Helen’s family
The Greatgrandparents
Maternal
Joseph Braun with his second wife, Pesah, had six children. The two eldest boys were Lazar and Jakob. The two ran a hosiery factory in Lodz, Poland.
Lazar and Chuma married and they had eight children. Being ardent Zionists, they migrated to Palestine where in 1922 Lazar started the first textile industry in the sand dunes which became the city of Tel Aviv. The factory named Lodzia is still there and is employing thousands of people.
The Grandparents
Jakob and Brucha married and lived in Lodz, Poland. They had eight children. There were three boys and five girls. In order of age they were Wolf, Regina(b.1908) (Helen’s mother), Betty, Alec, Shirley, Mary, Joe and Jean.
At the age of sixteen, Wolf went to live in Palestine, and worked for Lazar in the textile factory. Lazar went to Poland to find new equipment and Wolf who was not happy in Lodzia went to work in another factory and in 1927 migrated to Australia. A short time later Alec came out as well and eventually permits were given for the rest of the family to come to Australia.
Just months before the family was due to leave Poland in 1932, Brucha, the mother, died of a middle ear infection. The family, still in mourning arrived in Melbourne in 1933. Regina, become the de facto mother for the whole family. They were very poor.
Regina would often walk to the Victoria Market from Carlton to save pennies, and even picked up scraps of vegetables off the floor to feed the family. Betty went to work, and the younger children went to school.
Paternal
Grandmother
Leba Nussenbaum Born in Buczecz, Galicia, Poland. She died accidentally about 1904 when son Aron, (Helen’s father) was a few months old.
Grandfather
Kalman Schapira was born in Galicia, Poland. He died in Vienna 1938.
Kalman and Leba Nussenbaum married and had five children. Aron (b.1903) (Helen’s father), Mark, Lizzie, Esther and Harry.
Aron and his father Kalman Schapira (Shapiro)
Mark (Marcus) married Minnie Hennes. They lived in NZ. They had one son Gerald. Gerald married Lorraine Astor. They have 3 children, Kenneth, Derek and Carmel. In later life they migrated to Melbourne. Mark died 1959 in NZ.
Lizzie married Lew Perkins in London. They had one child, Phyllis. Lizzie died in London 1965.
Esther married Israel Rabinovitch who was appointed as the Minister to the Newtown Synagogue in Sydney. They had two children, Lola and Malwa. Lola married Max Gotlieb and they had two daughters, Shoshana and Leah. Malwa married Arthur Waisinger and they had two daughters, Susanne (Shnuksy) and Evelyn. Helen was always very close to her Auntie Esther.Harry moved to South Africa. Little was known or spoken about him and he died at the age of 20 in South Africa in 1913.
Regina Braun met Aron Shapiro at a social and cultural club called Kadimah. They married on August 11th 1937 in Melbourne.
Aron and Regina Shapiro on their wedding day, 11th August
1937
David and Helen
Around the end of 1967 a table was organised for the SUJSU annual ball and my friend Leo was asked to come and bring male friends. Helen was flatting with a friend, Leslie Cohen, who was organising the female side of the equation. There were about fourteen of us and we all met in Helen and Leslie’s flat in Birriga Rd Bellevue Hill. This was when I met Helen. After a few drinks we all went to the ball.
The ball was so bad that we left well before midnight and went to a tiny wine and dance place called Mocambo in Darlinghurst. At 11pm the place was empty but by midnight it was packed. The three piece combo was brilliant, playing hot Latin music, and Helen and I gravitated towards each other and danced together the whole time we were there.
Our courtship went on for about a year, a significant period of time. Helen was aware that my previous girlfriends mostly lasted about one year, so came a time after we were together for about a year that quite suddenly I was given marching orders. Later, Helen would say that she was not going to wait to be sent off like all my other girlfriends so she got her word in first. She then went to Melbourne as it was the summer school holiday, and I was left to my own devices in Clifton Rd Clovelly feeling a bit sorry for myself.
About three weeks later, I was sitting on the couch at Clifton Rd when the phone rang. I said “hello”. This wispy, quite, mousy, tremulous voice said “Hello”. I asked “Where are you?” Helen said “Birriga Rd”. I said “I will be there in ten minutes”. I figured that if Helen could ring me, I could reciprocate by being there in ten minutes. The separation taught us an obvious lesson. We were both very happy to be together. Ain’t love grand.
A few weeks later we were invited to Steven Link and Vera Kuno’s wedding. Helen and Steven were both teaching at Moriah College. After the wedding when we were saying goodnight under a tree in Birriga Rd, I asked Helen to marry me. I am pleased to report that she said yes. I then carved our initials within a heart on the tree. We went upstairs and agreed there and then that we will keep a kosher home and our children will attend Jewish day schools.
A few days later, we went to a jeweller and chose a ring which was within my limited budget. On Saturday morning, I quietly slipped out of Clifton Rd, went to Birriga Rd, picked Helen up and took her back to Clovelly to announce our engagement to mum, dad and Babushka. They instantly fell in love with Helen. She was a success, immediately winning both hearts and minds.
Here we struck our first problem. We both had dates lined up for Saturday night. So we both went on our respective dates and said nothing to anyone. We then drove down to Melbourne where Helen introduced me to her family. After an awkward dinner, I found myself out in the backyard and Helen’s father materialised there as well. After some more awkward minutes I asked Mr Shapiro for permission to marry Helen. He went inside and spoke to Mrs Shapiro. It seems that they approved because pandemonium broke out. The phone was running hot and people started arriving in droves. The next evening we had an engagement party and after a couple of days we returned to Sydney.
We placed our engagement notice in the Jewish News.
It was a very exciting time. We decided to have a formal engagement party at my home in Clovelly. Everyone was beautifully dressed in formal attire and it was an evening to remember.
We are engaged
The catering department led by Babushka created a beautiful spread.
Dad, mum, Helen and David David Deston, Debbie (Helen’s
sister), Babushka, Helen, David,
Nellie and Geron.
David, Helen, Natalie, Ann, Alec, Galia, Sima, Babushka, Nellie Geron mum and dad
Mum and dad at our engagement
Friends in the garden
Alex Leslie Leo Helen David Anna David Helen Eric Leo Angelica
(1st and 4th ?) Helen David Jack Annie David Helen Michael
Debbie and David, Stephen and Vera Elli and Alex
Outside Helen and Leslie’s flat at 65 Birriga Rd Bellevue Hill
Round about this time Babushka became unwell and with the best of intentions, caring for her at home became quite difficult. With heavy hearts it was decided to put her into the Montefiore Home in Hunters Hill, a Jewish aged care facility. It was a very sad day for all. We visited her regularly but Clovelly to Hunters Hill was quite a trek.
Shortly after, mum and dad sold their semi in Clovelly and moved into a three bedroom unit on the seventh floor in Penkivil St Bondi. The unit was in a good position and it had great views.
Dinner with family
Geron Nellie mum dad David and Helen
Dinner in a restaurant
My first job
The job I was trying hard to get programming computers proved quite elusive. I did, however, manage to get a job using custom built computers for searching for oil around Australia. The company was based in St Leonards. Geophysical Services International, GSI, was contracting to all the major oil companies in the world. They had ships towing 24 Geophones that recorded the soundwaves off the ocean floor after an explosion was detonated. These soundwaves were recorded and then sent to us for compilation and analysis. Years earlier, GSI started a small subsidiary company to manufacture parts for their specialised computers and this company, Texas Instruments, became one of the largest companies in the world.
At the computers in GSI
The job was good. The work was interesting and the pay excellent, but there was a major problem. We were working rotating two week shifts twenty four hours a day seven days a week. The two weeks 11pm till 7am shift was a killer because it followed the 3pm till 11pm shift. You worked till 11pm on Saturday night, spent a normal Sunday and went to work at 11 pm that night. By morning you would have been up 24 hours straight, and my problem was that I had trouble sleeping during the day. By Tuesday morning I was a write-off.
Helen was teaching at Moriah College in Bellevue Hill at the time, so the 7am till 3pm shift was normal living. The 3pm till 11pm however was a problem because straight after work I would go to Helen’s place in Bellevue Hill and not get there till around 11.30 pm. While I was able to sleep in the next morning, Helen went on minimal number of hours sleep each night. Sometimes I would order a pizza in Kings Cross and pick it up on the way from St Leonards so we would be sitting there at midnight munching pizzas. We were engaged for a whole year. We set our wedding date for 6th January 1970.
Mid December, Helen went to Melbourne for last minute preparations for the wedding. GSI offered anyone who was prepared to work Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day triple time. Being the only Jew in the place and therefore not being interested in Christmas Day or Boxing Day as well as being at a loose end while Helen was in Melbourne, I worked all three days. I worked from 9am till about 10pm each day. The money I made for these three days paid for our honeymoon.
David and Helen get married
We married on 6th January 1970
The bride is getting ready in Lockerbie Court
Helen and her BridesmaidsLeslie Cohen, Nellie, Margaret Hyman, Debbie Shapiro (Helen’s sister)
Helen, Regina Shapiro, Aron Shapiro, and Debbie Shapiro
Helen, her mother and my mother.
Arriving at the Synagogue Father bringing Helen to the Chuppah
Under the Chuppah
Mr and Mrs Leymanshtein
Signing a very long term contract under Outside Caulfield Synagogue after
the watchful eye of Rabbi Gutnick. the wedding
Helen’s dad and mum, Helen, David, David’s mum and dad
Babushka, Geron, Nellie, Kim, Mark, Helen David, mum and dad
Helen and David leaving the Synagogue after the wedding.
The wedding party
Ian Groden, Leslie Cohen, Leo Goorevich, Margaret Hyman
Helen David
Debbie Shapiro, David Deston, Nellie and Geron
Helen and David
After taking photos in the park
we hailed a tram and the kindly
tram driver held up his tram so
we could take this photo.
Entering the Reception Hall Dad, mum, David, Helen, Rabbi
and Rebbetzin Gutnick.
Groom’s speech Cutting the cake
Helen dances the Mitzvah Tanz with the Rabbi who then passes the napkin to her father.
Bridal Waltz Dancing with my Babushka
Family
Dad Nellie Geron Alec Ann David Natalie Sima
Mum Babushka Helen and Galia
Family
Nellie, Geron, dad, Dad Shapiro, David, Debbie, David D, mum.
Auntie Esther, Mum Shapiro, Helen, Babushka.
Alec Ann Galia and Sima Ann David Natalie
Our close friends
Ian Groden Leo Goorevich Gary Rudsky Helen David John Syriatowicz Sam Hoffman
Vera Hoffman Sue Kaplin Joy Lenthen Helen Gehl Cynthia Schneider Nina Rudsky
Honeymoon
The day after the wedding we went on our honeymoon. We drove along thecoast road stopping at motels on the way. It was very relaxing after the hectic pace leading up to the wedding.
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