Solomon Family Reunion

A Solomon and associated families reunion will be held on Sunday 11 to Monday 12 March 2012 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm both days) at the Alma Sports Club, Wilkes Street, North Caulfield, Melbourne Australia.

The Solomon and associated families are extremely diverse and well-established in Australia’s history. In fact the first Solomon’s (Emanuel and Vaiben) to arrive in Australia were convicts, they arrived in 1818.

Emanuel Solomon ended up in South Australia (which was supposed to exclude ex-convicts), he ran an extremely lucrative enterprise gaining his wealth through shipping merchandise from Sydney (through his brother Vaiben) to Adelaide, he purchased large sways of land in South Australia, Western Australia and in and around Darwin (then known as Palmerston). Emanuel became a great, philanthropist and benefactor to the arts, the theatre he built in Adelaide still stands. He assisted the beatified Mary Mckillop by providing free accommodation for her nuns. Having educated his many children Emanuel then encouraged them to live the life that would benefit all Australians – many including Emanuel were Members of Parliaments, his children held positions such as Premier of South Australia (albeit for 7 days and hence receiving the nick-name of Sudden Solomon). “Blackie Solomon”, who was one of the founders of Darwin, earned his nickname by betting the gents of Adelaide that he could walk down the main street of Darwin (Palmerston) naked and that no one would notice. He won his bet by blacking his body with boot polish and walking down the street with the local indigenous people. A nephew saw action in the Boer War, another helped write the Constitution of Australia and in fact the Solomon family are one of only two families to have two representatives in the first Australian Parliament. The Federal Electorate of Solomon is of course named after another family member, V L Solomon. Emanuel’s son, Joseph Samuel Solomon, enlisted in the South Australian Militia and is reputed to have joined the famous explorer, Stuart on his inland journey of South Australia The Solomon’s have their far share of war heroes too. We know of at least four young men, who were at Gallipoli, one paid the ultimate price. We also lay claim to the first Jewish Lieutenant Colonel (Benjamin Solomon) and the only person to have served in the Boer War and both World Wars (Brigadier Walter Samuel Solomon – Salvation Army). Then there is the relative who together with his wife sailed on the Titanic unfortunately he did not survive. We have artists and spies and even streets, towns and mountains names after family members!

The familiy names associated include: Alexander, Barnett, Benjamin, Boas, Keesing, Cashmore, Cohen, Daniels, Fewster, Issacs, Joshua, Jacobs, Jacobsohn, Marks, Lipman, Marks, Morell, Moss, Montefiore, Myers, Phillips, Salom, Victorsen and Voules Brown.

Speakers on the day will include:
Todd Knowles - staff member of the British Reference Section of the Family History Librry in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

Rabbi John S. Levi, a member of the Order of Australia. His publication "These are the Names Jewish Lives in Australia 1788-1850" holds a wealth of information about early Jewsih life in Australia.

Madeleine Say - Pictures Librarian at the State Library of Victoria.

Further details from: Katrina and Jenny Cowen katrina.jenny@bigpond.com