From Australia’s Jewish Past: Percy Joseph Marks
A leading light in Sydney’s Jewish community, and one of Australian Judaism’s great historians.
Percy J Marks
Born in Sydney in 1867, Percy was the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Marks and the brother of Ernest (whose story was published in J-Wire on 3 October).
Unfortunately, their mother died when Percy was twelve and his father was left to care for the three children. Following her death, the family moved from West Maitland to Sydney, where Joseph became a wool buyer. Percy and Ernest were both educated at Royston College in Darlinghurst. Percy was always known as Percy J Marks, to distinguish himself from Percy Marks – a well-known jeweller. Percy went on to study law at the University of Sydney and was then articled to Creagh & Williams. Once admitted as a solicitor on 6 June 1891 he set up his law practice becoming quite well-known and was well-respected amongst his peers. Busy as he was, he took an active role in the affairs of Sydney’s Jewish Community and, like Ernest, they both regularly attended the Great Synagogue and were early supporters of Zionism. Percy, like his brother Ernest, never married.
In 1896, Percy took on the role of honorary secretary of the Board of Jewish Education as well as giving his time as honorary solicitor to a number of communal organisations. In 1908, he established and was the first president of the Sydney Zionist Society and later of the local section of the Friends of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. One of Percy’s lifelong passions was studying the history of Australia’s Jewish Community and, acting as an unofficial historian, he joined the Royal Australian Historical Society Council from 1912 to 1918, publishing many articles and pamphlets including two bibliographies – Australasian Shakespeareana in 1915 and Australian Judaica in 1933 and 1936. With his interest in Shakespeare, Percy and Ernest helped establish the Shakespeare Society of New South Wales. He was also a committee member of the Australian Ex-Libris Society (later known as the Australian Bookplate Society), the Society of Australian Genealogists and the Numismatic Society (coin collectors who are more interested in the history) as well as a Fellow of the Royal Colonial Institute (now known as the Royal Commonwealth Society). In 1938, Percy and Ernest became founding members of the Australian Jewish Historical Society, with Percy being the Inaugural President in 1938. He was also a life and foundation member of the New South Wales Amateur Sports Club. Percy passed away on 23 June 1941 at his home in Kirribilli.
The legacy of Percy J Marks can be seen in the significant collection of Judaica that was left to the State Library of New South Wales by his brother Ernest. This collection is one of Australia’s most significant. It consisted of over 500 books, 850 pamphlets and ten manuscripts. While its strength lies in its Australian content, the collection also contained many rare printed items from Europe, Israel and the United States – some from as early as 1641. The collection was established originally by Samuel Benjamin who was Percy and Ernest’s maternal grandfather.
The collection is now part of the State Library’s eRecords Project, with online catalogue records having been created for individual items in the Percy J. Marks Collection of Judaica. While access had previously been via a typescript contents list, researchers can now discover the extent of this impressive collection through a simple search of the Library’s catalogue.
The AJHS acknowledges the following references in the preparation of this story:-
Australian Dictionary of Biography – Obituaries Australia; Wikipedia; State Library of NSW; National Library of Australia; AJHS Journal 1-6 1941 – Leib Falk
The Australian Jewish Historical Society is the keeper of archives from the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 right up to today. 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 descendent of someone of interest with a story to tell, or you have memorabilia that might be of significance for the archives, please make contact via Examplewww.ajhs.com.a or stories@ajhs.com.au
