Dost Mahomet - Camel Business

Camel Business

Gold was first discovered in Coolgardie in 1892 beginning the famous Coolgardie-Kalgoorlie gold rush for surface gold and, later, the extensive underground mining of gold which is still underway. Camel transport operators quickly established themselves here, many living in a tent settlement at the end of Coolgardie Street. Demand for transport was high and Dost acquired more camels and found men to work for him.

Over the next decade, Dost carried goods to remote settlements further north including Laverton, Wiluna, Cue, Port Hedland and Marble Bar. He had drays built to help in haulage. Pastoral stations had been edging northwards following reports from exploring expeditions led by John and Alexander Forrest, Lawrence Wells, David Lindsay and John Wedge. Many of these expeditions relied on some camel transport. De Gray, Mundabullaangana, Pardoo, Tabba Tabba and Wallareenya were all pastoral stations, well established before Port Hedland became a gazetted town in 1896. Camels were still to be seen loaded with wool bales loping between some of these stations and the rail head until the mid nineteen thirties.

Mining operations in the Pilbara preceded those at Coolgardie with gold, tin, lead, zinc, tantalite, antinomy and bismuth being among the minerals chipped from the Pilbara rocks and sands during this period. The miners needed equipment, large and small. Small stores and hotels alongside prospecting sites retailed food, drink, clothing and other supplies which were brought in by camels as well as teams of horses and bullocks and, eventually, by rail from the Whim Creek wharves. Five years after the shifting of the port to Port Hedland, a new rail link was made to Marble Bar.

Dost set up a permanent base at Port Hedland in 1906 servicing the Pilbara region. Although his older brother Jorak had preceded Dost to Western Australia, it was Dost who became the leading figure among the cameleers in the north-west. Other Baluch relatives worked in the area alongside other cameleers from Balochistan, Afghanistan and northern India. Many made journeys back and forth between Western Australia, South Australia and their birthplaces. By law, all were subject to racial restrictions applying to migration, type of business, occupation, employment and location. For example, after 1897, on departure, special permission was needed for those wishing to return to Western Australia. Following the Federation of the Australian colonies, continued residence and entry again required legal permit.

European cameleers also worked in the Pilbara, usually hitching wagons behind camel teams, unlike the method of loading individual camels traditionally used by Baloch and Afghan cameleers.

In 1908, not long after Dost settled in Port Hedland, storekeepers at Marble Bar began arranging contracts with some of the camel operators to have their goods transported from the Port Hedland wharves. Contract rates were lower than the established going rates. Tensions flared. Non contractors refused to cart for the storekeepers and went “on strike” rallying against “non-union” rates. Two hundred and fifty camels at 32 Mile Well were unhobbled and scattered into the scrub. Camel loads were flung to the ground. The dispute was eventually settled after police and officials from both Perth and the local area intervened and facilitated discussions between the opposing parties. Troubles resurfaced periodically - three years later agreement was reached to almost double cartage rates, but it had been a period of financial stress to the cameleers.