The Battle of Broken Hill

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The Battle of Broken Hill was a mass killing which took place near Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia on January 1, 1915. Two men described as Turks (but more likely to be Afghanis) shot dead four people and wounded seven more, before being killed by police and military officers. While the attack was politically inspired (as declared by themselves in notes) the men were not members of any sanctioned armed force.

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[edit] The Assailants

The attackers were both former camel-drivers working at Broken Hill. They were Badsha Mahommed Gool (born 1874 approx [1]), an ice-cream vendor and Mullah Abdullah (born 1854 approx [2]), a local imam and halal butcher.

Gool's ice-cream cart was well-known in town and was used to transport the men to the attack site. They also fashioned a home-made, Ottoman flag which they flew. There appears to have been little effort at hiding their identities.

Abdullah had arrived in Broken Hill around 1898 and worked as a camel driver, before becoming a mullah and slaughtering animals according to Islamic rites (halal). Several days before the killings Adbullah was convicted by Chief Sanitary Inspector Brosnan for slaughtering sheep on premises not licensed for slaughtering. It was not the first charge. [3] Considering the slaughter-house unions at that time had racially discriminatory policies, there was little scope for Abdullah to legally prepare halal meats for the Muslim community. In addition, he had ceased wearing his turban years beforehand "since the day some larrikin threw stones at me, and I did not like it"[4]

Gool Mohamed lived next door to Mullah Adbullah. Gool was a member of the Afridi, a Pashtun clan, from Afghanistan. He claimed he had been in the Turkish Army several times and was believed to regularly smoke gungha (strong marijauna)[5]. Police Constable Mills later conjectured that Gool had used Abdullah's concerns over the fine as leverage to convince him to take part in the killings.

[edit] The Picnic Train

Each New Year's Day the Manchester Unity Order of Oddfellows (a local lodge) held a picnic at Silverton. The train from Broken Hill to Silverton was crowded with 1200 picnickers on 40 open trucks. Three kilometres out of town, Gool and Abdullah positioned themselves on an embankment about 30 metres from the tracks. As the train passed they opened fire with two rifles, discharging 20-30 shots.

The crowd originally thought the shots were in honour of the train passing, but once people started falling the reality sunk in. Alma Cowie, aged 17 [6] who was on a date with boyfriend Clarry O’Brien, died instantly. William John Shaw, who was a foreman in the Sanitary Department, was also killed on the train.

The railway guard on the train was "Tiger" Dick (Eric Edward) Nyholm, soon to be a father of six including the late Prof Sir Ronald Nyholm [7] also of Broken Hill. Dick, also a well known marksman, was instrumental in protecting the train and its passengers.

[edit] The 'Battle'

Gool and Mulla made their way from the train towards the West Camel camp where they lived. On the way they murdered Alfred E. Millard who had taken shelter in his hut. By this time the train had pulled over at a siding and the police were telephoned. The police contacted Lieutenant Resch at the local army base who despatched his men. When police encountered Gool and Abdullah near the Cable Hotel, the pair shot and wounded Constable Mills. Gool and Abdullah then took shelter among a white quartz outcrop, which provided good cover. A 90 minute gun battle followed, in which armed members of the public continually arrived to join the police and military. Very little shooting came from the pair and most was off target, leading Constable Ward to conclude that Mullah Abdullah was already dead and Gool was injured.

James Craig (a 69 year old occupant of a house behind the Cable Hotel) who resisted his daughter's warning about chopping wood during a gun battle, was hit by a stray bullet and killed. He was the fourth victim to be killed. The seven wounded were: Mary Kavanagh, George Stokes, Thomas Campbell, Lucy Shaw (daughter of William), Alma Crocker, Rose Crabb, Constable Robert Mills. [8]

At "one o'clock a rush took place to the Turks' stronghold" [9] An eyewitness later stated that Gool had stood with a white rag tied to his rifle but was cut down by gunfire (he was found with 16 wounds). The mob would not allow Abdullah's body to be taken away in the ambulance. Later that day both bodies were disposed of in secret by the police.

[edit] The Aftermath

The attackers left notes connecting their actions were related to the hostilities between the Ottoman and British Empires which had been officially declared in October 1914. Believing he would be killed, Gool Mahomed left a letter in his waistbelt, which stated that he was a subject of the Ottoman Sultan and that, "I must kill your men and give my life for my faith by order of the Sultan."

Mullah Abdullah said in his last letter that he was dying for his faith and in obedience to the order of the Sultan, "but owing to my grudge against [Chief Sanitary Inspector Brosnan] it was my intention to kill him first. Beyond this there is no enmity against anybody, and we informed nobody."[10]

While the police stopped a mob from marching on an Afghani camp the following night, there was no violence against the Muslim community afterwards. Instead, the actions were seen as representative of 'enemy aliens' and the Germans in the area were the focus of violence. Believing the Germans had put them up to the attack, the local German Club was burnt to ground, the angry mob cutting the hoses of the firemen who came to fight the flames.

The next day the mines of Broken Hill fired all employees deemed 'enemy aliens' under the 1914 Commonwealth War Precautions Act. Six Austrians, four Germans and one Turk were ordered out of town by the public. Shortly after all 'enemy aliens' in Australia were interned for the duration of the war.[11]

Silverton Tramway Company refunded in full the fares for the picnic train and the money was used to launch a public relief fund.

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Badsha GOOL Death Certificate. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  2. ^ "Mullah ABDULLAH Death Certificate. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  3. ^ Argus 2 January 1915
  4. ^ The Argus. 6 January 1915
  5. ^ The German Club and the picnic train attack :: ABC Broken Hill
  6. ^ "Alma COWIE Death Certificate. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  7. ^ Nyholm, Sir Ronald Sydney (1917 - 1971) Biographical Entry - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
  8. ^ Barrier Miner, 2nd January, 1915
  9. ^ Barrier Miner, 2nd January, 1915
  10. ^ Stevens, Christine. Tin Mosques and Ghantowns; A History of Afghan Cameldrivers in Australia. OUP Melbourne 1989, p.163
  11. ^ Jones, Mary Lucille. The Years of Decline: Australian Muslims 1900-1940 in Mary Lucille Jones,.(ed) An Australian Pilgrimage.p.64

[edit] External links