When I think of my Grandfather Mark Jacobs I recall this beautiful saying.

“Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in”

That’s exactly what my grandfather did. During the years he lived and worked in Broken Hill he became one of the original trustees of the Hebrew Congregation along with George Edelman and Sam Dryen. Meetings were held in the Taits Masonic Hall at the side of the Taits Hotel.  Over those years he planted the seeds to build the Broken Hill Synagogue, putting his heart and soul into the dream, however he never sat inside it.

Mark Jacobs was born in 1864 and died in 1956.

He was  born Mordechai Jakabovitch in Kallitzs Poland.  Jews had been in Kallitzs since 1264 and it is  one of the oldest cities in Poland. It was home to Poland’s oldest and most significant Jewish communities.

He eventually escaped the pogroms of that time and arrived in Manchester where I believe he met the Goldman family. Together they came to Australia and lived in Adelaide until he and Amelia known as Millie moved to Broken Hill with Millie’s mother and father.

Amelia’s  father was Hyam Goldman and her mother was Leah Cohen.

They had ten children.

Amelia, or Milly as she was known, was born in Manchester in 1876 and she died in Sydney in 1968.

Mark and Millie became the first Jewish couple to be married in Broken Hill in 1894. They was married by Reverand Boaz who travelled from Adelaide to perform the marriage

Between the  years of 1894 and1900 Millie and Mark Jacobs had 6 children.

Pearl, born 1894

Dorothy, born in 1895

Harry, born 1897

Reuben, born 1898

Miriam, born 1900

And  baby Fanny who died soon after birth.

Living in Broken Hill, Mark put his tailoring skills to work and opened a  very successful tailor store,  later going into partnership with Mr. Archibald Cunningham.

Cunningham passed away on September 4 1902 and Mark continued working in the shop until the big minors strike of 1909. It was then that he and the whole family of six young children left Broken Hill and went to New Zealand to begin a new life. I believe there was family in New Zealand at the time and as my grandfather went into the car business.  I imagine this was because the family was in that business at the time.

In 1918 to their shock and horror my grandmother fell pregnant and gave birth to my father Lionel.My father was born 18 years after his youngest sister. He was a change of life baby and my mother always reminded me that such babies are often born with serious problems or are absolute geniuses. My dad was the latter. Millie, his mother was not impressed that at 52 she was having another baby and consequently left most of the care and the raising of Lionel of my father to Mark.

   Mark Jacobs was a polymath. He knew a great deal about a great deal. He loved classical music and would sit every day eyes closed absorbing Mozart, Brahms,  Shostakovich and Beethoven.  He shared his passion with all his children and he took them  to many concerts from an early age. He  studied astronomy and indeed astrology and taught my father about both. My father told me his favourite book was about the stars and galaxies.

Every week Grandpa Mark would take little Lionel to a church on Sunday, attend the service at the Mosque on Saturday and visit the synagogue on Friday nights.  He wanted my father to have a broad cultural and religious upbringing.   As a result my father, who became a very well-known and highly respected doctor, was a passionate atheist.

His favorite saying was a quote from Thomas Paine

The world is my country and to do good is my religion

But in saying this he loved being Jewish. I learned from my cousin that Mark  would sit on his favourite red velvet chair and read the Mishna. The Mishna is the oldest authoritative  post biblical collection of Jewish oral Laws systematically compiled by numerous scholars over a period of about two centuries. He loved to have philosophical  discussions especially with the Rabbi.

He was a humble man and wore a toupee and a kippa saying both kept his head warm.

He was a Freemason as was his father, his uncle and his son. He helped many people whose lives were incredibly difficult in those early days of Broken Hill. The masons always saw the needs of the communities and made an effort to help those who needed it. Usually in secret.

Over the years more than 50 Jewish families came to Broken Hill and it was eventually agreed that there should be a synagogue. Mark  put all his time and wisdom into manifesting this vision. They lived in Crystal St and the Taylor shop was in Argent St opposite the court house.

It grew over the years to  include a partnership with Archibald Cunningham

I feel very close to my grandfather when I am in Broken Hill even though he died when I was only 3 years old. Broken Hill has brought him back to me and I have loved researching about him as much as possible.

As trustee of the Broken Hill synagogue

I know he passionately believed in its creation  and worked hard to bring that dream into reality.

I don’t know exactly why he had to leave Broken Hill but I do know he never participated in the opening of the synagogue in 1910. He was not in any photographs and when I first came to Broken Hill many years ago even the lovely Coordinator of the Synagogue margaret price Margaret Price  was not sure she had even  heard of him as Mark, signing his name simply as M. Jacobs.  He was a quiet achiever, a good man and I love him for that

It is said that a person is only remembered for as long as the last person who knew him, remembers him. It is my hope that in writing this small piece about him he will be remembered by a few more people for a little while longer.