ProvenanceThe prayer book was brought to Australia by Mr Michael Jacob Rawady, who migrated from Lebanon to Australia in 1892, aged 28. Michael, a stonemason by trade, migrated to join his brother Nicholas Rawady who had arrived in South Australia in 1886. Nicholas was one of the early members of the Lebanese Orthodox Christians to have arrived in South Australia. Michael took up work as a hawker - basing himself around Wallaroo and Kadina - as was common for many of the early Lebanese settlers. Michael may have left Lebanon/Syria because of Christian persecution under Ottoman Empire dominance. He returned to Lebanon frequently, including a trip in 1904 to marry his cousin Nazeera Rawady, who initially stayed in Lebanon with their first son. They eventually joined Michael in Kapunda in 1910, where they had a further 10 children, 3 of whom died in infancy. The prayer book's donor, Mr Eli Rawady, is one of these children. The book printed in Beirut in 1888, features the Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Genesis to Chapter 50.SignificanceThis item is of historical significance to the Migration Museum's collection as it represents the history of Lebanese migration in the 19th century and showcases the diversity of migration to South Australia.DescriptionThis prayer book has been printed in black ink on white paper in Persian script, and band in black leather. A possibly Arabic design and border has been impressed lightly on the front and back cover (pages turn from left to right). The words 'Arabic' and 'Genesis to Matthew' have been written in pencil at the top on the inside of front cover. On same page there are also some further pencil markings all over page and in top right-hand corner. The owner's name and address has been written in pencil on the inside back cover, and something has been written in Persian and in pencil at point of book where the Book of Genesis starts.Creator (person)Creator (organisation)AcknowledgementDate of Creation1888Date of Usage1890sDimensionType: Closed
Height: 185
Width: 119
Depth: 9
Unit (Lengths): mm Accession NumberHT 1998.0016
