Parliamentary Paper: Petition of the Members of the Jewish Persuasion Resident in Melbourne.

(AUSTRALIA)

John Ferres, Government Printing Office

Melbourne

1851

Single page. Parliamentary paper (Victoria-Parliament 1851-52, no. 42).

The present Petition advocates that State aid to religion should be proportionately dispensed to Jewish religious institutions. Melbourne, capital of the State of Victoria, was founded in 1835. The Melbourne Jewish Community was established in 1841 and in 1847, the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation, the city’s first synagogue opened. In 1851 the population of Melbourne was only 23,000. The discovery of gold a year later led to a huge influx of people to Victoria, most of them arriving by sea at Melbourne and the town’s population doubled within a year.