Between the mid 1800s and the turn of the nineteenth century more than 3000 men from Afghanistan made the long and harrowing voyage out to Australia to take up work managing the camels shipped along with them. These men and their camel trains were the essential means of transport allowing for the earliest colonial exploration, pastoral and mining developments throughout Outback Australia.
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Prohibited by Australian Immigration regulations from bringing wives or children, most of these hardy pioneers put in a few years of hard work then returned to their homelands. A significant number, however, married Aboriginal or European wives, had large numbers of children and formed small settlements referred to as ‘Ghan towns’ in proximity to the routes of their camels trains.
Although largely unappreciated by Australian historians with a focus on UK heritage, the cultural richness and critical nation-building contributions of these families is recently becoming recognized.
Since their formation in the 1980s, the Society of Afghan descendants have enriched Australia’s cultural tapestry through holding public events, writing articles, participating in film, radio program and film.