Obituaries Australia

One of the oldest members of the Sydney community, Mrs. Amelia Alexander, the widow of the late Adolph Alexander, of Warren, N.S.W., passed away on November 11, 1948, in her 88th year. Born in Bridge Street, Sydney, on March 22, 1861, she was the last surviving child of a family of 18, being the seventh daughter of the late Elias and Julia Moses, from London. Among other activities, her father was one of the founders of the York Street Synagogue, over one hundred years ago, and President of the Jewish Philanthropic Society. This family had the first Succoh in Sydney at their home in Bridge Street.

Her maternal grandfather and grandmother, the late Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Moses, of London, had a short residence here, and during the bushranging days of the Colony Mr Abraham was held up while out riding and the horse, being a spirited animal, became more restive when the bushranger grappled with the bridle in an attempt to hold its head while ordering the rider, a powerful man, to dismount. During the ensuing struggle he managed to free a foot from the stirrup-iron and kicked the bushranger under the chin, sending him sprawling, and made good his escape.

The chain gangs were a sad and upsetting sight to his wife and they both left the Colony and returned to London, where they are buried. Later on, her own father, the late Elias Moses, was not so fortunate when held up by bushrangers. He was roped to a tree and left without any of his possessions.

Mrs. Alexander had been connected with the Great Synagogue since its foundation, and she was a regular worshipper. She was a musician of talent, giving her services to charity, and played pianoforte solos at the first concert held in aid of the Montefiore Home, at the School of Arts, in Pitt Street. She composed and published the piano solo "Remembrance".

She married, on 28th February, 1883, Adolph Alexander, of Warren, who had been associated with its early pioneering days. Warren was almost completely destroyed by fire on 30th November, 1900, when she lost all her manuscript compositions and records pertaining to her musical career. So great was her love for music that when well over seventy years of age, she again rewrote the manuscript for her pianoforte solo "Remembrance." She was a foundation member of the Australian Jewish Historical Society.

Her husband predeceased her by many years. She is survived by her daughter, Mrs. Flodele Rhodes, and by her sons, Gordon, Fred, Marcus, Clive and Julian.