Australian Jewish Historical Society

The Australian Jewish Historical Society was founded in 1938 in Sydney. The first president was Percy J. Marks. At the first business meeting of the Society, the then president of the Royal Australian Historical Society K. R. Cramp expressed the view that the chief object of the Society should be the encouragement of individual research.[1] In 1939, the Society published the first issue of the Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal (initially known as the Australian Jewish Historical Society, Journal and Proceedings). In 1949, a Melbourne branch was established, which was informally known as AJHS(Vic). This branch grew and eventually incorporated. There is no national executive, with the Sydney and Melbourne Societies being financially independent. Since 1988, the two Societies have shared the production of the Journal, with the June issues being produced by the NSW Society and the November issues being produced by the Vic Society. Currently, there are two issues of the Journal each year, with occasional Special Publications.

The Australian Jewish Historical Society is dedicated to promoting the study of Jewry in Australia from 1788. Since its founding the Society has sought to compile and make available unique and authentic records relating to the Jewish people in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands via the acquisition and preservation of historically significant documents and materials. Equally, the Society has pursued the conservation of places of Jewish interest and continues to foster the interchange of information through lectures, discussions and exhibitions of historical interest or value.

The Society has been given the mandate by the NSW Jewish community to be the repository of archives of communal organisations and communal leaders. Today a growing collection of these invaluable records is housed in the Society’s secure climate controlled archive. The management and accessioning of new materials is overseen by the Society’s senior archivist and her team.

The holdings of the Australian Jewish Historical Society are electronically accessible. The Society has a unique collection of documents spanning books, manuscripts, newspapers, historical records, audiotapes, videotapes and other printed electronic or audiovisual material. Material on almost every aspect of Jewish life is available, such as personal papers, photos, bound newspapers and corporate records sourced from individuals through to synagogues, communities, and Jewish organisations.