Sikh Pioneers of Australia


> TRADERS OF GOODWILL:
> Sikh Pioneers of Australia
> 
> by MANPREET KAUR SINGH
> 
> Most of us think that Sikh or South Asian migration to Australia is a 
> recent phenomenon, spanning just the past few decades. But not many of 
> us know that
> our Sikh forefathers first came to Australia more than 150 years ago - at
> a
> time when the dust was yet to settle from the fall of Ranjit Singh's
> empire.
> 
> 
> Displaying their true enterprising spirit, they crossed the seven seas 
> to come to the land Down Under, in search of a better lifestyle and 
> wages, and quickly endeared themselves to the local population here. 
> Country towns all
> over Australia are dotted with memories of these brave Punjabi migrants,
> who
> seem to have been welcomed by the locals despite the official "White
> Australia" policy. 
> 
> Sadly, they are also forgotten in the annals of history.
> 
> Initially, the migrants from India were indentured labourers, who 
> worked on sheep stations and farms around Australia. Some adventurers 
> followed during
> the gold rush of the 1850's. 
> 
> A census from 1861 indicates that there were around 200 Indians in 
> Victoria of whom 20 were in Ballarat, the town which was at the 
> epicenter of the gold
> rush. Thereafter, many more came and worked as hawkers - going from house
> to
> house, town to town, traversing thousands of kilometers, making a living
> by
> selling a variety of products. 
> 
> A record of shipping arrivals of the day shows that S.S Clitus and 
> S.S. Jullundur arrived in Melbourne in 1898 carrying many Punjabis, 
> some of whom like Nutta Singh, Hurman Singh, Indur Singh, Isur Singh, 
> Sundi and Sunda Singh went on to become hawkers. (Please note that the 
> names were written phonetically by a clerk on arrival, so the 
> spellings are as recorded, not necessarily as they are meant to be 
> spelt).
> 
> There is enough anecdotal evidence from local Australians that the 
> Sikh hawkers were much loved members of the community. The womenfolk 
> loved them because they provided a welcome break from their mundane 
> existence - the hawkers brought beautiful clothes, goods, all things 
> exotic, and a fleeting
> glimpse of the big wide world beyond their farmlands. 
> 
> The Australian men liked the hawkers because they were tough - they 
> knew how to survive in difficult bush land and, more importantly, they 
> played cricket!
> 
> The Aussie kids adored the hawkers because of the stories they told of 
> another world, because of their playful spirit and their wonderfully 
> aromatic curries.
> 
> Now meet Len Kenna, an Australian historian, playwright and poet who 
> has been commissioned by the Victorian government to write the 
> official history of Indian migration to Victoria (the south-eastern 
> state of Australia with
> Melbourne as its capital city). His brief is to `research and preserve
> anything of Indian cultural significance' in Victoria. Although the
> subject
> matter of his research can't be released yet, he is convinced that Indian
> migration to Australia began a long time ago. He personally remembers a
> hawker by the name of Gunter Singh (probably Ganda Singh), who came to
> his
> house in Hamilton (in county Victoria) where he grew up in the 1940's. 
> 
> Says Kenna: "The Indian hawkers were better educated than most others 
> in those days, they were polite and well-cultured. They spoke English, 
> so we had great conversations. I used to hop into Gunter Singh's horse 
> wagon, marvel at his goods and listen to his stories all night. I 
> shared some scones with him and he cooked absolutely wonderful curries 
> for us. That smell is still fresh in my mind, so many decades later!"
> 
> Kenna says his mother and her friend used to take turns to wash Gunter 
> Singh's turbans and Singh cooked for them in return. "I remember those 
> bright turbans on our clothesline, flapping wildly in the wind," 
> recalls Kenna. He adds, "The country women loved the Sikh hawkers. 
> They were such a wonderful change from the Aussie farm men who were 
> stuck knee-deep in cow manure for most of the day and still treated 
> their women with an air of Victorian superiority.
> The women loved the way the hawkers respected them and treated them like
> `ladies'!" 
> 
> As a tribute to these hawkers, Kenna penned a play, `It happened in 
> Heywood', which has been staged in Melbourne and many country towns of 
> Victoria. At the end of many shows, people from the audience have come 
> up and shared their own memories of the Sikh hawkers and Kenna is 
> hoping to preserve all of these stories for posterity.
> 
> `It Happened in Heywood' revolves around a true story of three Sikh 
> brothers, who were all hawkers near the country town of Heywood around 
> the year 1900. One of the brothers was burnt alive while sleeping in 
> his wagon
> overnight - apparently these horse wagons were extremely flammable being
> made of wood and canvas, and would burn down completely in a matter of
> seconds, leaving someone sleeping inside with no possibility of escape. 
> 
> The second brother Kahn Singh died in an accident when a tree-branch 
> fell on his head. The third surviving brother Ganda Singh wanted to 
> cremate Kahn's
> dead body. But cremation was illegal in those days (although it was
> legalized thereafter). 
> 
> The play shows how the whole country town rallied together to make 
> sure that Kahn Singh received a befitting funeral in accordance with 
> his own traditions. The play essentially captures the spirit of the 
> local Australians who almost felt a sense of camaraderie with Sikh 
> hawkers, something that the Chinese and hawkers of other nationalities 
> rarely enjoyed.
> 
> The countryside of Victoria is now dotted with cremation sites and 
> headstones marking the spot where a hawker's ashes were buried after 
> cremation.
> 
> (See photo of Gunga Singh's headstone, which has a lengthy inscription 
> in Punjabi and, beneath it, the English portion
> reads: "In loving memory of Gunga Singh, beloved son of Dava Singh, 
> native of Poloolla, Punjab, India. Died 6th Sept 1901, aged 45
> years.") 
> 
> Apparently, if a hawker died and had no other relatives here, his 
> horse, cart, goods and wagon were auctioned off. With the money 
> raised, the hawker would be cremated, the site marked with a memorial, 
> and the remaining money
> would be sent back to India along with the ashes. Many death notices
> published in newspapers of more than a century ago indicate relocation of
> ashes to India, `to be dispersed in the Ganges', or according to the last
> wishes of the deceased. 
> 
> Hawking in those days was a lucrative business, but required a lot of 
> grit and hard work. The sheer distances between towns in Australia 
> could prove prohibitive for some people, but Sikh hawkers seemed to 
> thrive on it. According to the records, 213 country licenses were 
> issued for hawkers in Hamilton alone, which is just one of the country 
> towns of Victoria. It is mind-boggling to think of what the actual 
> population of Sikh hawkers might
> have been Australia-wide, especially since there were many more Indians
> in
> New South Wales compared to Victoria. 
> 
> According to the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages, 377 people 
> with the name `Singh' died in New South Wales during the period 1898 - 
> 1939. Therefore, it is anybody's guess how many were alive and working 
> in that same period.
> 
> Typically a hawker would have to pay a bond of nearly $100 upon 
> entering the country. Then, before they began hawking, they had to go 
> to court to obtain
> a permit, had to prove that they were of good character and needed to be
> debt-free. Then, they would either begin hawking on foot or on
> horse-drawn
> carts and pay an annual hawking fee. 
> 
> A wagon (see photo) would have a large canvas hood, and the shelves 
> would be stacked with wares to sell. There would be an elevated bed 
> right in the middle of the wagon and more goods were stored under it. 
> Goods included dress material, laces, buttons, threads, perfumes, 
> footwear, jewellery, jewellery boxes, spices, utensils and even 
> indigenous medicine.
> 
> If a buyer couldn't get what they wanted, they could place an order 
> and receive what they needed within a day or two. Some hawkers made so 
> much money that they bought sheep stations, land and property, while 
> others were content with sending the money back to Punjab.
> 
> But the hawkers led very lonely lives - tramping repetitively on 
> country roads where the nearest town would be at least 100 kms away. 
> Hardly any of them had their family here and they rarely inter-married 
> locals. Letters were their only source of contact with family back 
> home and they could go for a long time without speaking or hearing 
> their native language, since each hawker had a specifically marked 
> territory to work in. They tended to
> form friendships with local country people and twice a year, all the
> hawkers
> converged at a pre-arranged spot where they spent a few weeks of holidays
> together, typically during Christmas and Easter. 
> 
> Sadly, there are some records of hawkers being assaulted or murdered 
> and also of some crimes committed by hawkers themselves out of sheer 
> frustration and loneliness. Many were even admitted to institutions in 
> later life since
> they had no immediate family to take care of them. 
> 
> But happily, the personal anecdotes and memories of good times with 
> these Punjabi pioneers outnumber the sad ones. Locals all over country 
> towns recall innumerable stories about individual Sikh hawkers with 
> great fondness.
> 
> Eileen Tierney distinctly remembers Lucca Singh (probably Lakha), who 
> had a very highly polished van, well fitted-out with shelves along 
> each side and
> along the back. One section was for women's wear exclusively, with a
> built-in, lift-out box for jewels and scents. 
> 
> Recalls Tierney, "I can remember Lucca coming to our home at Wando 
> Vale when I was a child - it was a red letter day as everybody waited 
> in great anticipation for Lucca to open his van on arrival.
> He was the bearer of good news and bad. He traveled extensively and heard
> of
> all the district's happenings. He would stay some weeks in each district
> and
> always had his special places where he would stay for up to a fortnight
> at a
> time. He was a great old fellow and as children, we loved him. He loved
> to
> play cards, liked to win and would play all night if necessary until he
> finally won." 
> 
> Lucca Singh spent his last days in a tent close to the Peach family of 
> Edenhope around the end of the Second World War Says Tierney, "Lucca 
> lived a very long life. I think he must have had a lot of herbal 
> remedies to back up
> his health. He had a brother in India. I can't remember Lucca ever having
> to
> go to hospital until near the end of his life when he just became ill." 
> 
> He died in Casterton Hospital in 1943 and his ashes were spread in a 
> nearby river on his request.
> 
> Then there was Sunda Singh (probably Sunder), who started his hawking 
> career on foot, with his goods strapped in a bundle on his back. Soon, 
> he saved enough to buy a wagon and two horses, which gave him greater 
> reach. After many years, he bought a farm near Allestree. He paid for 
> the local hospital
> at Portland to be painted, as a gesture of his gratitude to the people
> for
> the love they had given him. 
> 
> He died in Ballarat Hospital leaving behind his wife and family in 
> Raipur in India. By all accounts, he was dearly loved in the whole of 
> the district.
> 
> Another hawker, Indar Sondhu, was so wealthy that he donated land for 
> the construction of Coleraine Shire offices - that was his way of 
> saying thank you to the people of the area. He set up a business in 
> Coleraine and later
> owned shops and a sheep station. 
> 
> There are also stories about a famous Punjabi wrestler by the name of 
> Bagshot Singh. He wrestled at the Hotspur Show every year and it is 
> said that he had a great rivalry with a local wrestler called Mr. 
> Edge. Bagshot Singh died at the age of 39 at Hamilton Base Hospital 
> and his ashes were sent to India.
> 
> So, as the stories and anecdotes abound, it's truly amazing to sense 
> the fondness with which these Sikh hawkers are remembered, despite the 
> deep-rooted racism that was intitutionalised in Australian society 
> during those days. The White Australia policy, although prevalent in 
> spirit during the late 19th century, was officially adopted by the 
> Australian government
> in 1901, which precluded migrants on the basis of their colour and race.
> Although the basis for exclusion was more subtle - prospective migrants
> were
> asked to take a language test and only those who passed were allowed to
> migrate - the idea was to stop the influx of Asian and even central
> European
> migrants to Australia. 
> 
> Despite this, hundreds of Sikh hawkers continued to operate all over 
> Australia, providing essential services to many country towns. Their 
> wagons carried goods both mundane and exotic; their conversation 
> carried the news of the day, both good and bad; their hearts bore 
> goodwill that created long lasting friendships and their vibrant 
> personalities brought colour into boring lives. Above all, they 
> provided the country people a life-line as well as a dream of the 
> mystique of lands far beyond the shores of Australia.
> 
> We owe much to the enterprise and free spirit of these Sikh 
> forefathers, and hope that they are accorded their rightful place in 
> history.
> 
> [Courtesy: India Today]
> 
>  
> 
> 
-- 
  Sant S. Virmani
  sant@virmani.org