Australia’s Muslim Cameleers arrive at the Immigration Museum

A new exhibition that tells the remarkable story of Australia’s first Muslim community and their role in the exploration and settlement of Australia’s arid interior opens at the Immigration Museum on 26 February 2010.

Australia’s Muslim Cameleers: Pioneers of the Inland 1860s to1930s explores 80 years of Muslim society in Australia and traces the little known heritage of the Muslim cameleers who first arrived in 1860 to aid expeditions into outback Australia. These men from Afghanistan and British India (today’s Pakistan) travelled thousands of miles of desert tracks to open up the country and make possible the creation of new inland communities.

The first Muslim cameleers arrived at Port Melbourne on 9 June 1860 to join the Burke and Wills Expedition, which this year marks its 150th anniversary. The ill-fated expedition was the first in Australia to use camels, and despite the venture’s failure it successfully demonstrated the ability of camels to survive the harsh Australian conditions. From the 1860s to the 1920s it is estimated that at least 20,000 camels and more than 2,000 cameleers arrived in Australia.

“Australia’s Muslim Cameleers explores a fascinating, but fragmentary history of an era that has almost slipped from view, but which has been critically important in Australia’s national story”, said Philip Jones, Curator at the South Australian Museum, where the exhibition was developed.

“The exhibition brings together previously unrecognised and dispersed heritage objects and images, confirming the pioneering role of the cameleers throughout inland Australia”.

Australia’s Muslim Cameleer’s features beautiful historical photographs, film, artworks and oral histories and includes objects such as camel saddle packs, textiles and other artefacts as well as portraits of the early cameleers and paintings that reflect interactions between the cameleers and Aboriginal people.

Over a period of more than five decades, Australia’s Muslim cameleers were instrumental in opening lines of supply, transport and communication between isolated settlements. Along the way they enriched the cultural landscape, and while many returned to their homelands others stayed and built families. Australia’s Muslim Cameleers tells the story of their legacy and the important part they played in Australia’s multicultural heritage.

Australia’s Muslim Cameleer’s: Pioneers of the Inland 1860s to 1930s
26 February to 19 September 2010
Immigration Museum, 400 Flinders Street, Melbourne
Adults $8, children and concession FREE