South Sea Jews

(See Article on Page 32)

Letter to the Editor IT was my pleasure to hear a paper read this month before members of the Australian Jewish Historical Society from the pen of Mr. A. M.

Gurau, of Apia, Samoa, and I should like to congratulate him upon a most inter esting piece of original research. With the exception of my own paper on Alex ander Salmon, of Tahiti (which .was also read before this Society and reported in Vol. I. Part 111, of its Journal) very little has been placed on record concerning these Jewish pioneers.

The paper on Salmon, by the way, drew comment from the Hebrew Uni versity in Jerusalem, from the English Historical Society, and from other organisations in Canada and the United States.

Mr. Gurau is to be commended for his industry in collating his material—par ticularly when it is remembered that this research worker probably would find few library resources in Apia. It is to be hoped that others interested in this work will follow his example, and gather to gether the threads of historical know ledge while they are available.

The tragedy is that, in the majority of cases, the Polynesian-Jewish issue of such unions have forgotten their Jewish origin; and, in every instance that I am aware of have completely ignored the Jewish religious background and the heritage of their ancestors. The record of the Jews in the Pacific is a notable one, and their descendants might well take pride in the achievements of their ancestors.

It is to be hoped that these traces of Jews in the various Islands groups will be dealt with by competent writers, section by section, and eventually pub lished in book form. They should make a fascinating volume. This is a work that the Australian Jewish Historical Society (which, by the way, will publish Mr. Gurau’s paper in extenso in its Journal) might well sponsor.

I am, etc.,

Eric Ramsden.

Box 2434 Mm, G.P.0.,

Sydney.

July 31, 1942.

Mr. Noel Hides, brother of the late Mr.

Jack Hides, is now on the Sydney staff of Steamship Trading Co. Ltd., of Port Moresby.