A Land of Promise…

KRIS JACOBSEN

Kris Jacobsen, of Canberra, has documented the lives of Jacob and Benjamin Isaacs in a book entitled A Land of Promise: An Account of Jacob Isaacs, Jewish Convict, and Benjamin Isaacs, Christian Printer and Publisher.

This book covers their lives from the low end of the social scale in the lanes and alleys of Georgian London where they chiefly lived by their wits, to the opportunities offered in the new colony of New South Wales. Jacob had been trained as a hatter but, driven by pervasive poverty and an eye for quick gain, he engaged in criminal activities that resulted in his transportation to the penal colony, not once but twice.
KRIS Jacobsen, of Canberra, has documented the lives of Jacob and Benjamin Isaacs in a book entitled A Land of Promise: An Account of Jacob Isaacs, Jewish Convict, and Benjamin Isaacs, Christian Printer and Publisher.

This book covers their lives from the low end of the social scale in the lanes and alleys of Georgian London where they chiefly lived by their wits, to the opportunities offered in the new colony of New South Wales. Jacob had been trained as a hatter but, driven by pervasive poverty and an eye for quick gain, he engaged in criminal activities that resulted in his transportation to the penal colony, not once but twice.

Benjamin avoided the orientation of his father when a charitable London institution intervened to instill Christian beliefs, and to provide an education and an apprenticeship in the printing trade. He migrated free to New South Wales where he was responsible for establishing the first newspaper at Parramatta and Bathurst. In a career spanning a lifetime dedicated to the printed word, he was also associated with the early newspaper press of Sydney, Windsor, Goulburn and New Zealand.

The contribution of Benjamin Isaacs to the fledgling provincial newspaper press in New South Wales, and to a lesser extent New Zealand, cannot be underestimated. Between 1842 and 1853 he was directly associated with a total of nine newspaper enterprises, of which he was the owner, printer and publisher of six, printer and publisher of one and printer of two. His single-minded determination and sense of mission enabled him to print and publish the first newspaper in Parramatta in 1843. His continuing commitment to the newspaper press took him across the Tasman Sea to Kororareka, in a vain attempt to establish and maintain a weekly newspaper at the small settlement.

Before his return to Sydney, he recovered New Zealand’s first printing press from storage and put it to use in his printing office at Parramatta. And a spirit of enterprise led to his transporting the first printing press across the Blue Mountains and founding the first newspaper in Bathurst in 1848, a feat that stands as a significant achievement in the expansion of the newspaper press in the colony.

The publication comprises 220 pages, including 18 colour plates and 13 text illustrations, and has been printed in Canberra by Goanna Print. The price is $27.50 plus postage, and merely covers the cost of printing and publication, with the remainder of the cost being borne by the author. If you are interested in purchasing a copy, please contact:

Kris Jacobsen, 116 Marconia Crescent, Kambah, ACT, 2902, or email him at kljacobsen@ozemail.com.au