The Ottolangui Family Reunion – 28th June 2005, Melbourne, Australia.
(A personal account of events by Merle Langley)
It was an early start and a chilly morning in Brisbane on June 26th when I set off for the airport to catch my flight to Melbourne. As I boarded the plane I felt overwhelmed both with feelings of excitement at the prospect of my coming adventure and anticipation of meeting our wider family. Finally I would get to see the faces belonging to those names I knew so well.
My arrival at Melbourne airport was interesting. Expecting to be greeted by my dear cousin Wendy Bloomfield whose plane was due in some 20 minutes before mine and cousin Ron James who had so kindly promised to pick us up, I was a little surprised to see neither of them! So I set off to find my luggage. It wasn’t long before the three of us found each other and headed off to our hotels in Melbourne city. Ron was a great chauffeur! Explaining to Wendy and me about places in Melbourne as we drove.
Once at the hotel “Saville on Russell” I couldn’t wait to get up to the room and see cousin Sue Wesley from New Zealand.
It felt just terrific getting together again, sharing our thoughts and ideas!
In the afternoon Ron came back to the hotel and picked Wendy, Sue and me up and took us to his house, where some of the other Ottolangui relations were gathering to finalize plans for the upcoming events on Tuesday.
It was wonderful to finally meet Liz and Ron James without whose dedication and organization this amazing Ottolangui get-together would never have eventuated. I think I speak for everyone when I say “Thankyou” to them for all the time and the unswerving effort they put in to make this event a huge success.
The afternoon was spent getting to know each other over a cuppa and a piece of delicious “Jewish Cake” baked so perfectly by Jenny and Katrina Cowen and in between looking with sheer envy at Liz’s beautifully adorned walls of family trees and photographs!
Monday morning Sue and I were woken abruptly at 8.20am by the sound of a fire alarm and the smell of smoke filling our room and even more so the complete 10th floor of the hotel!
Katrina Cowen, Liz James and Jenny Cowen
Throwing on some clothes, Sue quicker than I, we headed down the fire escape (me still getting dressed!) It wasn’t until we got to the second floor and saw people in the hotel restaurant leisurely eating breakfast that we realized we were the only two people in the whole hotel evacuating! Sue continued down the stairs and I opted for the lift back up to our room. As the lift opened three firemen greeted me - I can’t forget the priceless look on their faces when asked by a dishevelled, half dressed blonde holding a hairbrush and a shoe, if the hotel was on fire. “Can’t you smell it’s only someone burning toast,” they replied, obviously amused!
Sue and I headed off to the Melbourne Library Monday morning to check out some pre-ordered documents.
In the afternoon Wendy joined us to look for a building at 35 Bourke Street that was once owned by Jacob Ottolangui (son of Moses).
35 Bourke Street
Side view from Myers Lane.
Jacob rented the premises for 375 pounds a year to the Government who used it as a Post Office from 9 Dec 1891 until Jacob’s wife Fanny died in 1917. I was most excited to find the building still standing and its heritage listed.
In the evening a number of Ottolangui descendants gathered at our hotel bar and restaurant It was an enjoyable relaxing time meeting everyone for a chat over a meal and a drink (or 3 or 4!).
Catching up with cousin Paul Sulzberger who had by now arrived from New Zealand via Tasmania with his family and meeting for the first time his lovely Mum, sisters and gorgeous daughters was certainly a real treat for me, given Paul is closely related to my man Tony Langley.
On Tuesday morning, we made our way to the Melbourne Cemetery in Carlton for the “Reconsecration Ceremony” of the recently cleaned-up and repaired graves of Moses Ottolangui (1808-1885) and Emma Ottolangui nee Bensabat (1811-1898). The ceremony was officiated by Rabbi Levi who made it easily accessible for those of us who were not Jewish.
The Rabbi translated the Hebrew on the gravestones and explained the significance of the words. It was a truly emotional feeling to be standing there as one united family in front of the graves of our antecedents just as those before us would have done a hundred plus years ago when Moses and Emma passed away.
After a quick trip back to the hotel to pick up our family data we headed to the Prahran Town Hall to set up for the evening.
The Prahran Town Hall was chosen as the venue for the reunion after a wonderful photograph was found of an earlier Ottolangui wedding in 1908 between Joseph Levy and Sadie Nathan. The idea was to re-enact the photo with new Ottolangui descendants taken in the same place almost 100 years later.
As we arrived for the evening a photographer was on hand to take photographs and colour coded nametags were given out representing each particular branch of the family.
Descendants of each of the Ottolangui family lines had set up tables and display boards in the hall. It was remarkable to see the amount of combined information and photographs available to view on the night.
Group photograph: Ottolangui Family Reunion
For me the reunion was breathtaking and really bought home the significance of knowing ones family roots and the importance of passing this knowledge on to our children.
In retrospect I wish I could have had more time to browse around and talk to those people that I didn’t get a chance to meet on the night.
The catering was great with barmen in attendance and tables filled with a wonderful display of tasty hors d’oeuvres.
On Wednesday Paul and I headed off to the art gallery to see the splendid exhibition of Dutch Masters from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
I was truly captivated by the grandeur of the art on display. The meticulous attention devoted to even the smallest of detail was just awe-inspiring!
A very enjoyable morning!
In the late afternoon Sue and I went for a quick stroll down Chapel Street, Prahran, an area where so many of our early relatives resided so many years ago. It was great to finally see the China shop where Abraham and Reyna Joachim nee Ottolangui (daughter of Moses) once lived.
In the evening we had a lovely meal at a restaurant with Liz and Ron.
Early Thursday morning after only 3 hours sleep, I headed back to the airport for my journey home.
Merle Langley and Paul Sulzberger
The fond memories of my Melbourne adventure and the wonderful people I had the pleasure of meeting will stay with me always.