This thesis is submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosopy, Faculty of Education and Arts, Federation University.

Thesis (PhD) -- Federation University Australia, 2016.

Includes bibliographic references (pages 319 - 347).

Contents:
Chapter 1. Reading's legacy - National Council of Jewish Women -- Chapter 2. The decision to immigrate -- Chapter 3. Ballarat - Becoming established and making a living -- Chapter 4. Melbourne and the getting of wisdom -- Chapter 5. Sydney - the turning point - 1923 -- Chapter 6. Letters home 'My dear people' -- Chapter 7. Medical work -- Chapter 8. Anti-semitism -- Chapter 9. The Reading family -- Chapter 10. Dr Fanny Reading 'The law of loving kindness.'

"This thesis is the biographical study of the ransnationallife of Dr. Fanny Reading (1884-1974). Dr Reading came to live in the Ballarat area c. 1888 when she was four years old. Originally she was born in Karelitz near Minsk, Russia as Zipporah Rubinovitch. The thesis tells the story of her transformation and also the story of her family members because they were a close-knit orthodox Jewish family. Reading biography is of a migrant woman who belonged to a persecuted minority group, and who through force of character rose above the challenging circumstances of her birth. It serves to redress the fact that historically she has been overlooked. It confirms that at a grassroots level she mobilised the Jewish women of Australia and was a significant Jewish leader. As a transnational figure of considerable stature, Reading biography contains themes of place, class, gender, ethnicity and diaspora that are woven throughout the thesis. It covers her early childhood and adolescence in Ballarat, then her move to Melbourne early in the twentieth century where she became involved in Jewish youth activities and taught Hebrew at the St Kilda Jewish Congregation. The family name was changed to Reading about 1919. Reading entered the University of Melbourne firstly to study music and then medicine (M.B., B.S.1922.) After graduation, she went into general practice with her eldest brother, who was also a doctor, in Sydney. Inspired by a Zionist emissary Bella Pevsner, Reading founded the Council of Jewish Women in 1923. This organisation became the National Council of Jewish Women in 1929. Reading had a keen interest in the health and education of women and girls, the Hebrew language and Israel. She was held in high regard in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities and received an MBE in 1961." -- Abstract.