One hundred and sixty-seven years.
That was the gap between the two graves, that lay next to each other in the Jewish section of the Old Ballarat Cemetery in regional Victoria. One was filled in 1857, by a young man that died suddenly. The other was filled yesterday, in 2024. A Jewish resident from nearby Clunes, that recently passed, and so adamantly wanted to be buried in the Jewish way. Spanning more than a century and a half, Jewish people have been active and living in this area. And keeping to the traditions of their ancestors. The size of the local community in the area may have dwindled, but the spirit has only grown.