Centuries following the British settlement, Australia attracted people from all around the

globe. Many came in search of riches and new opportunities; others were looking for a place
to start a new life. Among them were the Afghans from the Middle East, the Japanese and
the Chinese who played a significant role in shaping early Australia, developing into what it
is today.

The Afghans:
Prior to the 1900’s, Australia was thriving with endless opportunities which attracted
immigrants of all ethnicities seeking work and a new way of life. One of the non-European
population to emigrate to Australia were the Afghans, the ‘Pilots of the desert’. In 1838, the
first people ranging from Turkey in the west to the Punjab region of India in the east, given
the collective name of Ghans, were brought to South Australia, assisting in the early
exploration of the country's interior. Horses were unable to endure the harsh desert
conditions and challenging expeditions, ill-suited to the dry and arid desert climate, so in
1839, camels were regarded to be a more realistic way of delving deeper into the heartland
of Australia. The afghans were recruited by George Landell who was commissioned by The
Victorian Expedition Exploration (VEE). The VEE committee believed the camels would be
comparatively useless unless accompanied by their native drivers. They played a vital role
over subsequent decades in facilitating British exploration of the country's desert centre.
Originating from an alien culture, language and way of life, establishing amicable
communities and relationships with the rest of the Europeans was impeded by the
dissimilarity of non-European populations. The Afghans settled in Australia and founded a
large settlement, working and practicing religion in Marree South Australia, while being
respected by working colleagues they suffered some degree of discrimination. They would
travel inland Australia various times with different exploration parties. They, as well as their
camels, were forced to face the inevitable conditions of the desert whilst hauling round tons
of supplies, materials and resources
for days on end. Although their skills
were greatly appreciated, they were
shunned by the Europeans and
experienced racism. The Afghans were
either given a living quarter in
breeding stations or lived on the
outskirts of towns and settlements,
living in tents with no showers or
forms of running water. In ‘Ghan
towns’, the cameleers would often
build a mosque which not only acted
as a place of worship but offered a
sense of community. Cameleers were
prohibited from bringing their wives SOURCE 1- Visual- Primary: Mosque at Hergott Spring
(Maree), 1884
to Australia. Therefore, the Afghan
demographic was almost entirely made up of men during this period. This caused many of
the Afghans to marry Aboriginal women and many of their encounters with the Aboriginal
people were seen as valuable. The Aboriginal people shared navigation skills and they
traded traditional goods. Source 1 shows the very first Mosque built by the Afghans which
 still stands tall today. This photograph taken in 1884 shows evidence of part of the Afghan’s
lifestyle in which they would frequently
visit the mosques in between their
journeys into the heartland of Australia.
There were many goals for explorers, but
the greatest among them was to continue
mapping the land, to find natural
resources, and to establish viable
settlement areas. The Afghans cameleers
and their camels were instrumental in
navigating the extreme desert terrain as
they were ideally suited for transport in
central Australia's desert regions; they
could transport large loads and go without
water for days. One of the major
contributions the Afghan cameleers was
involved in was the development of the
rail link between Port Augusta and Alice
Springs, now called the Ghan Railway.
SOURCE 2- VISUAL – SECONDARY- Map of early They were also involved with the
Australian inland exploring expeditions involving development of the Overland Telegraph
camels- 2016 that linked Australia with London, via
India. They were a major contribution s
they helped with transporting and delivering supplies, tools and equipment that was
needed. Source 2 exhibits the inland exploring expeditions carried out with the aid of the
Afghan cameleers and the ‘ships of the desert’, the camels. It proves that the Afghans
played a pivotal role in the exploration and ultimately the development of inland Australia,
contributing and shaping modern Australia.

The Japanese:
Leading up to the 1900s, Australia was flourishing with infinite possibilities and
opportunities drawing people from all over the globe. Amongst the immigrants who sought
a new way and start of life were the Japanese. In the
1870s, the Japanese first arrived (despite an emigration
ban in place until 1886) and were predominantly
involved in the Australian pearl industry. A number of
Japanese pearlers were recruited to three Australian
pearling regions between 1883 and '85: Thursday
Island, Darwin and Western Australia. Those who went
to Australia in the 1880s and 1890s worked primarily in
northern Australia as a crew for Australian pearlers
while others worked in the sugar cane industry in Source 3- Primary- Visual: Japanese Pearl
Queensland or were employed in service positions. The Divers
Japanese also confronted the many hardships of being a foreigner in European claimed land.
Since they came from a different culture, language, and way of life, non-European
populations made it difficult to develop cordial societies and relationships with the rest of
 Europe. While some of the Japanese worked for the sugar cane industry, they largely
worked on crews on boats for Australian pearlers, making up a third of the pearl diver’s
industry. Source 3 shows a boat full of Japanese pearls divers. This shows that the pearl
industry had a Japanese-worker skew and that not many Europeans took on this profession.
They came at a time of depression and it was believed the cheap labour of the Japanese
who accepted low pay and harsh working conditions would lower the living standard for
white Australians, which contributed to them being victims of racial discrimination. If they
were in shallow waters, they would dive depths up to 15-metres without any protective
apparatus, suing heavy stones to help them reach the bottom. When diving in deeper
waters, they would wear a cumbersome and heavy vulcanised canvas suit with a large
bronze helmet, they would then be lowered off the side of the boat to spend hours
underwater. The death toll in the pearl diving industry was incredibly high. Pearlers were
left susceptible to blood embolisms in the brain due to rapid changes in water pressure. In
addition, shark attacks were common, especially in ‘Shark Bay’, a popular pearling site.
Source 4 is an interpretation of one of the many
dangers of being a pearl diver. It shows the
dangerous nature of the pearl divers work and the
position of peril they were placed in. Their work
environment was incredibly dangerous however,
they worked in such conditions as the Europeans
didn't want to work in an endangering and low
paying environment. People were unaccustomed
to the Japanese's distinct appearance, and they
were ignorant of their unique language and
religion, which contrasted with their own. With a
fear of the unfamiliar, those characteristics turned
to resentment towards Japanese immigrants,
which led to them being subjected to racism. The
Japanese contributed greatly to Australia’s
economy and trade industry. The pearls they
Source 4- Secondary- Visual: Drawing of an collected were traded for various goods and
octopus attacking a pearl diver by Yoshitoshi brought recognition world-wide to the Australian
Pearl Diving Industry. As a result, Australia’s
wealth was boosted and Australia was welcomed into the trade industry, allowing the
country to communicate and interact with other nations across the globe. Hence why
Australia is a major centre for trading.

The Chinese:
With prosperous gold fields and opportunities that were endless, Australia was one of the
few countries the Chinese sought for riches and business opportunities. The first Chinese
settlers that came to Australia in large numbers arrived during the Gold Rush period. Most
of the immigrants came from impoverished areas in China who had to leave due to
economic and political difficulties in China. Most of them were men who were recruited by
agents who facilitated and financed the journey. Prior to the Gold Rushes of the 1850s,
several thousand Chinese had settled in Australia. They came as indentured laborers who
had to work to cover the expense of their journey. Many Chinese settled as market
gardeners or farm hands in the agricultural industry once the gold ran out. Others in rural
 towns set up small grocery stores or fruit and vegetable businesses. Some also worked in
various pursuits and professions in cities such as import-export firms, laundry operations,
furniture making and medicine. Many who had arrived in Australia had gone into debt to
pay for their passage as indentured labourers, under the ‘credit ticket’ system, which was a
form of debt bondage. During the gold rush, the Chinese organised themselves into large
groups who operated separately to other diggers. Chinatowns and other societies
developed quickly across Australia enticing competition between the Chinese and
Europeans. The competition between miners often led to conflict and the Chinese became
widely disliked by the European settlers. Many
of them disliked the Chinese for being different
to themselves. European miners quickly spread
rumours about the Chinese saying they were
diseased, gamblers, opium addicts and
generally immoral. As a result, anti-Chinese
leagues were set up in both Victorian and NSW
to pressure the government to restrict Chinese
migration. Source 5 shows an image published
in the Sydney based The Bulletin Magazine on
Source 5- Visual- Primary: The Chinese
August 21, 1886, “The Mongolian Octopus – His
Octopus, The Bulletin, 1886
Grip on Australia” cartoon was pointedly used
as a form of propaganda against Mongolian & Chinese immigration. The cartoon illustrates
an octopus with a human head and eight outstretched arms. On each of these arms is a
different term, such as typhoid or immorality. These terms, along with the octopus itself, all
portrayed racist views of Chinese and Mongolian immigrants. The head of the octopus is the
first striking detail. The narrow eyes, large forehead, and buck- teeth are all negative
stereotypes of Chinese culture. The fact that the human head is attached to an octopus’
body is another racist comparison to the immigrants resembling animals. On the arms of the
octopus are eight crimes that these immigrants were thought to bring into Australian
society. These crimes were “Fan Tan” and “Pak-Ah-Pu,” which were gambling games,
“Customs Robbery,” “Bribery,” “Cheap Labour,” “Immorality,” “Typhoid,” “Smallpox,” and
“Opium.” Each of the crimes listed were various racial stereotypes, such as Chinese disease,
cheap labour, and gambling addictions. Many of these crimes were extremely unfounded
and were only circulated due to increased greed during the Australian Gold Rush. The worst
of these occurrences had emerged on the night of
June 30, 1861, when a crowd of around 3000
Europeans drove the Chinese out of Lambing Flat.
The officers were able to put a stop to it using
gunfire, causing one casualty and many left
injured. Source 6 offers an of-the-era white
interpretation of what had happened at Lambing
flat titled, Might versus Right. The source offers
proof of the reckoning racism and hardships they
as non-Europeans experienced. The hot climate of
Queensland and the Northern Territory was
originally considered unsuitable for white
Source 6- Secondary- Visual: An artistic
interpretation of the occurrence at Lambing Flat European settlers. The development of mines and
by Samuel Thomas titled, Might versus Right the laying of railways depended heavily on
Chinese labour. The first 200 labourers were brought over to Port Darwin, then known as
Palmerston, in 1874 and sent to work in the mines. The success of the scheme led to more
shipments and these increased after the discoveries of gold in the nearby Pine Creek area.
By 1886, the Chinese in the Port Darwin area numbered approximately 4000. Mining
inevitably depended on rail transportation and, here too, it was the Chinese who provided
the labour laying track for the Darwin-Pine Creek line. They greatly contributed to early
Australian development of infrastructure and the very foundation of mines and railways in
Australia.

Ultimately, the non-European settlers in Australia experienced a difficult life subjected to

racism and awful treatment from the bigoted European settlers. Afghans from the Middle
East, the Japanese, and the Chinese were among those non-European settlers who played a
pivotal role in shaping early Australia into the nation it is now.