Tuesday 10 April 2012

MELBOURNE CEMETERY 3: JEWISH SECTION

The Jewish community in Melbourne is a strong, vibrant and flourishing part of the social fabric of our metropolis for many decades now. Currently Melbourne has about 50,000 Jewish inhabitants. It is not surprising that the Jewish section of the Melbourne General Cemetery is a large area in the Southern part, where many of our citizens have been buried, including some prominent ones.

It is a very well maintained part of the cemetery, and most graves are simple and unostentatious.  Some more monumental graves are to be found here and there, but even they are quite restrained. The inscriptions on the headstones are mostly bilingual (Hebrew/English) and the Star of David is to be found on nearly all grave markers. A historic Metahar House (Jewish Chapel) is found in this section of the cemetery. Also, a Holocaust Memorial is to be found there.

This part of Julie's Taphophile Tragics meme.







22 comments:

  1. What are those little symbols on the top of Hyam Lewis' marker, Nick?

    It is jammed much more tightly than the cemeteries I wander here in Sydney. These photographs bring to mind the cemeteries of Paris, with the deceased resting head to toe.

    Love the effect of the wild-flowers.

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    1. It's his monogram, Julie.

      Yes, Melbourne General Cemetery is prime real estate for the dead. Wouldn't be caught dead anywhere but there... :-)

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  2. Love that castle structure in the first picture... and the bug's eye lowdown in the last.

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  3. My favorite is the last one. The purple flowers provide a welcome touch of nature amongst the memorials.

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  4. Hi there - I think I like the last picture the best. I like the combination of colours.

    Stewart M - Melbourne

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  5. Fantastic pictures! I especially like the last one.

    Herding Cats

    http://seathreepeeo.blogspot.com

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  6. Wonderful photos - thanks as always for the history that accompanies your photos! I really like that last view...

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  7. I'm always fascinated by these treasures (that you photograph so well) of my home city that you present and that I'm unaware or just barely aware of. You do a wonderful job of presenting Melbourne's incredible diversity.

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  8. This cemetery is huge! I really enjoy seeing all the different sections. The style is so different than what we see here in N America.

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  9. There is a Jewish section of the main town cemetery here, but I havent seen a new grave go in there in many years...I think they are being inserted here and there in the Quaker cemetery due to the same reason, people wouldnt be caught dead anywhere else...
    YOUR photos are GRAND.

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  10. Thank you for your story about Jewish graves.Very interesting, Nick.

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  11. Really interesting post. Had no idea there was a Jewish community there. And I don't usually say this about cemeteries but your photos made it look like a really lovely and peaceful place.

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  12. Looks like the paths are well maintained. The graves looks quite close tother, whereas many graves in cemeteries near here are more spread out.

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  13. Great perspectives and juxtapositions, especially on shots #1 and #6.

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  14. A wonderful and very interesting post as always, Nick! Such a lovely and peaceful place! Terrific captures and those lovely blue skies as always! Hope your week is going well!

    Sylvia

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  15. It does look very crowded. Would this be because it is the only Jewish cemetery?

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  16. That last shot is just gorgeous!

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  17. Very interesting, I never thought of Australia as having a large Jewish population but I shouldn't have been surprised. A childhood friend had been born in India because her parents fled there from Germany and it was one of the few places that would accept Jews. Perhaps Australia was another such place?

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  18. This does look like Paris's cemeteries. Such crowding could be explained by limited space or limited options. With such a large Jewish population, alternative burial grounds must be in the works. Wonderful photos, especially the last one. The flowers add soft texture to all that impressive stone, gravel, and wrought iron.

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  19. I am quite surprised how incredibly tightly packed these graves are! There seems to be little space between graves! A wonderful variety of perspectives in these photos!

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  20. Despite the crowding, this Jewish section of the cemetery has an elegance to it... in part thanks to your photographic skills, Nick. The flowers in your last shot are a soft touch.

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  21. i like the last pic. the graves seem bigger and less uniform than the ones on jewish cemeteries here!

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