SPEECH 31-THE PRIMiE MINISTEi, THE RT. HON. R. G.
MENZIES AT OPENIAIG OF JEJISH JA1i MEMiORIAL HALL,
' VERLY ON SUNDAY 2T FIRIUAlRY 1960
iMr, President, Your Excellency, distinguished visitors and
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I think that this is a very happy occasion for a very
material reason and I also have t. ro quite irrelevant reasons for
being here this afternoon.
The first irrelevant reason though perha: s it isn't
irrelevant is that I have observed with great interest that
your President's name is Felix I was going to say his
Christian name but I suppose that wouldn't be right. ( Leughter),
But his name is Felix which. if I remember my Latin correctly,
means " happy" happy ( Applause). And I should tink he
ought to be. The second irrelevant reason that I have in my mind
is that the last time I had the honour of making a speech to a
Jewish congregation in Melbourne I was a little troubled about
having to wear my hat all the time. I look bad enough without
a hat on, but when I have a hat on I look terribla ( Laughter)
end I made a little bargain with the Rabbi who is a imost
courteous and obliging man and he said: "' ell, if you start of.
rith it on, you may then remove it and put it on again before
you finish" and that's what I did. And this aftenocn Felix
Happy here said to me just before ie cam ru " It's all right
from now on it's hats off". Therefore I'm so speiaking cool,
calm nd col. ected.
Noj, S: Lr, I'm not going to detain you but just want
to say two o-three things about you and about thi r" irkablc
and interesting occrsion
T'ere are three things that have alxays struck me
about your ccmmunity I hope you won't mind a rank outsidei
like myself, who is an unblushing Presbyteri2. n you ! know what
I mean making a few obse-. vtions about a cnommunity, so many
members of hich aie very close personal friends of mine, Dut
three zhines have alv: ays struck me . nd I think thay' r worth
mentioning. he I'i: cst is your adherence to your faith, You've
been persecuted for it in the course of the centurie. sj you've
been a:; tacked for it you've almost been or. dered to aibandon iLt
from time to time and you haove adhered to it t* arough thick and
thin until it has been hammered into true steel. Now th& t's a
wionderful thing, a wonderful thing your deep. loyal and abiding
religious faith. I admire that enormously. Everybody does.
It produces in any corimunity n element of sanity and balance
and reliability which no comnriunity can afford to be without,
I don't want you to think that people who are not of your par.-
ticular religious faith necessaril/, or frequently, or at alLj
object to you on that ground. Of course we don't. On th.
contr.. ry. Any man, any woman, who has the flame burning qnd .: ho
keeps it alight is a great mnz. n and a great woman and the
community is proud of him and proud of her.
That's the first thing that I've always liked and
admired about the Jewish comnrunity. It's an enduring quality,
And the second thing that I've always admi: ed is that
Ireally think that you have a remarkable sense of family. I
have met a few pe-ple in Australia not too many, I hope, but
some who are a bit anxious to pass off the responsibilit-y for
their fam'lies to somebody else. live never met a Je-w yho felt
like that, I've never known a Jewish fAmily in which the w-Jlfare
of every membe. of the family wasn't the constant task of
the lot, Now thati's a marvellous thing because the family a
L
good family, a iealth family, % proud famfily, a. famiJly generous
in itself this is of the very essence Df cormunity life,
There can be no , reat nations without great -famAly f1eeling and
I adraire your community im-,, enseJ-y because all thnrough ray life
I have observed this extraordinary, devoted sense of family
pride and fawily resp. onsibility I hope that will s:; lwvays
continue Your community is not a sep.ñ rate -body in a great
nation. It's not a sort of colony. You have no intention that
it should be. But your fuith -tnd your inheritead instincts are a
g. reat contribution tL-otL -ha coni-, iunity in ; hich-you live.
And the third -thing that's always excited my admi,-* ration
i've said something d ut faith, faily117-i he third
is friendliness. I rant to say a word to you -, bout f2iJendliness,
if I may.
I knowi that recently there hc-. ve been stra~ n-e people
puttin, up strange slogans, you'LI* lLoxr met ays
know a little bit about this kind of thin, because " Outl with
* pig-iron Bob" or something ( LauLghter) ( Applause) h-as been on
W every railway crossin, and every brIc walado cu en
a low-down politician I've nev-, er ob. jeck-ed 1-oc it lbacai-use P've
felt that this was unpaid pub. f -city ( ugtr. But I think
that ' qe just want to have in ou2 minds thtthe-e 9. always
be a fe-w people fho intend mi-ischief, who desirec to de-f". le the
community, those rae_ 1d on't believe in tnt orly s: ystem-of
g-overnment that . re believe in, th. at there T1.11 1waMys be a few
people -rho -I-ant to mnake ruide noi1ses or mtupD of'fensi-ve slo. Tanc
And if one coul. d g7rab one of them th-at ijouW. be the day never
been able 3et one mys-elf ( Lauiar( er). They have ino in
this country, They don't :' upresent any opinion in this country
but as usual they've trace d ( Xouad them,; elves ~~ htmgtbe
called " Ithe lunatic fring?". no -, cu i1ow . rKt I mean2' 7hc; are
the silly well to use cood ~. ae~ oAustr-i! iln eco3ression
the " 1ratbags" Arho say: " This is 1etty , gooc.; Uhs' 1d e n
they will 5o . a-rua. nd chaikcin--uP cir painting vp slogans,
I don t rant to discuss that problem iith-yr. e: cept
to say this: that 99 87o of tne peoiule o2 Australia rc-ard thlese
manifestations wi-th contemp,-t. These th-ngs don' c -u prosent a
great movement in this count. ry. Nobody need e ver ' ear in your
community that, in the case cf some of ynvu 7 out oX'
great tribulation , nd poarseution into a country in whichi you
might still be porse cut~ ed, Forget about it ( A'np2 auso). You Iye
comte into the freest country in thie rol.( A'il e That
tGhe 5reat charm about Australia; that's why my friend landa
and I can be up here instead of biting ( each other's ! hea. ds off)
( Laughter) and find our. solves on common gro-unrd, yo~ u kvoi, on
common ground admiring this spec'" acu7-ar Cnd devoted piece of
w-. ork, 3ut it's a fr2ee count.' y, It will rema. In e.
You know I came down haore to do thi s J~ ob and I came
do~ in yesterday and as I drcove in fro,-! the . Uirpor; the (-arstopped
opposite a Hotel thc: 1.-0 twas a tr il lgh aainst
us and it vias in one of those SUL--burb tha-Dt vote J'forLn
and don't vote for Ikenzies you 1kno,; Tn-at 1 inean? ( Ap. plause,
laiughter) arid in the charmfng e l fre-sco halbit that people have
in Sydney there were three fel-loes sitt-ing-. n thae Joorstep Of
the 3ar with their feet in " he strLu&; Lhir-a d~ oin-. tnd there
was arnother one a rather ill-condit-ioned of fellow%,, he
didn't look entirely sober and the-firs. t thrac fellerfs waved.
thleir beer mugs at me ( Ano. said. " Goec' on yor, 13ob" ( Laughter).
fell I thought that was:. thaer nicc. And tlno next feloiw,
sitting all hunched up by hm-e. f, 9 he Just locked at rio and
said: " 1Huh, yei-big mug", ( Laugh.)-Or) Ncw r1-ir, 14A~ e thLat;
I approve of that ve--y wairrmly., see llrl voary Prou: d to be
the Prime Minister of a free countryIibl. toc be dismissed by
the froe citizens one3 of the-(-se days, ' proud to be se-oving them
3.
and with no complaints of what their decision might be because
we are free people. ( Applause)
Everyone of you who was born in Australia -' nows that;
you don't need to be told by me. And those who have come into
Australia, parti cularly since the aar, out of the horrors of
Europe, in particuar, I know that you've breathed more freely
since you came here and that you feel that you're in a free
land where you have your own opportunity and where, by your
great talents and irammense industry, you can make great places
for yourself. And that being so, while I would wrillingly stamp
my foot on one of the deplorable creatures who do these deplorable
things, don't get that out of proportion. That doesn't
represent anybody of intelligent, decent Australian opinion and
it never will.( Applause)
And so, Sir, I come back to There I bean. Im very
proud to have been invited to come here. I think this is a
marvellous development. Only people with vision and courage
could have imagined this centre, with all its costliness, with
all the hard work thathad to go into it. Only people with
* vision and faith and imagination could have done it. And I
want to say to you; " God speed". I think this is a great
occasion, a great occasion in the history of your own religious
community, a great occasion in the history of Sydney. I can
well understand the M.' yor's pride of this in Javerley and I,
speaking on behalf of Australia, if I might, am proud to think
that such a work could have come jbout through faith, a feeling
for the family and a friendliness which is, I assure you,
reciprocated all round this country.
And so, Sir, I say " Thankyou" for having invited me.
I offer to the rhole of this immense audience or congregation,
my warmest good wishes. I think it's a marvellous occasion.
I'm proud to have been associated with it. ( Applause)