Item #CL191-36 [“Afghan” Camel Caravanners, Coolgardie, Western Australia]
[“Afghan” Camel Caravanners, Coolgardie, Western Australia]
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[“Afghan” Camel Caravanners, Coolgardie, Western Australia]

c1896. Pair of printout paper photographs, one annotated in negative lower centre, both stamped “A.S. Bransgrove” on backing below image, one inscribed with date in another hand in pencil on backing verso, 10.3 x 15cm, 10.6 x 15.3cm. One with slight soiling and tear to upper portion, both scuffed and laid down on original backing.

Annotation reads “Salam aleikem” [sic] an Islamic greeting meaning “Peace be upon you.” Inscription reads “Coolgardie, 1896. To my dear sister Jane Dunn from her brother Joseph.”

The “Afghans” or “Ghans” were cameleers who worked in Outback Australia from the 1860s to the 1930s. They included people from Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as Kashmir, Egypt, Persia and Turkey. Before railways and motor vehicles, camels were the primary means of bulk transport in the Outback, where the climate was too harsh for horses. Eventually camels were superseded by modern transport, and some were released into the wild, resulting in a large population of feral camels. Ref: Wiki.

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Item #CL191-36

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