Golden Camels (s8)

Living archive -1b

Laverton Cemetery - Unclaimed
WA 12th Sept 

Few changes where made today:22nd sept regrading this article. To check click here
 


The Unclaimed:  

The divide wall

With a small wall separating the area. It seems the Wall was all the way. This unclaimed, separated or disowned graves where not even marked or recorded. Why? They are not given the privileged place? May be earlier it was too obvious but now in the landscape you can only realize when you walk till there. They are all covered in white stones - which is also different than the rich earth colours on others. 

The story is maybe 80 to 90 years back - people who where not wanted or did bad deeds or committed suicides - committed a sin -they where not allowed to be buried within the privileged cemetery they where out-casted even after their death.  



Claiming the unclaimed land: 

This small grave I found on the way to the cemetery: basically in the deep desert it seems there are many such Graves. In the mid 20th century many Afghans (the Australian Muslims) where buried in many such deserted lands which might be called Hidden stories. 

This Below Grave i am not sure it is of a human baby or an animal. because of the rain the text is missing: it just says: this----is----belongs--mellisa--machell

 

Golden Camels (s7)

Living archive -1a 
Laverton Cemetery - Afghan Graves
WA 11th Sept  

  

The Word Afghan in Australia is actually a very Broad term: Basically I feel they meant "Muslims" but then I figured out all where not Muslims as they where Sikhs too, so may be they meant Muslims and South Asians? I don’t think they even bothered to find the layers so it was convenient general term - that’s what the colonizers did all over the world: Generalization. 

So I could say the meaning of Afghan in Australia means: “Muslims from South Asia who came with Camels in the 19^th century to early 20^th century” – 
they where also called “Camalees”
but the truth is all where not Camalees...

As The word Afghan was quite broad, the same way the word “Explorers” or “exploring inland” needs to be questioned. As these Afghans who worked hard to Establish and Explore the Region and also build the infrastructure for all the mining which happens till today – I don’t find that credit given to them. Normally ‘Camalees’ where not even considered as “Explorers”… they where just mentioned as a mean of transport and do all the legwork??

Of course “Discover and Explore” the region and let the world know is a very funny term. It feels, as thou that region never existed thanks to the Explorers they discovered it. 

At least 2000 cameleers and 20,000 camels arrived in Australia during the period from 1870 to 1920. The 1893 gold discoveries at Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie greatly increased demand. A vast network of camel routes spread across the inland….

After said this the other side is when I speak to the locals in Laverton Town they recognize all the hard work done by The Camalees and they do give enough credit and also do feel bad as they are been ignored or almost forgotten. There are many Hidden stories –which is almost buried – hope I get some out. But till now unfortunately most of them want the hidden stories hidden or you could also say the hidden stories are buried so deep that this generation is not aware of it. The generation who knew about it are all gone.

Known in Australia as ‘Afghans’, the cameleers came mainly from the arid hills and plains of Baluchistan, Afghanistan and the north-west of British India (today’s Pakistan). The cameleers belonged to four main ethnic groups: Pashtun, Baluchi, Punjabi, and Sindhi....

The cameleers spoke a mix of languages in Australia , reflecting their diverse origins. It is likely that Pashto, Dari (Persian), Baluchi, Punjabi, Sindhi and Urdu were heard in the streets of Kalgoorlie, Bourke and Marree. Some cameleers were literate, while others relied upon oral tradition, reciting poems or folk-tales at evening campfires and celebrations... 

http://www.cameleers.net/?page_id=779 
 

Below Information is from The Shire Of Laverton Office: Recorded in their Registered. 

North facing 5 Afghan graves in Laverton cemetery: 

Row F # 291:

Name: Jack Mohamad 

Age: 70

Died in Laverton Hospital

Died on 27th July 1934

Buried on 28th July 1934

Undertaker - 

The person who buried him:  P E O Meagles

Row F #164 :

Name: Joe Mohamad

Buried on 10th June 1912

Undertaker - 

The person who buried him: J.Blethyns

Jack and Joe name where adopted?given? changed for convenience?   where these two brothers?

Row F #165 :

Name: Homed Oslam

Buried on 1st aug 1912

Undertaker - 

The person who buried him: J.Blethyns

Row F #163 :

Name: Baria Khan 

Age: 40

Buried on 9th march 1920

Row F #349 :

Name: Hasham Ali Khan

Age: 95

Died in Laverton Hospital

Died on 19 May 1941

Buried on 21 May 1941

(Mohamadan Graves)

Undertaker - 

The person who buried him: H B Clarke

 

Lots of Afghan Graves - the Camalees - where also found buried in deep in the desert - quite unknown most of them. I am not sure what happened to the Sikhs - according to the religion they should have been burnt, and if i can imagine the ashes taken back home or buried in the desert. conceptually it is very "ARID" 

Golden Camels (s6)

Living archive - 1

Laverton Cemetery - Old Graves
WA 10th Sept 


Living archive means - archive which is used - re-used - recycled - visited - remembered - day to day surviving. it isnt an archive which is siting ideal or abandoned. 

till now in this small town i have found two Living Archives: 

1. The Laverton cemetery 
and 
2. Peter Wills Yard - he is a collector of things which are thrown or abandoned - you might call it dumping yard or junk. but this junk yard is unique. will write about it as my next story. 

Now it is about laverton Cemetery: in 3 parts

some info
of this cemetery: 

huge area - divided into 3 parts -
visually divided without a fence. you can call it a landscape divide or a content divide.there used to be a wall but it is now broken down. there used to be a huge fence but now it is open to the landscape.

1. Area with old graves - historical graves - mostly early 20th century to mid 20th.
 

2. New Graves - with colourful flowers (offerings) 

3. Unclaimed Graves - this too can be dated back to early 20th century to mid 20th century. 

 


Area map i constructed: 

 


  

Recorded map: resourced from Shire of Laverton office

 
The old Graves:

- most of it ends around 1940s.
   maximum area is covered by the old graves- you start walking towards south you see all the graves are facing east, most of them have mud or stones covered. very few have a cross - but all have a marking with a number, I am sure it is recorded by the Shire office. Few have cemented or concreted the area with plaques. the landscape looks like small hillocks and you continue walking and suddenly you notice, almost in the middle you see rough rocks there are few graves not maintained and you easily notice some difference they are not facing east but they face towards the north. and you realise these 5 graves are of Afghans (Australian Muslims) and no one is there to maintain it. I am sure they where acknowldged and given due respect as they are part of the main cemetery. it seems few years back there was a lady who used to come every week and clean the place and maintained it because she was partially Afghan, she gave her respect to her ancestors by keeping these graves clean. after she left it is back to its ruin. 

Way to the Cemetery: 

The Old Cemetery: Christian Graves - Facing East to West:

The Afghan Graves: details in the next issue.