We visit an outback mosque in the boom-and-bust mining town of Broken Hill.
Caretaker Bobby Shamroze tells tales from Australia's early cameleering trade and the hardworking Muslim immigrants who were its backbone.
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We visit an outback mosque in the boom-and-bust mining town of Broken Hill.
Caretaker Bobby Shamroze tells tales from Australia's early cameleering trade and the hardworking Muslim immigrants who were its backbone.
Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/roadshow-and-tell/id1666756225
Follow us on Instagram to see photos of stuff mentioned in this episode: @roadshowandtellpodcast
This is Roadshow and Tell, mixed for Radio 1RPH. A show where we visit specialty museums so you can learn things you never knew you wanted to. in the vast red expanse of Australia's Outback lies the town of Broken Hill. A speck on the map, home to 18,000 people, broken Hill is a 13 hour drive from Sydney, or six hours from Adelaide. On the fringes of town, on a dusty plot stand, a pair of fibro sheds that are the Broken Hill Mosque Museum. Here, an untold story awaits. It's a reminder of the significant contributions of Muslim immigrants who shaped trading routes, ventured into uncharted territories, and built early inland infrastructure. Sadly, it is an overlooked chapter in our shared history. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Afghan Kemalis led camel trains through this unknown and arid land for trade, supplies, and surveying. On these routes, towns emerged, their city limits expanding to include Afghan camps for the drivers of the camels. Towns like Coolgardie in Western Australia, Maree, Bourke, Cloncurry and Alice Springs all housed Afghan camps and eventually also erected modest mosques. The Broken Hill Mosque remains largely unchanged from when it was built in the 1890s. Constructed with wood and corrugated iron, It includes a prayer room in a small adjoining anteroom which was historically used for washing. Two olive trees at the entrance to the property, planted by the Islamic Council of New South Wales in 2008, provide shade to the mosque. We speak to caretaker Bobby Shamroze, the son of prominent Afghan cameleer Shamroze Khan and grandson of the last Mullah. He shares the incredible story of the mosque, his ancestry, and the brave cameleers who traversed the outback of a foreign land. The Broken Hill Mosque is on the traditional lands of the Wilyaki people. today I'm with Bobby Sham Rose at the Broken Hill Mosque Museum. Bobby, how are you today? Very
Bobby:good, thank you. That's good.
Kate:Mosque and Outback Mosque. How did this happen?
Bobby:to be? Well, in the early days when the camels came out to the Outback that, oh, old Afghans blokes came out with them, and anyhow, they, some of them ended up here in Broken Hill.
Kate:While they were called Afghan cameleers, they weren't all from Afghanistan. It wasn't even a country at that stage. They came from areas that are now Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan, and belong to predominantly four main ethnic groups, pashtun, Baluchi, Punjabi, and Sindhi. They were nicknamed Afghans as it was easier and they were Muslim.
Bobby:And so they decided to, to stay there and work the camel's here. but before they got going, I think they built this, built this little mosque and there was another one out the west of Broken Hill. They built that one too. But there was only in the finish there was only two people out there. So in 1,903, They brought that other little mosque down here and planted it at the back here. They did it right at the back of this, and they just left it there and apparently they, they used it for the caretaker that was looking after the mosque at the time.
Kate:So there were two mosques here for,
Bobby:there was, yeah, two, there was one out the west and one here, but the little one out in the west was just, just that little shed thing at the back there, and they brought that down there in 1,903 on the jenka. And the other two blokes, they came down there and mingle with the rest of the blokes, cause as you could see around here, there's a big camp around here. It was a big area. There was nothing, nothing here, but the mosque in them days and a couple of houses around place. This one they say in 1887 in some books and in other books they say in 1891. But, what I can think about, they probably started to build it in 1887, we bought materials and they had little bits and pieces, and by the time they finished it would've been 1891. And, uh, my dad and granddad, they used to come down here and pray. My dad came out here in 18 94, from India. Ua, whatever place. And my granddad must have came out here a couple of years earlier than dad, but he landed at, Freemount all over the west and he worked his way out here. He finished up and Broken Hill and Dad, I'm not quite sure if he got off the boat down at a place called Port Abbott in Victoria or in Port Augusta. But he had a lot to do with Port Augusta in the early days cuz he used to buy the camels from Port Augusta. Then he'd bring him here over land to Broken Hill and sell him. He's more like a dealer too, you know. He had heaps of camels.
Kate:Afghan Cameliers were integral to Australia's development as a nation. Camel trains, also called caravans, were at the heart of every major inland development project. In an era before roads and railways, these caravans were the lifeline that would transport essential goods. Their trade brought much needed supplies like water, mail and equipment to inland towns, fuelling their progress and prosperity. Within a decade of the first cameleers arriving, Afghans with their camels had built the Overland Telegraph from Adelaide to Darwin, and, the famous train line from Port Augusta to Alice Springs pays homage to their work on this. It was previously called the Afghan Express, which was then shortened to"The Ghan". Between 1870 and 1920, approximately 20, 000 camels and 2, 000 to 4, 000 cameleers landed in Australian ports. At its peak, there were an estimated 400 South Asians living in Broken Hill. Camel drivers led hundreds of camel trains throughout inland Australia in the 19th century, and their travels mean that they were among the first non Indigenous people to view iconic landmarks of Central Australia, such as Kata Tjuta and Uluru. This also meant that they established camps in each hub on the Camel Trade Routes. These were known as Ghan Towns. So those early cameleers, why did they bring camels? Like instead of horses or anything,
Bobby:another cattle? What happened was it would've been the, the blokes like Kidman and And elder people like that they would've had the camels come out here. A lot of it from Karachi place called Karachi, apparently some of most of them. And they brought some of the handlers out with'em. And I think what's happened when they came out with the camels, they probably offered the job of working them.
Kate:The cameleers would come to Australia on temporary work contracts that didn't allow for women or children to join them.
Bobby:So, and that's how, that's how it come about. And they're all around here. They used to go up to Tibooburra, down to Victoria, down to Wentworth, white Cliffs, Wilcannia, all around as there was other Camel, camel drivers too that were up in Burke. Like that bloke kept his name. Here he is, got a book, Wade ab Wade's book. But there was, there was lots, there was lots of cameleers here. Some of them married Aboriginal women. Like that bloke on hand. He married Aboriginal woman. And they lived down there around a couple of blocks down. Most of their family grew up in Broken Hill,
Kate:The Aboriginal populations and Afghan cameleers shared strong connections and intermarriage was quite common. Both groups found themselves segregated from the European settlers who resided in the central areas of the Ghan towns. Instead, they lived on the outskirts, leading simpler lives. Unfortunately, both communities faced discrimination and marginalisation at the hands of the European settlers during those early days. In her work Australianama, writer Samir Khatun, found that various Aboriginal languages preserve references to Afghan cameleers. For instance, in the Arabunna language spoken near Maree, a significant hub on the Camel Trade Route, the word"abiganas" was used to refer to Afghans. Aboriginal language histories along these camel routes are rich with mentions of cameleering culture, often containing fragments of South Asian songs and phrases intertwined with them. So they've a lot of descendants of their Yeah. Early cames are still around.
Bobby:Yeah. They've still got a lot of, lot of'em around. I'm the only one left around here now. In my, my family?
Kate:So about this building, it's quite small. So how many people was it built for to pray here?
Bobby:The building here, it's only like a prayer room. This wasn't anti room. This is the way they used to come in and walk into there and take their shoes and everything off before they went into, actually, they took their shoes off outside. Back in them days. But saying it's only a, a museum wash museum now people can leave their shoes on in this area. because I get a lot of school kids too, you know, come here. And, and then they if they want to go in there, they can take their shoes off. I'd go out there and have a look.
Kate:And what's the history of this building as a museum?
Bobby:Well, it's lucky to be still here for the simple version is when my old grandfather died, all the land around there, you can see there's no houses, nothing around here. Back in them days it was all open and all the old camel blokes, they just have little humpies around here. Living and that camel yards are at the back of here. And that's why they turned into a museum Cause no one came here. And the council was gonna knock the building down. And the. The bloke on the council stopped them from doing it. Otherwise, there'd not be no history left here. The only time I had anything to do was when I started to do work with the history and that. Because I knew a bit about the history being a dad and my grandfather and it was falling down the floors and all, were all broken and, and then they army me all. But as you can see here now, there's a lot of stuff not back in here yet. Cause when they renovated it, they took everything out and packed it all up.
Kate:So it needed a lot of restoration work?
Bobby:Yeah. They spent a bit of money here, but not enough. And it in September, they're gonna have an opening day here. Cause they're putting on their cabinets. And, and all little tablets, instead of having that big thing in their going, all little tablets and so people can come in and just press and they can read the story, things like that. Yeah. Hopefully it happens before I go. I haven't been her good myself.
Kate:So Bobby, why should people come and visit the mosque museum?
Bobby:Well, they should come and have a look at the history. And see where, how hard they worked in the early days. It weren't just a Afghan cameleers. There's a lot of Ozzie Cames here too. Not only here, all around other place. And that's why the country's like it is now. Cause that they had transport some of them. I got photos there. One like with a camel, ten four hundred mile. To go to deliver stores and as to bring wooden up back.
Kate:And Bobby, what's your favorite part of the museum?
Bobby:My favorite part of the museum is telling people about it. Yep.
Kate:Just telling the stories. Stories, you know. Speaking of stories, Bobby has an incredible story.
Bobby:All my family's gone and me, grandma's family and me, mum's family, they're all dead. I, I'm the only one left out of her. I, I had a brother and a sister, but with the running away business, so my mum left when I was only four years old. She left the, took off and left dad with the three kids. Because my old daddy was 63 when I was born and mum was only 24. And I think after a few years being an older, older chap and, and mum was only a young girl, uh, I'd say she would've been about 17 or 18 when she's with dad. And how that come about was back in them days, it was they had the what do you call it, the depression and all that. And my grandma, she had 14 children. Two of them had died. And, and grandma was only, only a young woman when she died. She was only 49 when she died. And she died in 1949. And she I think she, see Dad was pretty wealthy. Dad had houses there and camel business and that, and you know, he used to do a lot of Hawking too. You know, he used to go up to the Menindee, Wilcannia that places and sell, sell like clothes and things like that to the aboriginal people too, you know, up there. When he finished with the camels, he, he, he worked on the mine cuz the camels had finished in 1929.
Kate:With the conclusion of the First World War, the demand for camel trains and the presence of Afghan cameleers in the Australian outback dwindled. Motorised vehicles had taken over as the primary mode of transportation for people and trade, rendering the need for camels obsolete. Unemployment loomed over the once vital cameleers, pushing them towards day labouring and hawking as a means of survival. Eventually the camels and their skilled handlers faded from the outback, becoming mere remnants of a bygone era. During the 1940s, Bobby's father held on to a few camels, providing joy rides for local children and a reminder of the past in a changing world.
Bobby:No one wanted the camels anymore cause they had lorries coming out, you know, and cars coming out back there. But occasionally they'd be using the camel team to maybe cart a bit of wool or, or work on the works for the mines. I've got some photos I can show you after if you wanna. Okay. And yeah, and what happened was, I think my wife asked my mother in later years when me mum come back and I started. You know, to get in contact with her again. Cause I hadn't seen her for years. And my wife asked her how she met dad, you know, and she said, well, love it was like this, back in them days, things were pretty hard. And, and my dad owed Bobby's dad money for camels and for rebuilding a house. But dad rebuilt the house for him for nothing. I know that the house got burnt down and dad had it rebuilt for, and she said, I has to deal. She said she has to deal. So, but I, I don't know. I don't believe that. So that's
Kate:how your parents met
Bobby:Yeah. Yeah. And, and I think what happened to old grandma, she probably said, you get on to old Shammy, he'll look after you. He's got plenty of money. the bit where mum, mum met dad? That was all right. Was having a good life for a couple of years until mum went. When she went I was left with dad and me brother and sister went with relatives, I think. And so you were stuck. That was that was the finish of it.
Kate:How long have you been in Broken Hill now?
Bobby:I been come back here in 19 60. I came back here, yeah, I was 20.
Kate:Just as we are wrapping up, I hear a call to prayer start. This is scheduled on a plug in radio in the anteroom, five times a day. When the mosque was in use, the call to prayer would be sung verbally from the mosque's ground to summon the men in the nearby Afghan camp. Pamela Rajkowski, author of In the Tracks of Camelmen, document the memory of Abdul Fazula, an Afghan descendant. He vividly recall witnessing Mohammed Raffi standing on the cement outside the mosque, cupping his hands with his palms outwards besides his face issuing the call to prayer. Through his voice, the sacred call echoed over the camp, drifting toward the gar town, situated at the northern end of Chapel Street. If the devotees were not near a mosque for the morning or evening prayers, they would pray wherever they were. Many old timers from Broken Hill recall seeing Afghans in the bush working with their camel trains, stopping midway at a certain time, kneeling on their mats and praying. So, Bobby, thank you so much for your time today. It's been a real pleasure speaking to you.
Bobby:That's all right. That's, that's real good to meet up with you.
Kate:Currently, in Broken Hill, there is no operational mosque, although there is a Sufi bookstore in town, which offers prayer ceremonies. The museum is housed in the small anteroom of the mosque, and displays camel bells, nose pegs, photographs, original stepping stones, camel saddles, traditional headgear, and other items associated with Islam. The mosque is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm for a gold coin donation and can be open for worship on request.
Bobby:Some people come out when they, some Muslim people come out. They want to come and pray. I just come over and open up for'em. Let'em pray. Yeah. I don't pray. Cause I was never taught, dad never taught me nothing. Only thing he taught me was how to run away. Anyhow, I, I just look after for the history. And to keep, keep the history going, you know? Beautiful. Yeah.
Kate:Despite being born with a Muslim name, Amin Noola Shamroze, Bobby was not raised Muslim. He is one of the last descendants of cameleers in Broken Hill, and his pride in his lineage absolutely radiates. Journals and diaries of early European explorers report with admiration of the Afghans, their unwavering commitment to Islam, excellent character, reliability and stamina. Yet, the contributions of the Camel Drivers Often went unrecognised, with history books written to favour the white explorers who led the expeditions. While the legacy of the Camaleers is often forgotten, some place names still show their lasting impacts. Beja's Hill in WA and Cameron's Well in the remote Northern Territory serve as quiet reminders of their spirit. These remnants, plus the Broken Hill Mosque Museum, serve as a reminder of how South Asians were really indispensable to Australia's growth and development as a nation. Thanks for listening to Roadshow and Tell. If you enjoyed this deep dive into a specialty museum, make sure you subscribe so you don't miss an episode. We're a new podcast. So if you wanna help support us, please share it with a friend and leave a rating and review. If you are involved with or know of a regional or specialty museum that should be featured, please get in touch at roadshowandtell@gmail.com. I'm your host, Kate. Roadshow and Tell was edited and produced on the lands of the Gadigal people. I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the various lands on which you may be listening from, and the lands that the museums featured in this podcast reside on. I also acknowledge any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people listening to this podcast. I pay my respects to elders past, present, and emerging, and celebrate the diversity of Aboriginal peoples and their ongoing cultures and connections to the lands and waters of Australia.