The Brisbane Synagogue

Story

The Brisbane Synagogue is a heritage-listed synagogue at 98 Margaret Street, Brisbane City, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Arthur Morry and built from 1885 to 1886 by Arthur Midson. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.HistoryThe Jewish families who settled in Queensland from the time of Separation formed the nucleus of the Brisbane Hebrew Congregation founded in Brisbane in 1865. The congregation used a number of venues as temporary places of worship, including a building in the grounds of Samuel Davis's home at North Quay (later known as Aubigny), while raising money through various land speculations to purchase a site and build a Synagogue. The present site was purchased by R B Lewin and sold to the congregation for £200. In 1885 designs for a Synagogue were sought from architects and plans submitted by Arthur Morry, who worked in the Queensland Colonial Architect's office, were chosen. The foundation stone was laid on 7 July 1885 and a bottle containing coins, newspapers and documents was embedded beneath it. The foundation stone is no longer visible following the raising of the level of Margaret Street, and it is believed that the courtyard of the Synagogue was raised at the same time. This is supported by the fact that ventilated arches for the basement are now located well below ground level.