“In the late 1800s a Yiddisher named Daniel Berger arrived per his published itinerary of auction sales, as he sold by auction salvage stores of shipwrecks, fires, etc cheap and shoddy. It could be said of the late Berger he was a typical trader of his race, a most humorous auctioneer and big advertiser.

On Saturday afternoons he would engage a brass band and give the town’s children a picnic, running footraces and dumpling eating contests at South Circle Park. He had a wife passionately fond of children, hence her prompting band music and outdoor sport, with lollies in galore, as no pictures were in vogue.

This successful business man built the Lachlan Arcade in Rankin Street, and employed many hands. Unemployment was rife in the “good old days”. The genial Dan’s terms of employment were: “One minute’s notice on either side.”

One of the most amusing, yet for him, tragic periods of his years in Forbes occurred in the great flood of 1900. The Lachlan broke its banks at the Southern Cross and the waters filled Robinson’s Swamp, to race round Boyle’s Hill, the Lagoon, inundating the township and filling the large cellar of Jim Wallet’s Hotel.

Where the Olympic pool is now situated, was an unsightly gully at which refuse was tipped. This was a breeding ground for disease and as a result typhoid outbreaks were common. But the flood swept through this foul area with good if temporary effect.

What was once the Lachlan Arcade stood over a commodious cellar, so with the adjoining cellar, one can imagine the subterranean sea which was created by the flood.

The excitable Daniel Berger at this time knowing nothing of the geography of the country was driven to distraction. Some of the local wags told him that a wall of water was expected to arrive from Condobolin during the day.

“Goldenia” (his wife), he roared. “Ve are no longer the Chosen People”

But it was a busy time. All hands were shifting tons of sugar and heavy merchandise from the flooded cellars. In fact, flour and sugar bags were used to form a levee. Above this scene of ruin, the Jew had painted a flaming red and white sign, “Berger In Trouble”.

A week of fine weather followed the deluge and during the fine spell the task of bailing out the cellar was tremendous. The store was in chaotic condition and the excitable Berger continually declaimed. “This is THE FLOOD and we have no Ark.”

However, he enlisted the aid of the local Fire Brigade to pump the water with the manual gear. A dozen or so men were engaged in operating the pump at 2/- an hour. It was not easy work and frequent stoppages were made. These infuriated Berger, and when the hour after hour went by and there did not seem to be any impression, the Jew became almost incoherent.

When finally told that the men were striking for 5/- an hour, and the water kept seeping into his cellar from the adjacent hotel, Berger could stand it no longer.

“Davis,” he said dramatically to the brigade captain, “you can dismiss your men and all go to hell. You might as well try and empty the Pacific Ocean.”

Berger was indeed a colourful personality, whose eyes were like beads in an inkwell.

I gained my very intimate knowledge of the “Wandering Jew” as I was employed in my teens in the responsible position of cashier and assistant to the head book-keeper in the Lachlan Arcade. However, a lot of people make money by going broke, and the sequel to Berger’s major trouble was a world tour for him and his wife.”

Many thanks to George Gunn, The Forbes Advocate, Forbes Historical Society (for images) and of course the National Library of Australia’s online resource, Trove, for giving us these memories of Daniel Berger, The Wandering Jew.