With a proud history of over 150 years, EAST MELBOURNE Hebrew Congregation, or The City of Melbourne Synagogue, as it is now called, is the oldest functioning synagogue in Victoria. As the only synagogue in the Melbourne City centre, it has been vital to the development of the Jewish community in Australia. Deeply embedded in the memories and the history of every Jewish family in Melbourne, it also serves as a splendid landmark for the Jewish community and for the City of Melbourne.

East Melbourne shul's history is interwoven with the story of Melbourne Jewry almost from the city's foundation. Initially established in the gold rush days of 1852, the congregation started its life on the corner of Little Lonsdale street and Exhibition street in the CBD. Membership of the Congregation grew quickly and a new synagogue was needed so a block of land in Albert St East Melbourne was purchased in 1873.

In September 1877, the East Melbourne Synagogue opened its doors for the first time in its current location to serve the needs of the vibrant burgeoning Jewish community established in the surrounding inner areas of Melbourne. It fulfilled that role admirably for ninety years until social change saw it begin to cater for a wider clientele including city workers, tourists and a new wave of inner city Jewish residents.

With its majestic and beautiful Italian Renaissance architecture, the synagogue is a major historic landmark, which has great cultural and architectural significance to the City of Melbourne and the State of Victoria. The synagogue's great heritage value has been acknowledged by the Victorian Heritage Council and the Australian Heritage Commission. It is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register, and The Register of the National Estate. Most significantly, East Melbourne synagogue has been classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) as a building of state significance.

East Melbourne Synagogue has played a vital part in the life of Melbourne Jewry for the past 150 years. With the many wedding, barmitzvahs and other simchas conducted there, it has deeply touched the hearts and the minds of thousands of men, women and children in the Melbourne Jewish community and beyond. There are countless stories about East Melbourne, and each family has one to tell.

Despite its distinguished past, It seemed that memory would ultimately be all that was left of the East Melbourne synagogue. With the relocation of the Jewish community from the North to the South of the Yarra in the late 1950's and 1960's, East Melbourne's memberships steadily declined in number. An aging band of dedicated individuals lead by the late Rabbi Honig struggled though the 1970's and 1980's to keep old memories alive but it seemed demographics would eventually defeat them.

Then the tide turned and East Melbourne began to experience a resurgence. Spearheaded by the dynamic young Rabbi, Rabbi Levy Tenenbaum a new group of congregants joined forces with longer standing members to breath new life into the old shule. Rabbi Shamir Caplan and most recently Rabbi Dovid gutnick have perpetuated and accelerated that growth.

Without fuss or fanfare, and with very few resources, East Melbourne Synagogue is once again expanding its presence in Jewish Melbourne. The shul now hosts regular Shiurim, shabbatons, seminars, chagim programs and of course Shabbat and Yom Tov Services.

Its location on the CBD fringe, close to hotels, offices, hospitals and universities enables it to cater for the needs of businesspeople, those visiting the sick and both local and international tourists and students. It is, in a unique sense, Jewish Melbourne's gateway to the world.

Those from out of town can enjoy the warm, welcoming and beautiful environment on Friday night, Shabbat and the Yom Tov services. City workers, and students from nearby Melbourne University and RMIT attend its regular weekly shiurim. City residents enjoy the pastoral support of Rabbi Caplan in moments of grief and happiness. Currently the shul is developing a daily Minyan to boost its role as a religious focus for city workers.

This wonderful religious activity in a historically significant setting  makes The City of Melbourne Synagogue an ideal showcase of Melbourne's Jewish heritage.  Today it is a distinct attraction of the walking tours of historic Melbourne conducted by the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Jewish Museum. It is visited regularly by many school groups and it is on the itinerary of the historic places to visit encouraged by the surrounding hotels.

The City of Melbourne Synagogue is an important part of the Jewish and non-Jewish community in Melbourne and Australia, with many aspects to it, such as it's location, architecture, and history, that are distinguished and different from other orthodox synagogues.

Sadly, the synagogue no longer has the resources to maintain both the traditional needs of its own congregation in addition to the role it now performs. Although the wider Jewish community enjoys the benefits of the shule's existence, very few contribute to it financially nor are there enough congregants, for their fees to subsidise this activity. At present, through the current Board of Management, The City of Melbourne Synagogue is looking to see how it can maintain its newer role within our community.

East Melbourne's board and congregation are committed to building on the shul's recent achievements and have developed a strong vision for the future. This revolves around a two pronged strategy of developing and enhancing the historic and heritage value of the shule and exploiting its unique central location and close proximity to hotels, hospitals and the city residential developments.

The Board believes that the shule can be a Jewish oasis in the heart of bustling Melbourne.
These are their goals:

• To provide a dynamic centre for Jewish religious, cultural and educational life.
• To provide a place for religious observance for international and interstate visitors in Melbourne's Central  Business  District, students and those who need to be near the city's hospitals.
• To maintain and restore a landmark which is culturally and architecturally significant in the history of the State of Victoria and the City of Melbourne.
• To develop the site further to allow it to become a self-funding religious, educational  and cultural centre. So we can achieve these goals, East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation is working  to  establish  and consolidate    the   following community services:
• Reaching out to residents of inner Melbourne to provide them with a Jewish religious and cultural centre that meets their needs.  Providing the Jewish workers in the city, with a daily minyan and regular lunchtime discussion groups.
• Further developing the shule's current programs, including lectures, shabbatons, shiurim, Yom Tov and Shabbat religious services.
• Strengthening the shule's role in the    general   Melbourne community,   through   the establishment of an educational resource available  for all Melbournians. Developing a women's group program with discussions and guest speakers.
• Building on our relationship with students from Melbourne's Universities, through Jewish student organisations, and promoting regular talks around important Jewish issues.  Holding special functions on the holydays, and reaching out to Jewish children and families in the inner-city. 
• Developing the shule as a retreat for visitors from elsewhere in Melbourne coming to the city for a weekend.
• Developing contacts between Jewish businesses, their owners and employees in the City of Melbourne, by organising joint events. Forming a Friends of East Melbourne Synagogue group, for people who have had a previous association with the synagogue, or been involved with simchot such  as  weddings  or  bar mitzvahs there.
• Promoting the synagogue as a desirable venue for weddings and bar/bat mitzvah services. 
• Reaching out to the general community by promoting the historical value of the synagogue to Melbourne's multicultural  past and future, encouraging its inclusion in brochures and historical tours.  
• Consolidating a communications strategy,  including placing information brochures  in Melbourne's hotels, surrounding schools and hospitals. Developing a carefully targeted media campaign-- with regular press releases to national, local and international Jewish and non-Jewish press.

Developing a vibrant and viable centre of Jewish life for Melbourne's central business district is no small task. It will require energy, committment and money to be invested in restoring and maintaining buildings according to Heritage standards. It will demand the boosting of both our service levels and our profile in the life of Melbourne.

As a result the East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation has resolved to employ the services of a committed fund raiser, first on a part time basis with a view to developing this into a full time position.

East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation is ready and committed to continue the invaluable work that it does for the Jewish community at present. But we cannot carry on this task alone.

We need your assistance if we are to preserve a historic Melbourne landmark, not just for posterity, but to cater for the needs of the Jewish and wider communities into the future.