The Battle of Broken Hill
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Broken Hill otherwise known as the Broken Hill Massacre, was a fatal incident which took place near Broken Hill, New South Wales
, Australia
on 1 January 1915. Two Muslim men shot dead four people and wounded seven more, before being killed by police and military officers. While the attack was politically and religiously inspired, as declared by the perpetrators in notes, the men were not members of any sanctioned armed force. The two men were later identified as being Muslims from the British colony of India
, modern day Pakistan
.
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 made 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 halal
Islamic rites. 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 his first charge. Considering the slaughter-house regulators believed that the halal method of slaughter was inhumane, there was little scope for Abdullah to legally prepare such meat for the Muslim community. In addition, he had ceased wearing his turban years before, "since the day some larrikin threw stones at me, and I did not like it".
Gool 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 strong marijuana. 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.
. The train from Broken Hill to Silverton was crowded with 1200 picnickers on 40 open ore trucks. Three kilometres out of town, Gool and Abdullah positioned themselves on an embankment located about 30 metres from the tracks. As the train passed they opened fire with two rifles, discharging 20 to 30 shots.
The picnickers initially thought that the shots were being discharged in honour of the train's passing, but once their companions started falling, the reality sank in.
The railway guard on the train was "Tiger" Dick (Eric Edward) Nyholm, soon to be a father of six children, including the late Prof Sir Ronald Nyholm, also of Broken Hill. Nyholm was a renowned marksman and proved instrumental in protecting the train's passengers from further injury.
James Craig, a 69-year-old occupant of a house behind the Cable Hotel, resisted his daughter's warning about chopping wood during a gun battle and was hit by a stray bullet and killed. He was the fourth to die. The seven wounded were: Mary Kavanagh, George Stokes, Thomas Campbell, Lucy Shaw, daughter of William, Alma Crocker, Rose Crabb, Constable Robert Mills.
At "one o'clock a rush took place to the Turks' stronghold". 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.
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."
Apart from the fact that the police were forced to stop a mob from marching on an Afghan 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 agitated the assailants to 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.
The Silverton Tramway Company refunded in full the fares for the picnic train and the money was used to launch a public relief fund.
Broken Hill, New South Wales
-Geology:Broken Hill's massive orebody, which formed about 1,800 million years ago, has proved to be among the world's largest silver-lead-zinc mineral deposits. The orebody is shaped like a boomerang plunging into the earth at its ends and outcropping in the centre. The protruding tip of the...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 1 January 1915. Two Muslim men shot dead four people and wounded seven more, before being killed by police and military officers. While the attack was politically and religiously inspired, as declared by the perpetrators in notes, the men were not members of any sanctioned armed force. The two men were later identified as being Muslims from the British colony of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, modern day Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
The assailants
The attackers were both former camel-drivers working at Broken Hill. They were Badsha Mahommed Gool (born approx 1874), an ice-cream vendor, and Mullah Abdullah (born approx 1854), 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 made at hiding their identities.
Abdullah had arrived in Broken Hill around 1898 and worked as a camel driver, before becoming a mullah
Mullah
Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...
and slaughtering animals according to halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
Islamic rites. 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 his first charge. Considering the slaughter-house regulators believed that the halal method of slaughter was inhumane, there was little scope for Abdullah to legally prepare such meat for the Muslim community. In addition, he had ceased wearing his turban years before, "since the day some larrikin threw stones at me, and I did not like it".
Gool lived next door to Mullah Adbullah. Gool was a member of the Afridi, a Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
clan, from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. He claimed he had been in the Turkish Army several times and was believed to regularly smoke strong marijuana. 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.
Picnic train targeted
Each New Year's Day the local lodge of the Manchester Unity Order of Oddfellows held a picnic at SilvertonSilverton, New South Wales
Silverton is a small village at the far west of New South Wales, Australia, 25 kilometres north-west of Broken Hill. At the 2006 census, Silverton had a population of 89 people....
. The train from Broken Hill to Silverton was crowded with 1200 picnickers on 40 open ore trucks. Three kilometres out of town, Gool and Abdullah positioned themselves on an embankment located about 30 metres from the tracks. As the train passed they opened fire with two rifles, discharging 20 to 30 shots.
The picnickers initially thought that the shots were being discharged in honour of the train's passing, but once their companions started falling, the reality sank in.
The railway guard on the train was "Tiger" Dick (Eric Edward) Nyholm, soon to be a father of six children, including the late Prof Sir Ronald Nyholm, also of Broken Hill. Nyholm was a renowned marksman and proved instrumental in protecting the train's passengers from further injury.
Police response
Gool and Mulla made their way from the train towards the West Camel camp where they lived. On the way they killed 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 within a white quartz outcrop, which provided good cover. A 90-minute gun battle followed, during which armed members of the public arrived to join the police and military. By the end of the battle very little shooting came from the pair and most of it was off target, leading Constable Ward to conclude that Mullah Abdullah was already dead and Gool was wounded.James Craig, a 69-year-old occupant of a house behind the Cable Hotel, resisted his daughter's warning about chopping wood during a gun battle and was hit by a stray bullet and killed. He was the fourth to die. The seven wounded were: Mary Kavanagh, George Stokes, Thomas Campbell, Lucy Shaw, daughter of William, Alma Crocker, Rose Crabb, Constable Robert Mills.
At "one o'clock a rush took place to the Turks' stronghold". 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.
Aftermath
The attackers left notes connecting their actions 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 waist-belt which stated that he was a subject of the Ottoman Sultan and that, "I must kill you and give my life for my faith, Allāhu Akbar."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."
Apart from the fact that the police were forced to stop a mob from marching on an Afghan 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 agitated the assailants to 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
War Precautions Act 1914
The War Precautions Act 1914 was an Act of the Parliament of Australia which gave the Government of Australia special powers for the duration of World War I and for six months afterwards.-Provisions:...
. 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.
The Silverton Tramway Company refunded in full the fares for the picnic train and the money was used to launch a public relief fund.