A number of years ago, my father was interviewed for the Jewish Migrant Oral History Project. Thankfully, I have a copy of the interview, and I will be publishing excerpts from it in his memory.
Previous installments: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Interviewer: In relation to mixing within the community obviously that’s an issue to be faced today with people like John Howard saying that they have to learn English.
Dad: Yes.
Interviewer: Was that something that you experienced here in Perth in relation to there being an obligation to blend with the wider community, to become more Australian?
Dad: No, it was different in those days. Much different. I was going to Hale [School], and I had enough problems. I wanted to do boxing in school, Saturday morning but no go, synagogue, okay. Then when I became friendly with boys at Hale and we’d go out together. The boy I was most friendly with – his parents were clients of my parents – explained to me said, “Look, we’re friends, we’re together but I don’t go to your house and you don’t get invited to ours.” That was the attitude, the feeling.
Interviewer: How did you sense the wider community?
Dad: Not like that. I took it to be typical Hale School. I even discussed it with Mr Johns. For instance when I first went to Hale School after being there a couple of weeks, Mr Johns asked me “Have you got a tennis racket?” I said, “Yes, I got one from my Barmitzvah.” I had never played tennis in my life. He said, “Bring your tennis racket and shorts to school.” And he arranged for a couple of boys, Lloyd and Irvine, (and there was supposed to be a fourth but he couldn’t make it), and we played tennis. And I was very friendly with Michael Perry. We’d go fishing on the Swan and stay overnight. He came to my barmitzvah and he was very happy.
Interviewer: So there was no sense of an, ‘us and them’ scenario?
Dad: No, no we lived the same life.
