…whilst spending time in this amazing country, the opportunity to delve into the early history of Muslims has been fascinating…

…one fine sunny day visiting the old gold mining town of Clunes, (Insha’Allah the intention is there to post about this in the future) the following book almost jumped on me from a high shelf in a second hand bookshop…

Australia’s Muslim Cameleers Pioneers of the Inland 1860s-1930′s

…so I share some of the intrigue and captivation, in this rather long post…Alhumdulillah for the  contents of this publication, along with amazing photographic accounts, detailed study notes for homeschoolers and budding history enthusiasts, being available online…

Between 1870 and 1920 as many as 2000 cameleers and 20,000 camels arrived in Australia from Afghanistan and northern India. Australia’s Muslim Cameleers is a rich pictorial history of these men, their way of life and the vital role they played in pioneering transport and communication routes across outback Australia’s vast expanses. Many of the images and artefacts in this fascinating account are published here for the first time, and the book contains a biographical listing of more than 1200 cameleers.

‘A scholarly evaluation of the contribution made by the cameleers between their arrival in the 1860s and their virtual disappearance in the 1930s.’
- Media/Culture Reviews

European exploration and settlement of inland Australia depended heavily on the expertise of Muslim cameleers from Afghanistan and British India. During the late 19th century their network of transport routes opened up the arid interior.

More efficient than bullock or horse teamsters, the cameleers were in great demand. They helped construct the Overland Telegraph Line and inland railways, took part in exploration expeditions, and supplied mining towns and pastoral stations.

The cameleers’ small Muslim communities were a feature of Australian outback towns for more than 50 years. But when motor transport reached the outback during the 1920s, the era of the cameleers ended.

Fortunately, it has been possible to trace the history of the cameleers, through historical research, the objects and relics they left behind, and through the memories of their descendants.

 

A number of cameleers arriving in Australia possessed skills as herbalists and healers, drawing upon ancient remedies. Some individuals, such as Mahomet Allum, found a ready market for these remedies among the wider public. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries most Australian cities had their ‘Afghan herbalists’. Not all were Muslim.

As Muslim cameleers travelled through the inland they encountered a diversity of Aboriginal groups. An exchange of skills, knowledge and goods soon developed.

Some cameleers assisted Aboriginal people by carrying traditional exchange goods, including red ochre or the narcotic plant pituri, along ancient trade routes such as the Birdsville Track. The cameleers also brought new commodities such as sugar, tea, tobacco, clothing and metal tools to remote Aboriginal groups.

Exchanges occurred at every level. Aboriginal people incorporated camel hair into their traditional string artefacts, and provided information on desert waters and plant resources. Some cameleers employed Aboriginal men and women to assist them on their long desert treks. This resulted in some enduring partnerships, and several marriages.

By the 1930s, as the cameleers became displaced by motor transport, an opportunity arose for Aboriginal people. They learnt camel-handling skills and acquired their own animals, extending their mobility and independence in a rapidly changing frontier society.

Unlike horses and bullocks, the camels could trek long distances without food and water, which made them indispensable for exploration. “The cameleers played a key role in many of the exploring expeditions,”

Following a few small-scale exploration successes with camels in the late 1850s, the Victorian Expedition Committee in 1859 commissioned a local businessman who exported to India to buy camels and recruit cameleers. On 9 June 1860, 24 camels and three cameleers arrived at Port Melbourne, to join the pioneering Burke and Wills expedition.

Unloading camels, Port Augusta, 1890s.  View images of Australia’s cameleers

While the expedition successfully made it from the south coast to the north, through the heart of Australia, Burke, Wills and others lost their lives on the return journey. “Disastrous as it was, it was quite certain that Burke, Wills and King could not have made the north-south continental crossing without camels,” Jones says.

By the late 1860s, camels and cameleers were arriving regularly. The men signed three-year contracts. In return for their meagre pay, they made a vital contribution to the history of Australia – one which has largely been left out of the history books

…the final pages of the book lists the biographies of hundreds of the cameleers who arrived in this harsh alien land contributing their much needed skills in the early times of opening up this barren land…and Alhumdulillah sowing the seeds of Islam…

This listing records the names and brief biographical details of more than 1300 Muslim pioneers who came to Australia, mainly in the period from the 1860s to the 1930s. Most worked here as cameleers for periods ranging from one or two years to half a century or more. The listing is based upon a catalogue assembled by Vivienne Loois (Loois 1988) for a bicentennial project documenting Western Australian immigrants. For this book’s first edition, this listing was supplemented through the painstaking research of the Hungarian scholar, Dr Gabor Korvin (Korvin 2003a; 2003b). More recently, Philip Jones has revised and expanded the listing, adding details and a further 150 names gleaned from newspaper records. Many of the spellings have been corrected for this new edition by Abid Zareef Khan of the Zareef Khan Foundation in Peshawar. Notably, variant spellings of Muhammad have been rationalised, although other variants (such as Said, Syed, Sayed) have been retained. Further corrections and additions may be envisaged.

The listing is supplemented with small photographic portraits of selected individuals. Many of these portraits derive from the photographs accompanying the Commonwealth ‘certificates of exemption from the dictation test’ (CEDT), issued to cameleers who left Australia after the passage of the Commonwealth Immigration Restriction Act 1901, but intended to return. The potential of the CEDT forms as an historical resource has only been partly exploited. A fuller analysis of the surviving forms, held in National Archives offices across Australia, will result in a more complete listing of Australia’s Muslim cameleers. In the meantime, it can be assumed that the listing represents more than half of the total number of cameleers and other Muslim men from south Asia who worked in Australia during the era of camel transport.

This list also contains the names of Sikh cameleers, who worked with the Muslim cameleers in parts of the Australian inland, as well as the names of some Muslim herbalists, jewellers, storekeepers and other businessmen who may not have been directly involved with cameleering.

…the second title I share here is Boundless Plains…a rich pictorial collection of images based on the recent expedition of four brave brothers who journeyed across the continent in search of our Islamic past…

Four Muslim men set off in 2011 determined to discover first hand more about Australian-Muslim history. City boys ate heart, they have no idea what they will learn or what awaits them, as they cross the vast Australian continent on the journey of a lifetime. “The Expedition Team’, as they lightheartedly dub themselves, cover 13,000 gruelling km as they travel by four-wheel drive, charter plane, flood boat and on foot.

This beautiful collection of photographs and essays provides a visual history into the world of Australian Muslims set against the unique beauty of the Australian landscape. We may silently applaud the courage and resilience of the early generation of Muslims who contributed so much to Australia’s development.

…this publication was made possible by the passion and determination of the Islamic Museum of Australia…it is yet to be completed…your donations to this sterling project would be most welcome…

…the above photo is a replica of Australia’s first masjid which was in Maree South Australia…reminding us of the structure and simplicity of the first masaajid in Madinah, SubhanAllah!…

 …Peter Gould, the Australian go-to designer for Islamic cmpanies,  was one of the expedition team members…

…Imam Afroz Ali’s Al-Ghazzali Centre recently did a 5 day Rihla Safari…and here is the gallery from their 2007 safari…

… I also include a slight diversion…a camel odyssey…a modern day tale of the young Esther Nunn’s intrepid 3000km journey from the Centre to the sea with three camels…

…Alhumdulillah for our rich and exciting Islamic heritage in this Land Down Under…

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam.  May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.