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by Russell Ottolangui (aka Langley) aged 78, in Melbourne For my dear grandsons, aged 15 & 13 in Brisbane With thanks to Paul Sulzberger (N.Z.) & other Ottolanguis for their help THE BEGINNING Historians have found that my ancestors were undoubtedly people who, about 2,000 B.C., lived in Sumeria, the "Fertile Crescent" between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in present-day Iraq). From about 700 B.C. to 700 A.D. they would have spoken and written in an ancient language called "Aramaic". (Historians believe that Jesus would have spoken in Aramaic.) Being good land for growing food, the Fertile Crescent was a war-torn area, and each tribe worshipped idols of its own gods. To escape these wars, one large tribe, led by a man called Abram, migrated 2,000 Km westward till they reached a prosperous country called Canaan (present day southern Israel) at the Mediterranean Sea. As in Sumeria, the local tribes here worshipped idols of their gods. Anyway, Abram's flock settled here. According to the "Old Testament" of the Bible, Abram was greatly distressed by the lack of a son and heir, because without a son, some unrelated servant would end up inheriting all his property. The Bible goes on to say that "God promised Abram a son, and also promised that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan". At the suggestion of Sarah, his wife, Abram took a servant, Hagar, as his concubine, and Hagar bore him a son called Ishmael. Later on Sarah also bore Abram a son, Isaac, and the Bible says that God then offered Abram the right to live forever in Canaan in return for 2 promises --- (1) his acceptance of God as the only deity, and (2) that every male child of his descendants would be circumcised. And God told him that to accept this bargain, Abram would have to offer his long-awaited son, Isaac, as a human sacrifice! Abram reluctantly started to carry out that dreadful sacrifice, but at the last moment, God miraculously replaced Isaac with a ram, and then God renamed Abram to Abraham, and he became the "Father of the Jews". After this miracle, Sarah booted Hagar and her son Ishmael out into the wilderness of Beersheba. Interestingly, after the establishment of Muslim religion the 7th century A.D., their followers claimed that they were the descendants of Isaac's step-brother, Ishmael. But I know that I'm Jewish because for more than 2,000 years it has been a Jewish family tradition for each generation to tell their children that they are Jews. According to the Bible, Abraham lived to be 175 years old and had many children, as was appropriate for the head of a great tribe. And his son, Isaac, married and had twin sons, Jacob and Esau, who each had 12 sons. The names of all Jacob's descendants, through the centuries down to the present day, have been recorded by the Rabbis to help Rabbinical Courts settle problems of inheritance. Early evidence of such recordings was obtained in the 1940's when the Dead Sea Scrolls revealed collections of leather and papyrus rolls which had been stored in earthen jars in caves beside the Dead Sea for centuries. These ancient "books", produced by a Jewish sect, were written between 200 B.C. and A.D. 70. My ancestors may be named in some of those scrolls! According to the Bible (Genesis 32:28), Jacob was later told by some obscure opponent that "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men". So all Jacob's descendants throughout the ages have been called the "Children of Israel" or "Israelites". Around 1,000 BC, neighbouring Egypt had a ferocious Pharaoh called Ramses II, who "almost covered Egypt with gigantic statues of himself". He conquered Canaan and enslaved the people to build enormous pyramids and treasure cities in his honour. He also commanded that all Israelite baby boys must be drowned. One Jewish mother tried to save her new son by placing him in a small boat on the Nile River. The Bible says that one of Ramses' 50 daughters found him in his boat on the Nile, named him "Moses" and reared him secretly. When Moses grew up, he sympathized with the Israelite slaves, and led them to escape across the Red Sea to the Sinai Peninsula. When they reached Mt Sinai, Moses went up that mountain and received, miraculously from God, the famous "Ten Commandments", which became the foundation of proper human behaviour, not only for Jews, but for all God-fearing people. Moses then led his people back into Canaan (now renamed "Israel"). Over the years, the language spoken in the Canaan region was gradually changing. From about 700 A.D. "Arabic" gradually took the place of "Aramaic", except in Jewish regions, where it slowly changed into "Hebrew". The latter sounds like Arabic when spoken, but the two languages have quite different written letters. Hebrew is written backwards, from right to left, then continued on the next line. SPAIN During the next 1,000 years, Israel was attacked repeatedly by neighboring tribes, but wasn't crushed until the champion Roman Legions overran the Jewish nation at the time of Christ. Their harsh rule (e.g. by crucifixion) and enslavement (e.g. 10,000 Jews were transported to Rome to help build the Coliseum) caused many Jews to flee either North or West --- (1) North to Germany (where Charlemagne granted Jews peace for 2 centuries), after which they began migrating further into France, Poland, or Russia, etc. These countries were becoming Christian, but accepted Jews to some extent. These migrating Jews were called "Ashkenazi" (from the Hebrew word "Ashkenaz" meaning "Germany"), They would have started their new life speaking Hebrew, but gradually picking up other words from Germany and countries through which they moved (Poland, Lithuania, etc) to create the thousand year old "folk language" called Yiddish, which is still spoken by about 6 million Ashkenazic Jews around the world. (2) West from Israel through Islamic countries across the top of Africa. Many then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar into Catholic Spain and even Portugal. For a while these countries accepted the law-abiding, scholarly, and sometimes wealthy Jewish refugees. The earliest proof of this exodus is a grave of a young Jewish girl in Adra, Spain, dated 300 A.D. These Spanish and Portuguese Jews were called "Sephardi" (from the Hebrew word "Sephard" meaning "far away"). They, too, arrived speaking Hebrew, but picked up some Spanish, Portuguese, and Turkish words to create their own "folk language" called Ladino. It is like 15th century Spanish, as spoken by Columbus. It's still spoken by an estimated 160,000 Sephardic Jews scattered around the world. Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews pronounce Hebrew somewhat differently. Many scholars consider Sephardic the older and more authentic form, and it is now the officially approved form of speech in Israel. During those first 1,000 years after Christ (and especially during the Islamic conquest of Spain after 700 A.D.) there were probably more Jews in Spain than in all the other countries of Europe combined. They became renowned as Jewish physicians, astronomers, map-makers, royal treasurers, tax collectors, musicians, etc. They were the intellectual and economic elite of the country! Jews enjoyed Royal protection, but at the same time suffered violent hostility from both the Church and the common people. Some Jews therefore converted to Catholicism to get special privileges (such as being allowed to own property, and exemption from military service). Then ... in 1492 A.D. two very important things happened --- (1) Christopher Columbus, famous Italian ocean captain, seeking a sea-route to Asia (and its spices), was loaned a Spanish galleon and accidentally discovered America (and its tobacco), and formally claimed America for the Queen of Spain. (2) The Spanish "1492 Expulsion Edict" announced that Jews living in Spain had just 2 months to embrace Catholicism, or be burnt at the stake. It was furthermore forbidden to take gold or jewels out of Spain, and all Jewish property was automatically confiscated. Jewish families panicked! The Encyclopedia Judaica states there were about 750,000 Jews in Spain at that time. Thousands apparently chose to be hurriedly baptised. Others preferred to migrate, pennilessly, either south into North Africa's Islamic Ottoman Empire, or east to Christian Venice, Greece, Turkey, or the Balkans, while a few even trekked north up to Amsterdam and London. But an estimated 100,000 refugees simply crossed the border into Catholic Portugal where Jews were better tolerated.
PORTUGAL Although Grandpa Isaac Langley told me long ago that my forefathers had come from Portugal [Webmaster's note: my mother told me the same. However, we know that Ottolangui is a misspelling of Ottolenghi. Also, we know that all Ottolangui originated in Italy. At this time, we have no evidence of the Ottolenghi coming from Portugal prior to Italy], it meant nothing to me until I heard Sephardic music in Israel, both on the radio and at the Inbal Dance Theatre; I was immediately deeply affected by this music's lush melodies and especially those songs which have the rhythm of riding on a camel. Sephardic music really speaks to me, like traditional Jazz does. That feeling was reinforced by my immediate appreciation of Sephardic food (e.g. falafel), sculpture (from black Ethiopian Jews), and visiting Yemenite towns. Back in Melbourne, early one morning I heard on ABC FM radio a wonderful song called "The rose blooms ... my soul is dark with pain ..." which turned out to be a Sephardic love song; I imported it on a Sephardic music CD from Germany, and later found that its tune is regularly used for a Friday evening prayer in many Sephardic homes. By contrast, Ashkenazic music, called Klezmer, doesn't stir me in the slightest. So I have no doubt. I know I am Sephardic! But my wife Jacqui, an Ashkenazi, loves Klezmer! Well, many years earlier when Portugal split off from Spain, it had permitted the existence of over 1,000 Jewish communities, so the 100,000 new Spanish refugees were able to mingle comfortably with the earlier Portuguese Jewish settlers. But .... just 4 years later, in November 1496, Prince Manuel of Portugal married Princess Isabella of Spain. And just 5 days after that, the King of Spain issued a new decree banning Jews from living in Portugal after October 1497. Trouble again! Many packed up and took off once more for distant lands, but some 20,000 stayed and were simply sprinkled with holy water and declared to be Christians, with restoration of civil rights. The King was then able to inform the Catholic King of Spain that "There are no more Jews in Portugal." Remarkable. These compulsory converts, Catholic in name, but secretly retaining their Jewish beliefs, were called "Conversos" (or with greater insult, "Marranos", the Spanish word for "pigs"). But the Pope meant business. Thus in 1553, 25 Portuguese Conversos were found guilty of having resumed Jewish prayers, and on the Pope's orders they were burned alive on the stake. Even 200 years further on, an 18-year old Portuguese Converso girl was similarly sent to the stake. But wealthy Conversos were able to pay bribes and get permission to leave Portugal for more tolerant places such as Venice, Amsterdam, or Islamic countries, where they could practise their Jewish religion safely again. Some years ago Jacqui and I watched an unusual SBS TV documentary film made recently in Portugal, showing the presence and lifestyles of present-day Portuguese Conversos. These people were descendants of Jews who long ago had been baptised and sworn into Roman Catholicism, but nevertheless had been continuing a secret Jewish life and religion. It was extraordinary to watch on TV their Friday night Sabbath Service being performed in secret in one of their locked homes. After the ceremony, they affirmed that they still circumcise their new-born sons, eat thin flat bread (matzos) on Passover, and continue a family tradition of not eating pork, and are listed on the Portuguese Population Database as Catholic. I have even come across a person from a Ladino-speaking family who loves Sephardic music, but is a practising Christian. I'm told that Ladino is spoken only by Jews of Spanish or Portuguese origin, so it must be that this person is really a Converso descendant, but doesn't realise it.
ITALY We now reach the wonderful period called the Renaissance, an Italian word meaning "rebirth", which describes the beginning of important developments in science, the arts, and literature occurring about 1400 to 1600 A.D. It started in Northern Italy where thinking men began to consider previous times (the "Middle Ages") as being times ruled by "religion, superstition, and ignorance". A time when you crossed your fingers for luck if you broke a mirror, ha ha!. Look at these outstanding names, 50% being Italian (in order of their flourishing dates): Cosimo de Medici . . . . 1400 Italian, the first Medici to reach wide fame We shall now see that Italy has played an important part of the Ottolangui story. In 1497, Portuguese Jews who followed the Mediterranean coast would reach Northern Italy, where they would seek cities in which earlier Jews had settled. They would find Florence in a pinnacle of fame, and very prosperous, so would head there. What a time to arrive! Exciting new ideas were in the air. But they found that Jews were barred from feudal guilds ("trade unions") and were only allowed to earn money by becoming "sellers of used clothing" or "small-scale money lenders". (The Church had always forbidden Christians to lend money for interest, and Jews are still very active in both the "rag trade" and loans.) Well, the Jews discovered that many feudal lords found it worth while to use, and protect, their sources of loaned money (e.g. to raise armies or build another castle), so money-lending became protected and very profitable --- and bit-by-bit these Jews became very wealthy. Some Christians weren't too happy about that new wealth, and around 1500 A.D. Venice introduced a crowded Ghetto for Jews to live in, which was locked at night for safety. (It's still a tourist attraction.) Remember, Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice" was first performed in 1600, and Shylock the Jewish money-lender must have been based on information told to Shakespeare by travelers. Not long afterwards, Ghettos became compulsory for Jews in Rome and elsewhere in Italy until about 1800 A.D. But in 1537, 40 years after Portuguese Jews reached Florence, Cosimo de Medici seized control of the Florentine government, and reorganised it as a princely state -- the Dukedom of Tuscany. Coming from a merchant family himself, Cosimo the Renaissance man recognized the vast potential of Jewish money and experience which had been expelled by Spanish tyranny. So he began recruiting affluent Spanish and Portuguese Jews for resettlement in his capital city of Florence and his port city of Pisa. With Sephardic money to help, Tuscany flourished for 200 years, under 7 successive generations of Medici rulers. Within a few years the river between Pisa and the Mediterranean Sea became silted up, and the fishing village of Livorno on the coast was selected to become Florence's new port to the world. In 1593, Cosimo's son Ferdinand issued an even more remarkable invitation, as follows --- "Men of the East & West, Spaniards and Portuguese, Greeks, Germans, Hebrews, Turks, Moors and others .... We moreover desire that none shall be able to inquire or examine or accuse you or your families, although living in the past outside our Dominion in the guise of Christians." This extraordinary invitation to everyone, regardless of colour or religion, to flock safely to Florence without risk of repercussions meant that there would be no Ghetto! No Jewish badges! No economic or property-owning constraints! It was, of course, welcomed wholeheartedly by Jews, whether Conversos or not, and 50 years later there were 700 Jewish families owning their own homes and offices in the port city of Livorno, and in another 50 years there were 3,000 Jewish families living there. And ... wait for this ... "the rich Jewish bankers were beginning to adopt the ways of the gentile upper classes, with a taste for leisure, art, and education, as suited Italian men of the Renaissance!" And to one of those lucky families, a son named Menachem Ottolenghi, was born in Livorno in 1698 --- the first named member of the Ottolenghi Family that has been found. The name "Ottolangui" (pronounced "otto lan gee") is the Portuguese spelling, and "Ottolenghi" (pronounced otto len gee) is the Italian spelling. I'm told that they are both made up of 2 Italian words -- "otto" = "8", and either "langui" or "lenghi" = "languages". This suggests that when they arrived in Italy they became known as Interpreters who could speak 8 languages (presumably picked up from various countries through which they had lived). So each member of the family would have had their own first name (Joseph, Miriam, etc) plus the shared family name of Ottolenghi. Nobody has been able to discover Menachem's father or other ancestors, so we don't know the family name before Menachem. But surely the earlier forefathers wouldn't have been known by an Italian name before the family arrived in Italy. In which case, Menachem Ottolenghi of Livorno must now be considered to be the starting point of our family, and our family now contains thousands of relatives! (We've discovered about 100 new relations in Melbourne alone!) By the 20th century, it became common for Jewish people to use their ancient original surname (e.g. Ottolangui or Ottolenghi) for religious affairs and tombstones, but they would often choose a non-Jewish surname for non-religious affairs such as business, schools, sports, or electoral rolls. Say our family names quickly without the "otto" and note that they easily become "Langley", a fairly common English family name found as far back as 11th century medieval records. Of course, Conversos, when baptized, were given a Christian name to overwrite any Hebrew residue. Well, Livorno prospered and became a thriving Renaissance commercial centre essential to the Medici wealth and the Tuscan State. Perhaps the Ottolenghi's interpreting skills were also helpful in international commerce. But it is recorded that, In their 40th year, the Ottolenghi bankers began importing the first coffee into Italy, and opened the first coffee-houses (I wonder if one was called "Sheherazade", like the one in Acland St, Village Belle, St Kilda). And as I delved into this history, I was pleasantly surprised to find that our Ottolenghi family has a long and distinguished history. Some examples from the Encyclopedia Judaica are --- Joseph Ottolenghi, Superintendent, extensive silk worm industry, Georgia USA, (1750). Salvatore Ottolenghi, Italian physician, wrote over 80 articles in Medical Journals (1860), and his statue stands in the Police Academy in Rome. Leonetto Ottolenghi, became Count of Vallepiana, (1883). Giuseppi Ottolenghi, became General of the Italian Army and Minister for War in the Italian government (1895). Continuing the Livorno story, as the money-lenders grew, they set up the world's first Loan Banks, which became extremely successful. The bankers then developed Important lucrative networks of trade throughout the Mediterranean, and north to Amsterdam, and as far away as Russia and India, later playing a major role in trading diamonds, chocolate, and tobacco. And at its peak, these Sephardic Jewish Bankers actually owned a quarter of the shares of the Dutch East and West India Companies! There's a rumour among Ottolangui's that somewhere in Portugal or the London Chancery there's a fortune awaiting the Langley who can put the right pieces together. In the 1860's two Ottolangui cousins tried, but failed. The Livorno bubble burst when Anti-Semitic French captured the town about 1800, causing yet another exodus -- "the story of the wandering Jew". Travelers tell us that Livorno is now a rather uninteresting provincial Italian town; its ancient Synagogue was destroyed by air raids during World War 2 and most of its Jewish inhabitants have moved away to London, Amsterdam, U.S.A. and many other places.
ENGLAND Jews had been living in England most of the time since William the Conqueror (1066), but King Edward I expelled all Jews from England in 1290. A few Jewish exiles from Spain had lived in England throughout the 1500's; of course, they would have been Conversos, so would officially be listed as Christians. Excepting those Conversos, there were still "no Jews in England" when Shakespeare was writing his "Merchant of Venice". But the Puritan revolution of 1649 paved the way for toleration --- not only because the Puritans admired the Old Testament of the Bible, but because Oliver Cromwell realised (like the Medicis) that Jewish commerce would be a real benefit to the country. Accordingly, he approved their admission to England in 1656, and after restoration of the monarchy, Charles II confirmed Cromwell's authorisation of a "Jewish presence in England", and it has been so ever since. The first Jewish migrants to arrive were wealthy Sephardic businessmen from Amsterdam, who built the "Bevis Marks" Sephardic Synagogue in the east of London in 1700 (it is still active). When conditions gradually deteriorated in Livorno during the French occupation, word would have got around that London was an "OK place". Livorno Converso bankers and other Conversos from Spain and Portugal then began migrating to London. The first recorded Ottolenghi to arrive in London was a Joseph Ottolenghi, who arrived from Livorno in 1732. Menachem Ottolenghi's son, David, followed in 1775, and lived in the east end of London in Woolpack Alley, and later in Petticoat Lane. From 1700 onwards, ships sailing from London are known to have carried Portuguese and Spanish Jews to Georgia, U.S.A., seeking a new country with a warm climate and some Spanish-speaking people, as in Georgia and Mexico. In the records of Bevis Marks Synagogue are found many descendents of David Ottolenghi. The congregation is known as the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation. Portions of the service are still today in Portuguese. In the records of Bevis Marks, the name Ottolenghi was spelled many different ways, including: Ottolengue, Otolengue, Ottolangui, Ottolenge. The London spelling that stuck was Ottolangui, which looks Portuguese. It is not surprising that this spelling was adopted at Bevis Marks.
In my Family Tree Search, the earliest reference to my Langley forefather that I found was to my great, great grandfather Moses Ottolangui (b. 1808 in London, d. 1885 in Melbourne). He lived at 20 Shepherd St, East End, London, and married Emma Bensabat (b. 1811, d. 1898, also in Melbourne) in the East End "Bevis Marks" Synagogue, London in 1831. They had 7 surviving children, 3 of whom are relevant to my story -- Amelia (b.1832), Jacob (John) (b.1834), and Rachel (b.1838). Amelia married George Mendes in London. George then sailed to Australia in 1851 and settled in Melbourne, and Amelia followed him in 1854 on the S.S. "Ballarat". At that time Melbourne was barely 20 years old, but discovering gold in nearby Ballarat in the 1850's, resulted in Melbourne growing quickly in population and in wealth. So in 1858 Amelia's young sister, Rachel, also sailed out here from Liverpool on the S.S. "John Lucy", and her official Arrival Papers show that she was "Disposed of to work for Mrs. Amelia Mendes, Coventry St, Emerald Hill" (now called South Melbourne). A year later Rachel married Lewis Solomon (founder of famous Solomon Carpets, Geelong). I remember that the Mendes and Solomon families were well-known to my parents. Moses' son, Jacob/John Ottolangui was my first male ancestor to arrive in Australia (with his wife, Fanny Simmonds). He was thus my great grandfather (on my father's side). He was known in Australia by his business name "John Morris", which was recorded in an early Melbourne Business Directory as a shop in his name in 1859 (some 5 years after the arrival of his sister Amelia). The next year their first son, Isaac, my paternal grandfather, was born, followed by daughter Emma, and sons, Harry (Henry), then Maurice. It was the heyday of the gold rush. In 1861 Melbourne was declared a City, and its growth spiralled. So when Jacob's parents, Moses and Emma, migrated, like their children, on board the "Western Union" in 1866, they arrived to find Jacob with a thriving "Glass and China" business, which was to last 36 years in Bourke St, Melbourne, right in the heart of the city. Melbourne now had many fine buildings and houses, and was now the biggest city in Australia, and the fastest growing city in the British Empire! By 1868, Jacob/John's father, Moses, had settled in, and established his own business as a "General Dealer" in Barkly St, Carlton, under the English business name of "Moss Langley". Two years later, he moved to 202 Stephen St (now Exhibition St), and in 1874 made a further move to become a "Clothier" in 95 Stephen St (not far from his son Jacob's "Glass and Crockery Shop in Bourke St). Moses died in 1885, aged 74, and Emma then moved out of town to reside in 3 Hanover St, Prahran (now renamed MciIwrick St, Windsor) until she died, aged 87. We have visited the 100 year old graves of Moses and Emma in the old Melbourne General Cemetery, Carlton. By 1881, the gold had run out, and a major economic depression had set in, so Jacob/John Morris' business declined gradually, and by 1887 his shop was listed as "Portmanteau & Suitcase Manufacturer" -- a shock after almost 30 years in profitable Glass and China. Next year the Business Directory list changed him to "General Importer" in a cheaper part of Bourke St, and by 1892 Jacob had moved out to 195 Victoria Parade, Fitzroy, where he eventually died at the age of 60, in 1894. I well remember my Grandpa Isaac Ottolangui (Langley) a tall, quiet, slow-moving, retired man, living in Flat 4, 203 Dandenong Rd, Windsor, with his energetic little wife, Grandma Rachel. She had been married before (without children) to Alfred Alison, a rich and famous undertaker, who had taken her on a Grand Tour of England and Europe for their honeymoon; but then he died, leaving Rachel well-off. With her money and good sense, she and Isaac built a block of 4 brick flats in Redan St, St Kilda, and lived in one flat while their 3 children (my father Jack, Marie, and Gladys) lived in the others. I was born in a small private hospital just on the other side of Redan St. They sold that property to build a bigger block of 5 brick flats in 203 Dandenong Rd, Windsor, again living in the back flat, next to Marie's and Gladys' flats. I often slept there on Saturday nights when my parents were partying. Grandpa Isaac spent most of his time on the tiny covered porch outside the front door, smoking an Irish S-shape pipe (later on, I smoked the same kind of pipe for 20 years). He kept various strings, nuts and bolts, etc, in hundreds of empty tobacco tins stored in the unused rear garage. Back in the 1920's my cousin Alan Isaacs used to visit Grandpa Isaac's brothers, Harry and Maurice, in their Pawnbrokers shop in 329 Elizabeth St, City. One day they were held up by a man armed with a revolver, and being refused to hand over money, Maurice was shot dead. But Harry wasn't hurt, so bravely chased after the murderer, but didn't catch him. Of course, Maurice was before my time, but occasionally I met Great Uncle Harry Langley, who was as gentle as his brother, Isaac. After he retired, Harry and his cosy wife, May, lived in a wooden cottage in Selby (in the Dandenong Ranges). I spent several school holidays with them at Selby -- to experience life without electricity, wood fires for cooking and warmth, oil lamps for light, and letters instead of telephones, tank water for drinking, and an outside unsewered lavatory. Trying to shoot sparrows with my Daisy Air Rifle, and card games at night. But then their cottage was destroyed by a great bushfire about 1940. I enjoyed their company. For my 21st birthday, my Great Aunt Emma Perl (Isaac and Harry Langley's sister) gave me a book, a very fine edition of the ancient Greek play, "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes, beautifully illustrated by Norman Lindsay! It is hard to imagine that dear old gentle soul having any idea of that sexy story, though! (It is still one of my prized possessions.) My father, Jacob/Jack Langley, grew up in his family flat at 203 Dandenong Rd, Windsor, and went to the Hornby St State School, just outside their back gate, and at 14 got his "Merit Certificate" at the end of the school course. At 16 he volunteered for service in the Australian Artillery, serving in France. Over there he was repeatedly gassed by Mustard Gas, and was wounded 3 times -- hip, arm, and head, the latter seriously enough to discharge him home, on a small pension, in 1917. When sufficiently recovered, he trained at the Workers Educational Institute (later renamed Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, R.M.I.T) in the city, learning lens grinding, and with guidance from his watchmaker father (Isaac) he started a business called --- John Langley Pty Ltd, Wholesale Optical Supplies. It was a tiny premise (about 2 by 12 metres in size) situated in a lane between Little Collins and Bourke Streets; he worked "the factory" while "the office" was run by his fiancé, Vera Raphael. Of course, he married his office girl, who became my Mum. Opticians in the City, Suburbs, and even the country, sent him prescriptions for clients' spectacles. The lenses were then ground in his factory, and cut and fitted into the chosen frame. He was soon employing young delivery boys to save opticians having to collect their jobs. The business thrived as a result of quality work, speed, and his fairness. Many of his clients became personal friends. He soon had to move into larger premises, opposite Coles in Little Collins St, and later took over the ground floor of a big building in Sugden Place (off Little Collins St, behind Woolworths). With customers like Coles and Garrard, who in those days were the biggest and best in Melbourne, he eventually became Melbourne's largest lens grinder, fitter, and supplier of spectacle frames (imported from around the world). There were about 20 grinders and fitters in the factory and half a dozen sales and office workers. I was a regular employee in school holidays and enjoyed learning Dad's trade from A to Z (just in case .... ). In his 70's Dad merged his firm with a younger one, Optical Supplies, Lonsdale St, City. He was always interested in new discoveries, and often attended evening classes run by RMIT in Metallurgy, Astronomy, Chemistry, Optics, etc, and he usually took me along to Open Night displays at RMIT and Melbourne University. I well remember the night we even got to look through the Melbourne Observatory's telescope (near the Shrine, then). And the night at Melb Uni when an elderly optician came along with us, and in the Physiology Dept was amazed to discover that he, an optician, was colour-blind! Dad's trips overseas (with Mum) to buy new spectacle frames, lenses and factory equipment also produced some excellent Kodachrome photos of Queen Elizabeth's Coronation, America, and the exotic East. He kept good health until he developed lung cancer (in his mid-seventies), which quickly proved fatal. This cancer was accepted by the Australian Army Medical Services as being at least partly due to Mustard Gas. My pride in all these ancestral activities is surely obvious from this essay. But as I don't have any sons, I'll be the last member of this branch of the Ottolangui tree to pass the name onto future generations, so I hope my part has been adequate, having lived under 2 great influences of my parents, namely --- 1. I have always kept the Jewish Ten Commandments, except the 4th (which forbids working on Saturdays, Exodus 20:1), so I haven't been a "religious Jew", and -- 2. I've inherited the Jewish "savage love of justice", which is simply part of me. November 2002   |