From Australia’s Jewish past

Edna Luber-Smith – active and enthusiastic community stalwart

Edna was born in Perth on 9 January 1901.  She was the daughter of Rosetta and Gustus Luber. Gustus had come from Russia in 1887 to Perth, and her mother from England in the same year.  They met in Perth.  In an earlier story regarding Samuel Shrimski and his brother Mark, Rosetta was Mark’s daughter.  Rosetta and Gustus married when Rosetta was seventeen.  Community service was instilled into Edna, her brother and her four sisters by their parents.  The total involvement by her family in Jewish and non-Jewish charities had totalled more than one hundred and sixty years.

Edna joined her father’s business and continued there after her marriage.  Her parents were prominent in the Perth Hebrew community, which paved the way for Edna, who, from 1916, was associated with the Jewish Women’s Guild, helping the needy in various capacities, irrespective of their situation.  Following in her mother’s footsteps, Edna went on to become president after her mother’s passing, a position her mother had held for forty years.  Her father was president of the synagogue, and her mother began the Ladies’ Guild and a Benevolent Society there. Edna married Phillip Stanley-Smith on 3 August 1927, joining her maiden name together with her married name.  It is interesting to note that Edna passed away on her wedding anniversary, fifty years later.

The family, quite prosperous, lived in a large Mt Lawley house, built in 1903, and named Rosetta Lodge.  Many a party and reception were held there.  Besides being amongst the earliest residents in Mt Lawley, they were the first Jewish family in the area.  Gustus had come from London via Russia to Australia with the family of Victor Mendelstan, arriving in Fremantle in 1885 aboard the ‘Hampshire’.  Interestingly, they helped form a small Jewish community in Fremantle and were responsible for bringing the first torah scroll to Western Australia.  Rosetta’s family had migrated to Australia in 1887, and when they arrived in Fremantle, they were looked after by the Mendelstan family and Gustus.

In time, the house became too big for them, and Rosetta and Gustav moved to a smaller home.  It was at this time that Edna was married, and she and Phillip lived next door to her parents.  The two houses on First Avenue, Mt Lawley, no longer stand, but the previous house, known as Rosetta Lodge, was let as a Maternity Hospital, and before the Second World War, it became a guest house.  Edna and Phillip continued it as a guest house, and in 1955, they resumed managing the property, redecorating it and converting it into a reception venue.  They ran this as a catering business for thirteen years, but by 1968, it became too much for them, and the property was leased again and used as an aged pensioners’ accommodation.  In 1975, the property was sold, and a bank now stands on the site.  Edna always thought that the property could have been rehabilitated rather than demolished, possibly to consulting rooms for a group medical practice.

Edna’s involvement in community work began in 1914.  Before joining the Jewish Women’s Branch of the Australian Red Cross, she assisted her parents with their community interests.  She became involved with many Jewish and non-Jewish organisations, including the Perth Hebrew Literary Society, the Zionist Association, and the ‘Popular Girl’ competition, which raised funds for the Brisbane Street Synagogue.  Both the Council of Jewish Women and WIZO were very active in immigrant reception. The federal government introduced quota restrictions for European immigrants in 1928.  While the Jewish male leaders welcomed these restrictions, Dr Fanny Reading, who established the Council of Jewish Women in 1923, wrote in the Council Bulletin in November of that year: ‘Who are we to say that we are pleased that certain immigration restrictions will be placed on the admittance of our brethren into our country?  That we are glad that our task will be made lighter while our brethren languish for freedom and the right to live?’  Council members met refugees before World War II and survivors after the war who arrived via boat and plane, and helped them integrate into society.  Both organisations were concerned with the care of the sick and the need to provide facilities for Jewish people.   In 1929, Dr. Fanny Reading, then President of the. Council of Jewish Women in Sydney (later to become The National Council of Jewish Women of Australia) visited Western Australia and formed the Council of Jewish Women in Perth. Edna became very active with the group and remained so until her passing in 1977.  She was elected the first president of the Junior Section in 1929 and remained in a presidential position over the next forty years.   As an NCJW delegate to the  WA National Council of Women, she was responsible for a motion deploring ‘the high incidence of alcohol; related accidents in WA and seeking to reduce the alcohol content of beer. Government regulations list a certain percentage of alcohol in beer, a higher percentage in WA than elsewhere in Australia.  Doubtless, the National Council of Women’s resolution had some effect on the government, for a Swan Brewery spokesman is known to have said ‘’indications from various organisations led our company to believe there was a market for a low alcohol beer.” It wasn’t long after that that they began to market a special light beer.

Edna joined the Red Cross Society at the outbreak of the Second World War, when a Red Cross Emergency Service company was formed, and she was elected superintendent.  The company operated in a very active capacity in the various services undertaken by the Red Cross in Perth.    From 1946, she was also involved with the Children’s Protection Society and was invited to take her late mother’s position on the Board in 1950.  She was later elected vice-president and was then awarded the position of honorary life president.  Many organisations benefited from Edna’s unending voluntary work.

In 1958, at Edna’s urging, the project for a home for aged Jewish men and women was adopted by NCJW.  With the support of an enthusiastic committee, this plan was to become the Maurice Zeffert Home, with which she continued to be associated.  She was more than a pillar of strength throughout a period of twenty-two years, being elected vice-president when the board, personally responsible for the Annual Debutantes’ Ball, which was held in the Government House Ballroom.  Over the years, this became a kind of tradition, with the State Governor honouring the community by his attendance and reception of the debutantes each year, a tradition which happened nowhere else in Australia.  Edna worked tirelessly for NCJW for nearly fifty years.

Edna’s husband Phil was also a most charitable man, and the acts performed by them together are almost a Perth legend.  He was an ardent supporter of all his wife’s work.  The Luber-Smiths had no children of their own, but were in constant touch with nieces, nephews, and cousins, writing long and interesting letters to those who lived interstate and overseas.  As her friends and relatives summed her up, “she is always doing things for people.”  With Edna’s bright personality and a great sense of humour, Edna was very family-conscious.  She was known as ‘Aunty’ to Perth Jews.  Edna was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in 1979 for her Jewish and general community work.  She was Western Australia’s living legend who was honoured in 1984 by B’nai B’rith as Citizen of the Year for 1983.

A tiny lady with bright eyes, still very interested in all that happens, she was known as Auntie Edna to the Perth Jewish community. She possessed a life force and, at the B’nai B’rith Citizen-of-the-Year dinner, Edna stated: “I will continue to work as long as l am able — even to 120.”

The AJHS acknowledges the following references in the preparation of this story:

Wikipedia; John Shrimski (Sydney); Mt Lawley Matters – Newsletter; The Australian Jewish News – 27 Nov 1981; Australian National Library; Beginning with Esther – Lysbeth Cohen; NCJW WA Section

The Australian Jewish Historical Society is the keeper of archives from the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 to the present day. Whether you are searching for an academic resource, an event, a picture or an article, AJHS can help you find that piece of historical material. The AJHS welcomes your contributions to the archives. If you are a descendant of someone of interest with a story to share, or you have memorabilia that may be of significance to our archives, please contact us via www.ajhs.com.au or [email protected].