Afghan Camel Drivers Beltana |
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Title : | Afghan Camel Drivers Beltana |
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Creator : | Mitchell, Robert, photographer | ||
Date of creation : | ca. 1897 | ||
Format : | Photograph | ||
Dimensions : | 185 x 241mm | ||
Contributor : | State Library catalogue | ||
Catalogue record | |||
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Description : |
A group of five Afghan camel drivers thought to be at Beltana The first Afghans arrived in South Australia in 1838. More came in small groups over subsequent decades, but there were no more than a few thousand of them in total. The name Afghan came to apply to all cameleers. In fact they came from a wide range of countries across the Middle East and India. They were brought in, as were the camels, to deliver supplies to isolated communities - mines, missions and sheep stations. In addition, they worked on the railways and the Overland Telegraph Line from Port Augusta to Darwin. Most cameleers returned to their home countries, as there was little official encouragement for them to stay.
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Subjects | |
Period : | 1884-1913 |
Region : | Flinders Ranges and Far North - Outback |
Further reading : | From many places : the history and cultural traditions of South Australian people / Migration Museum Kent Town, S. Aust. : Migration Museum (History Trust of S.A.) in association with Wakefield Press, 1995 Rajkowski, Pamela. In the tracks of the camelmen: outback Australia's most exotic pioneers. Henley Beach, S. Aust. : Seaview Press, 2005 Stevens, Christine Tin mosques & ghantowns: a history of Afghan cameldrivers in Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1989 |
Internet links : | The first Afghans in Australia. [BBC: Media Report]
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