| Building Name: | Ballarat Synagogue |
| Location: | Princes Street & Barkly Street, Ballarat VIC 3350, Australia |
| Religious Affiliation: | Modern Orthodox Judaism |
| Consecration Year: | 1861 |
| Functional Status: | Active |
| Architect: | TB Cameron |
| Architecture Type: | Synagogue |
| Architecture Style: | Neoclassical |
| Year Completed: | 1861 |
| Specifications: | no |
Ballarat Synagogue is a Modern Orthodox synagogue situated in Ballarat East in Victoria, Australia. It is the oldest continuously used synagogue in mainland Australia.[1]
British Jews were among a flood of migrants that were drawn to the goldfields of Ballarat. European Jewry, escaping antisemitism at home, also settled in the city.[2] Two groups of German Jewish migrants arrived in the 1850s, and 1860s, and again in the 1930s.[3] Jewish refugees from pogroms in Eastern Europe arrived in the 1880s and 1890s.[3]
The first minyan was established in 1853 for observing the High Holidays.[2] The writer and Ballarat native, Nathan Spielvogel wrote a personal account:"It is Tuesday evening, 11 October 1853, Tishri 9 5614. Clad in the redshirt and high boots of the digger the cantor who learned his chazonosin a far away Lemberg, solemnly and tunefully chants Oshmanu. Thethoughts of the worshipped drift back to the homes and kindred theyhave left behind on the other side of the world. With bowed headsthey follow his lead repeating with the chazzan his confession, beatingtheir breasts as they had been taught in their distant house of worship… a remnant of Israel, albeit a very small one, proudly remembersKol Nidrei night."
The Ballarat Hebrew Congregation was founded in 1855 and it occupied a small synagogue building with a capacity for 200.[4] The first synagogue was consecrated on 12 November 1855. Rev David Isaacs of Geelong was the first lay leader of the congregation.[5] The congregation soon had to find a new home, as in 1856, the local Municipal Council reclaimed the land that the synagogue was built on, to house its Municipal Chambers.[5] The larger, current building was consecrated in 1861.[2] The British architect, TB Cameron designed the new synagogue, using a Neoclassical style.[6]
The new site posed issues as squatters had claimed the land, paying taxes and rates. Therefore, the congregation had to buy out the squatters.[5] The ark from the original synagogue is housed in the congregation's communal hall.[5]
At the height of the goldrush, around twenty-five percent of Ballarat's shopkeepers were Jewish, many were members of the synagogue.[2]
The congregation employed a permanent rabbi until 1943.[2] For several decades, the synagogue was only open for High Holiday Services. However, since 2009, the synagogue hosts monthly Shabbat services.[2]
In recent years, the synagogue underwent a $300, 000 AUD renovation. This was funded by Heritage Victoria, private donors and Jewish organisations in Melbourne.[2] [7]