Battle of Broken Hill
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The Battle of Broken Hill, also sometimes referred to as the Battle of White Rocks, was the only battle of World War One to be fought on Australian soil and resulted in the deaths of six people.
The incident occurred on 1 January 1915 when two immigrants, Gool Mohammed, an Afghan ice cream vendor, and Indian butcher Mulla Abdulla, ambushed a train carrying civilians en route to an annual picnic in Silverton, New South Wales, west of Broken Hill. Being Muslims, both men had sworn an allegiance to the Sultan of Turkey and considered themselves at war with Australia. After the initial attack, which claimed four lives, the men retreated to a nearby hill called White Rocks where they were eventually killed by local police and military forces after a three-hour gun battle. Their bodies were given up for burial to officials from the Broken Hill Muslim community, who were apparently so appalled by the mens' actions that they refused to accept them.
A replica ice-cream truck now stands at the site of the shoot-out at White Rocks. The event was subsequently re-enacted for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on 23 February 2004. It was the subject of the book A Prelude To Gallipoli: The Battle of Broken Hill 1915 by Omer Ertur (ISBN 0974125326).
