Marks-Isaacs, Simon
Small Individual Donation
Authority Biography/Administrative HistoryThe Kimberly Project
A quintessential gentleman and scholar, Simon Marks-Isaacs, was born in London to an Australian mother and English father, with a family tree featuring Australian war heroes as well as convicts. An intense interest in his family’s genealogy saw Simon trace his ancestors back through many centuries in England and Holland. They reportedly included noted rabbis and scholars.
Simon was passionately interested in all parts of history, politics, arts, language and culture. He undertook formal studies in finance and Judaism while simultaneously learning Mandarin, Hebrew and photography. He served on the boards of the Australian String Quartet and China Museum. A constant presence at scientific, political, religious and cultural talks, he read voraciously and embodied the phrase “life- long learning”.Simon left behind collections of his own original research on a range of topics, including over 30 folders on an obscure proposal to create a Jewish state in the Kimberley Region.
However, the Nazi threat to European Jewry in the late 1930s ushered in a renewed urgency to revisit this option. The London-based Freeland League for Jewish Territorial Colonisation took up the challenge, favouring a parcel of land (of 27,454 km2) in Western Australia’s East Kimberley region.
The League’s request was submitted to Prime Minister Menzies and Cabinet on two occasions – the latest in 1950. After much consideration, it was rejected. Among other reasons, it was felt that establishing an isolated community of migrants was contrary to the Government's assimilation policy.
Simon’s many friends hope this collection of fascinating material will inspire others to take up the scholarly mantle and continue to build knowledge about this and other small but important parts of our history.
A fascinating and little-known chapter of Australian and Jewish history, the establishment of a Jewish settlement in Australia was first proposed in 1905. Dr Richard Arthur, president of the Immigration League of Australia, had written to Israel Zangwill, the eminent writer and president of the Jewish Colonisation Organisation in London. Their detailed proposal to purchase a million acres on which to settle up to a thousand Jewish families was not accepted by Australia’s then Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin.
ProvenanceISAACS, Simon-Marks (ISAACSSM)
Scope & ContentResearch Documents of the late Simon Marks-Isaacs [29.8.63- 9.1.2017]: 25 Lever Arch folders of hardcopy documents were scanned and much of the documents were retrieved from The Australian Archives and are in the public domain. These are secondary resources
