The "afghans", pioneers of the Australian Outback

Dervish Bejah in the Australian Outback (Source: State Library of South Australia)

Farina Town, nowaday abandoned

Farina and Marree

Farina, an abandoned village in the center of South Australia, has in its cemetery Arabic tombs oriented towards Mecca. Fifty kilometers away, the village of Marree, meaning "possum" in the local Aboriginal language, has Australia's first mosque built in 1861. How did Islam end up in these Australian pioneer villages in the 19th century and what is left of it today?

Mosque of Marree, South Australia

The British empire and colonial labour: from a desert to another

From the beginning of the colonization, the British called upon workers from all over the colonial empire, especially from Malaysia. In 1838, 18 Afghans were brought to Australia, followed soon after by the first camel nicknamed "Harry" in 1840 in Port Adelaide. These animals and the Afghan camel drivers who knew them so well soon became indispensable to the exploration and provisioning of the communities living in the Outback. The first train to cross central Australia from Adelaide to Darwin was named in their honor, the "Ghan Express".

The "Ghan express" in Marree

But are they really Afghans?

Although Australians have nicknamed these Muslim camel drivers "Afghans" or "Ghans", they rarely came from Afghanistan. Whether they were Baluch, Pashtuns, Punjabis or Sindhis, they came from the former colony called British India, which stretched from Bangladesh to Iran. They represented in fact a range of very different peoples, grouped under the same name. These camel drivers were important figures in the history of Australia and the development of the Outback, even if they are not always recognized as such.

Bejah Dervish in 1947. (Source : National Archives Australia).

Bejah Dervish, outback icon

Born in Balochistan in 1862, Bejah Dervish is one of them. The administration made the mistake to record is first name as his last name, so his childrens family name is now Bejah. After serving in the British army in Karachi, he left for Australia around 1890. In 1896, he took part in the Calvert Expedition, which consisted of mapping the interior of Western Australia. Very few survived, and Dervish sometimes had to go without food and water for the sake of his camels. A hill, "Bejah Hill", was even named in his honor.

William Bejah, Grandson of Dervish Bejah

William Bejah and Azeem Jhonny Khan, grandson of a "Ghan"

I had the chance to talk with the descendants of two of them. The first, William Bejah, is the grandson of Bejah Dervish. He still remembers his grandfather, although he did not know him for very long. However, he has kept many objects from him. He also told me about a darker phase in the history of the "Ghans": discrimination. In Marree, where Dervish settled around 1902, the town was divided in two: Afghans and Aborigines on one side and whites on the other. This geographical separation did not prevent him from marrying Amelia Jane Shaw in 1909, an Australian of British origin with whom he had a child: Jack Dervish. However, it is suspected that he also had a child named Ben Murray with an Aboriginal woman. Dervish Bejah died suddenly on May 6, 1957 in Port Augusta, without anyone really knowing the reason.

Azeem Johnny Khan and his brother Tom are also descendants of an Afghan married to an Arrernte aborigine. Within their family, this has created not only cultural but also religious differences between Christianity, Islam and traditional Arrernte beliefs. Although not religious, they are proud of their origins. They have also kept in touch with distant family members in Pakistan.

Posters of Monga Khan by Peter Drew.

Monga Khan, symbol of an identity

After 1901 and the implementation of the "White Australia" migration policy, the history of these Afghans and their important contributions to Australian history were put aside. Peter Drew, an Australian artist, is known for putting up posters of Monga Khan, a "Ghan" who is known to have helped develop the Australian economy by working in the import of goods. The posters feature the word "Aussie" which means "Australian" in local slang. His work has resonated in an increasingly cosmopolitan Australian society where everyone is seeking to identify with the national identity.

Wild camels in Australia

Significant ecological impacts

The Australian fauna and flora were also impacted. With the arrival of the railroads, the Australian authorities decided to slaughter the imported camels that had become "obsolete". This was without counting on the love of the camel drivers for their animals, who often voluntarily let them run away. Today, Australia has the largest population of wild camels with more than one million individuals. These herds also cause a lot of environmental damage by their consumption of water and plants in the desert parts of the country.

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