Early immigrant Jews

Press, 25 February 1989, Page 27

Early immigrant Jews

Not Strictly Kosher: Pioneer Jews in New Zealand. By Odeda Rosenthal. Starchand Press, New -York, 1988. 208 pp. Illustrated. $26.95 (paperback). (Reviewed by Ralf Unger) In the 1986 census in New Zealand 4000 individuals declared themselves as Jews; over many decades the numbers had been falling as assimilation with other or no religions, or the loss of a Jewish identification, takes place. The author — described as an American historian originally from Israel — visited New Zealand on various occasions and has here presented a tracing of the earliest Jews among the first settlers up to the end of the nineteenth century. There are numerous illustrations of these individuals, their shops, houses, synagogues and artefacts, and the text shows some patient research. It is, however, most unfortunate that the book seems to have been hastily compiled and the proof-reading done by a myopic non-English speaker with even ■ “Canterbury” mis-spelt twice in two lines, “Sir Vogel” being the description of a New Zealand Premier, and other simple misspellings too numerous to mention, with the photographs and manuscripts photocopied so badly that several of them cannot be read. It is an important account and should have been done more justice. The Jewish history of New Zealand began with Britain’s Isaac Lyon Goldschmidt, after an unsuccessful experiment to prepare a “Zion” on an island in the Niagara River, taking on the task of directing the newly formed New Zealand Company aiming to develop a new “Zion in the Antipodes.” This was for all religions and political creeds and many early settlers were Free Masons, Dissenters and Quakers. In 1831 one was a ship’s chandler by the name of Joel Samuel Polack who appears to have been the first Jew to stay. He was also a fine descriptive artist who developed a property at Kororareka — later Russell — but the house was destroyed when Hone Heke was bombarded by H.M.S. Hazard after cutting down the flag pole one time too many. One of Polack’s other properties was claimed by Sir George

Grey, and renamed Kawau Island, being an early example of confiscation by the Crown of supposedly private land — in this case that of a pakeha. The procession of successful Jewish settlers continues with Asher Asher, fed up with the continual fires in Auckland organising the first fire brigade and its silver band, staffed by volunteers; Sir Julius Vogel, with his far-sighted political measures; the first Resident Surgeon in Dunedin, who was so worn down with cleaning bedpans and sweeping floors that he was too tired to do anything much more complicated. In smaller towns such as Oamaru there was a Samuel E. Shrimski — Mayor in 1878 and originally a native of Posen in Poland — funding Waitaki Boys’ High School with its perpetuated Hebrew motto; horseracing with the Davis family taking an early interest; Hugo Friedlander dotting the landscape of Canterbury — in imitation of Jerusalem — with windmills to enhance the life of the population at large when he was Mayor of Ashburton. Levin has a town name recalling its founder. Bendix Hallenstein was an early Mayor of Queenstown. There were Jewish women such as Dr Emily Seidenberg, from Dunedin, who was the first female physician in New Zealand and together with Marie Theomin developed the Plunket Society, and Ethel Benjamin, the first woman barrister who, after academic qualification, managed a tea room in Christchurch. Several of the early Jewish settlers had families by, and sometimes married, Maori partners so that now when there is a family reunion of, say the Ashers or the Nathans there will be a Maori and a European heritage. They have played their part in the evolution of a country where usually Jews have been fully accepted as fellow citizens, except when a bitter enemy sought a particular soft spot to abuse, such as Sir Julius Vogel’s political opponents. Allowing for the weaknesses of the book by what seems to be an enthusiastic but disorganised author and compiler it does add design to the warp and weave of the history of a new land and its early evolution into a national character.