A Camel Train
??? The Big Question ???
Why did the Afghanis migrate to Australia from Afghanistan? What were their experiences and contributions within a colony?
Why did the Afghans migrate to Australia? ď‚–
In 1860 the first Afghanis arrived. They were mostly cameleers, entering Australia with travelling papers earned while working in British India. They mostly came for work, planning to return to Afghanistan or surrounding countries once their contract was over.
The Journey ď‚–
ď‚™ The Afghans came to Australia by boat. It took several months to sail to Australia from Afghanistan and surrounding countries. The route that they travelled is unclear.
The World Australia and Afghanistan.
What did the Cameleers do? ď‚–
The Afghan cameleers worked in nearly all areas of transportation including exploration, mining and the supply of provisions to homesteads. They also helped construct the overhead telegraph lines. When exploring, the cameleers led camel trains. Camel trains are single file lines of camels used to A camel train transport goods from one place to another.
Afghan Beliefs and Experiences.
The cameleers belonged to four main ethnic groups, Pashtun, Baluchi, Punjabi and Sindhi. They were mostly Muslim but some were Sikh. The Afghans were not treated as well as the British. The Afghans usually had their own section in the tows that they settled in. It was often known as Afghan or Ghan town. They usually did not have much contact with the British but they were known to be friends with the Aboriginals. The Afghans were even buried in different cemeteries to the English.
Cameleer Timeline ď‚– 1860 The first cameleers arrived in Australia.
1873 Start of the Warburton Expedition.
1850
1885 Start of the Lindsay Expedition. 1900
1860 Start of the Burke and Wills expedition.
1873 Start of the Gosse expedition.
1875 Start of the Giles expedition.
Mentioned in the Cameleer Timeline.
Changing Perspectives
The Afghans played a huge role in developing Australia. Without them, the outback would be bare and very hard to navigate and nobody would live there because they would have no contact with civilisation. The Afghans also helped link together villages and colony's. They were the messengers who would bring news to colonies and tell them about important decisions made in another colony or region of Australia.