From Australia’s Jewish past

Sydney David Einfeld AO – Politician and Community Leader

Syd – as he was known – was born on 17 June 1909 in Darlinghurst, Sydney, just three weeks after his parents arrived in Australia – hence his name Sydney.  He was the son of Deborah and Rabbi Marcus Einfeld, whose family had come from Yaroslaw in Galicia, Poland.  Rabbi Marcus left the Borough New Synagogue, London, to become chazan and the Second Minister of the Great Synagogue.

Syd attended Bourke Street Public School and then Paddington Public School before completing his secondary education at Fort Street Boys’ High School, where he was a member of the first XV rugby team.  He began his working career as a salesman and soon became manager of a merchandising company.  In 1930, he moved to Brisbane, where he met Sydney-born Sadie Appleboom, a saleswoman.  The couple returned to Sydney and were married on 2 June 1934 at the Great Synagogue.  Throughout their married life, Syd and Billie, as she was known, would often work together in community organisations.  They had two children, Marcus and Robyn.

Syd always had an interest in politics and in 1938 joined the Australian Labor Party, but had restricted his involvement to local branch and electorate activity, which also included being campaign director in 1943 for Jessie Street, well known at the time as an activist, a feminist and a lifelong campaigner for women’s rights, the peace movement, and the elimination of discrimination.

In 1945, he became a foundation member of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies. Two years later, he was appointed chairman of the board’s migrant reception committee. He often met refugees as they disembarked and helped them settle. In 1952, he became president of the Australian Jewish Welfare Society (AJWS) in Sydney and oversaw its services for the next twenty-seven years. From 1947 to 1957, he also served as an adjudicator for the City of Sydney Eisteddfod.

In 1961, Syd won the Federal seat of Phillip but lost it at the following election. Although disillusioned by his experience in the House of Representatives, in November 1965, he stood successfully for Bondi, and in 1971, at a by-election for the New South Wales Legislative Assembly caused by Abe Landa’s resignation, the seat became known as Waverley.

In 1961, his parliamentary career began.  He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as the Labor member for the seat of Phillip, defeating Liberal MP William Aston.  At the time, he was only the fourth Jew to be elected to the Commonwealth Parliament.  In 1965, the Australian Council for International Development, an independent national association of Australian non-government organisations working in the field of international aid and development, was established, and Syd took on the role of chairman.  In 1966, he became Deputy Leader of the Opposition.  In 1976 took up the portfolio of New South Wales Minister for Consumer Affairs in the Wran Government.  He retired from politics in 1982, and it is said that his major legislative achievements were during his close to twenty-year service with this portfolio.   Other achievements during his parliamentary time included amending the Prices Regularly Act of 1948 and increasing the government’s power over the price of essentials such as bread and petrol, and the expansion of the Consumer Affairs Ministry into a fully-fledged department.  He initiated Prices Commission inquiries into a range of industries, and introduced a Rental Bond Board to give tenants greater protection, as well as increasing the profile of the existing Consumer Claims Tribunal. This activity made him the most recognised minister in the government after the Premier.  He also initiated Price Commission inquiries into a range of industries. Following the 1978 election, housing was added to his ministerial responsibilities, creating a workload that finally forced him to resign the presidency of the AJWS in 1979.

Syd had been an accomplished debater in his youth and made an impression as an erudite and often impassioned political orator. His warmth, genuine concern for people, and dedication to practical action were more important than earning the high standing he achieved within parliament and among the public.

In his honour, the Federal Government’s Syd Einfeld Active Consumer Award, together with the Jewish National Fund’s Sydney D. Einfeld Memorial Award, were established in recognition of his work, as well as a B’nai B’rith Unit named after him. Shortly after his retirement, Rabbi Raymond Apple stated that the Sydney Jewish community owed ‘more to him than it does to any other man’.  Syd was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1962.  The Syd Einfeld Drive, a bypass road through Bondi Junction, was named in his honour, as well as the Syd and Billie Einfeld Forest in Israel.   He passed away on 16 June 1995 at the age of eighty-five.

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

Australian Dictionary of Biography – Rodney Smith and Research by Karen Fox, AJHS Journal article by Suzanne Rutland OAM, Wikipedia, NSW Parliament Archives

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