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Afghan CameleersPrint Page Print this page

15-January-2021
15-January-2021

Photographs supplied by Stephen Warren

The plaque commemorates the pioneering Afghan Cameleers who serviced Australia's outback for 50 years.  Another plaque unveiled on the 14th May 1988, commemorates the re-enactment of the Afghan Cameleers Trek.  

The Standpipe Hotel was originally a watering place for teamsters and camels.

The introduction of camels and the so-called 'Afghan' cameleers proved to be a turning point in the exploration and development of the Australian interior.

For a short period of time from the 1860s to the early 1900s, these cameleers and their 'ships of the desert' became the backbone of the Australian economy. They accompanied exploration parties, carrying supplies and materials where horses and oxen could not. They carted supplies, mail and even water to remote settlements. They transported the supplies, tools and equipment needed for the surveying and construction of some of Australia's earliest, and greatest, infrastructure projects, such as the Overland Telegraph and Trans-Australian Railway.

Location

Address:Daw Street, Standpipe Hotel, Port Augusta West, 5700
State:SA
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -32.480691
Long: 137.750614
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:Landscape
Sub-Theme:Settlement

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Sunday 18th May, 1986
Front Inscription

In memory of the pioneering Afghan cameleers who undauntedly serviced Australia’s outback for 50 years

"Praise be to Allah”

Jubilee Year 18th May 1986.

Plaque :

Historic Afghan Cameleers
1840     Trek     1939

This plaque was erected to commemorate the re-enactment of the Afghan Cameleers Trek

14th May 1988

 

 

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au