David Levitus (born 1882)

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Scottish-born Jewish community figure who lived in Cape Town and Sydney

For the Glasgow company director born in 1968, see David Clive Levitus. For other people of the name, see David Levitus.
David Levitus

Born c. 1882 Scotland
Nationality British; settled in Australia
Residence Rose Bay, Sydney (1945, 1949)
Occupation Dealer (1945)
Known for Founding officer of the Grand Order of Israel, Lord Milner Lodge, No. 21, Cape Town (1903); member of the Chevra Midrash, Sydney
Spouse(s) Rebecca
Children Albert Levitus

David Levitus (born about 1882) was a Scottish-born Jewish community figure who lived in Cape Town and later in Sydney, Australia. He was the father of the Sydney solicitor Albert Levitus, and was named in press reports of the 1940s in connection with the affairs of the financier John Woolcott Forbes. He was a member of the Levitus family.

Cape Town

In August 1903 the Jewish Chronicle reported from Cape Town on the consecration and installation of the Grand Order of Israel, Lord Milner Lodge, No. 21, on 26 July. It named "Bros. D. Levitus, L. Cohen (Edinburgh Lodge), M. Tobias, M. Goldstein (London)" as the consecrating officers, and listed D. Levitus and L. Bernstein as the lodge's secretaries.[1] His son Albert was born in Cape Town in June 1905, according to the Historical Database of Australian Elites.[2]

Sydney

In an article on Jewish learning in Sydney, first published in the Journal of the Australian Jewish Historical Society in 2011, Rabbi Raymond Apple names a David Levitus among the regular attenders of the Chevra Midrash, a study society of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, which met on Sabbath afternoons at the Maccabean Hall, in the period from about 1939.[3] Family-history records compiled on MyHeritage give his wife's name as Rebecca and record eight children;[4] the Historical Database of Australian Elites names Albert Levitus's parents as David Levitus and Rebecca.[2]

In 1940 the Sydney Morning Herald published notice of a bankruptcy petition against David Levitus of Bellevue Hill, presented by the Scottish Loan and Finance Co., Ltd. (in liquidation) for £757 16s 4d, with a hearing set before Mr Justice Lukin on 16 July.[5] His son Albert had been managing director of that company and was convicted of conspiracy in 1941 (see Albert Levitus).[6][7]

Forbes affairs, 1944

In March 1944 the Newcastle Sun reported that Albert Levitus, giving evidence at the trial of John Woolcott Forbes on charges of forging, uttering and falsifying share certificates of the Producers and General Finance Corporation, Ltd., was questioned about his transfer of 10,000 of the corporation's shares to "his father David Levitus" to enable his father to arrange a loan for Forbes.[7] In September 1944 the Sydney Daily Telegraph reported evidence at a Bankruptcy Court examination of Forbes's affairs that the pawning of Mrs Forbes's jewellery for £1000 "was arranged by David Levitus, through the Mont de Piete", and that "Albert Levitus, former director of Scottish Loan and Finance Co., and his father, David Levitus, will be examined today."[8]

Ration card charge, 1945

In March 1945 the National Advocate (Bathurst) reported that David Levitus (62), a dealer, of Rose Bay, and Morris Faust (55) had been charged with unlawful possession of paper resembling clothing ration card paper. They were remanded to 30 April, with bail of £50.[9]

Timeline

  • 26 July 1903 – Named as a consecrating officer and secretary of the Lord Milner Lodge, No. 21, Grand Order of Israel, Cape Town.[1]
  • 7 June 1905 – Birth of his son Albert in Cape Town.[2]
  • c. 1939 – Regular attender of the Chevra Midrash, Sydney.[3]
  • 1940 – Bankruptcy petition presented against him by the Scottish Loan and Finance Co., Ltd. (in liquidation) for £757 16s 4d; hearing set for 16 July.[5]
  • 9 March 1944 – "LEVITUS A WITNESS IN FORBES CASE": Albert Levitus questioned about his transfer of 10,000 Producers and General Finance Corporation shares to "his father David Levitus".[7]
  • 7 September 1944 – Bankruptcy Court examination of Forbes's affairs told that the pawning of Mrs Forbes's jewellery "was arranged by David Levitus, through the Mont de Piete"; David and Albert Levitus to be examined.[8]
  • 27 March 1945 – "Faked Ration Cards": David Levitus (62), dealer, of Rose Bay, charged with Morris Faust with unlawful possession of paper resembling clothing ration card paper; remanded to 30 April.[9]
  • 15 October 1949 – Mr and Mrs David Levitus described as of Rose Bay in a family engagement notice.[10]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jewish Chronicle, 21 August 1903, report from Cape Town on the consecration and installation of the Lord Milner Lodge, No. 21.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Richard John Harrison, "Albert Levitus", Historical Database of Australian Elites, accessed 30 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Raymond Apple, Jewish scholarship in Sydney between the Wars: Part II, OzTorah, July 2011, first published in the Journal of the Australian Jewish Historical Society, vol. 20, part 2, June 2011.
  4. ↑ MyHeritage, Flora Levitus Family History & Historical Records, MyHeritage, accessed 27 February 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Sydney Morning Herald, 1940, bankruptcy notice, Trove 17681023.
  6. ↑ "Week to week", Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 27 June 1941, p. 4, Trove 86064364.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Levitus a witness in Forbes case", Newcastle Sun, 9 March 1944, p. 3, Trove 167613633.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "£100,000 Debts Story", Daily Telegraph (Sydney), 7 September 1944, p. 10.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Faked Ration Cards", National Advocate (Bathurst), 27 March 1945, p. 1, Trove 160683916.
  10. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald, 15 October 1949, engagement notice, Trove 18132990.
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