A large group of people enjoyed the Heritage Week tour of the Forbes cemetery which was made more pleasant by the neat and tidy cemetery and the bright sunny day.
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Two themes were nominated for the day; firstly, to look at the Jewish heritage in Forbes, beginning at the vault of the Vandenberg family with its inscription of a love poem to the young wife.
Early Forbes had a number of Jewish businessmen;-
Selig Jereslow from Prussia had a business in Browne Street, and Abraham Marks was a storekeeper in Rankin Street.
Harris and Solomon Cohen kept the Great Western Stores in Rankin Street.
A.L. Rosenweig also had a business in Rankin Street.
David Isaacs edited The Miner newspaper where the Victoria hotel now stands, and A, Goldsmith was a stationer with a reading room and a library.
Baron B. Cohen was a storekeeper with connections to the Prince of Wales Hotel.
Morris Levy ran the Black Bull Hotel, and Levy Vandenberg owned the Court House Hotel which he renamed the Vandenberg.
All these Jews were naturalised Australians.
The Jews established a Synagogue which is believed to have been in Templar Street where the Services Club now stands.
It was a small wooden building with a blue roof.
Being businessmen, most moved on when the gold rush ended and the Depression set in.
Cause of death was also examined with a comparison made between the early days and more modern times.
In early days death occurred from shootings, (both accidental and deliberate), bolting and kicking horses, drowning in the river, pools and farm dams.
One man fell down the stairs at the Albion Hotel, another had his throat cut and several fell off cycles.
It seems we were a violent society in times gone by.
More recent deaths include car accidents, especially at level crossings, and aircraft crashes such as Tim Meagher and his three young friends who crashed at Red Bend College while taking photos.
The death rate among children has been greatly reduced.
Many people contributed with a family story and Leanne and Neil Parslow presented a well-documented family history at their family grave site.
We are indebted to Forbes Family History Group for historical records
