogues
Category:Orthodox synagogues in Australia
Category:1857 establishments in Australia
Category:Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne
Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)