{{Infobox ethnic group | group = Baloch Australians <br />{{Nobold|{{lang|bal|{{nq|استرالیاءِ بلۏچ}}}}}} | population = '''357''' (by Language, 2021)<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/people-and-communities/cultural-diversity-census/2021/Cultural%20diversity%20data%20summary.xlsx|access-date=December 19, 2024}}</ref> | popplace = [[New South Wales]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] | langs = [[Australian English]], [[Balochi language|Balochi]] | native_name = | native_name_lang = | related = [[Baloch diaspora]] }} {{baloch people}}
'''Baloch Australians''' ({{langx|bal|{{nq|استرالیاءِ بلۏچ}}}}) or '''The Baloch of Australia''' are [[Australian citizens]] who are of [[Baloch people|Baloch ancestry]] or who hold Australian citizenship. There are measurable numbers of Baloch in [[Australia]].<ref name=":The Iranian Languages">{{cite book |last= Windfuhr |first=Gernot |year=2013 |title=The Iranian Languages|publisher= Taylor & Francis |page=634 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QtpQZ1DD6tEC|isbn=9781135797041}}</ref>
==Background== Many of the so-called early "[[Afghan cameleers in Australia|Afghan cameleers]]" in Australia were Baloch men who came from the [[Balochistan]] region (parts of present-day [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan province]] in Pakistan, [[Balochistan, Afghanistan|southern Afghanistan]] and [[Sistan and Baluchestan province|eastern Iran]]).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Westrip|first1=J.|last2=Holroyde|first2=P.|date=2010|title=Colonial Cousins: a surprising history of connections between India and Australia|publisher=[[Wakefield Press (Australia)|Wakefield Press]]|isbn=978-1862548411|page=175}}</ref><ref name=":aus">{{cite book |last1=Jones، Kenny |first1= Philip, Anna |title=Australia's Muslim Cameleers Pioneers of the Inland, 1860s-1930s |pages=16,17,32,40,76,87,139,187|date=2010|publisher= Wakefield Press|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Australia_s_Muslim_Cameleers/6p-V7d-eLE0C?hl=en&gbpv=0|isbn=9781862548725}}</ref>
Baloch cameleers began arriving in Australia during the late 1800s, primarily to support the inland pastoral industry by transporting goods and supplies using camels. At their peak, there were around 2,000 cameleers and 4,000 camels operating across Australia.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thefridaytimes.com/15-Dec-2022/tracing-the-identities-of-baloch-cameleers-in-australia|title=Tracing The Identities Of Baloch Cameleers In Australia |work=[[The Friday Times]]|date=15 December 2022|access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Australia's Muslim cameleer heritage |url=https://recollections.nma.gov.au/issues/vol_2_no2/notes_and_comments/australias_muslim_cameleer_heritage|work=[[National Museum of Australia]]|access-date=December 19, 2024}}</ref> Small groups of cameleers were shipped in and out of Australia at three-year intervals, to service the Australian inland pastoral industry by carting goods and transporting wool bales by camel trains.<ref name=":aus"></ref>
[[Dost Mahomet]] and [[Dervish Bejah|Dervish Bejah Baloch]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jupp |first1= James|title=The Australian People |pages=164|date=2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Australian_People/wgoFxfSTfYAC?hl=en&gbpv=1|isbn=9780521807890}}</ref> were Baloch cameleers who worked the [[Western Australian Goldfields]] in the late 1890s.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Philip G.|last1=Jones|first2=Anna|last2=Jones|title=Australia's Muslim Cameleers: Pioneers of the Inland, 1860s-1930s|date=2007|publisher=Wakefield Press|isbn=9781862547780|edition=Pbk|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/34934991?selectedversion=NBD42302474|page=39,172}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.southaustralianhistory.com.au/afghans.htm|title=The Afghan camelmen|website=South Australian History: Flinders Ranges Research|access-date=2 June 2019}}</ref><ref name=":aus"></ref> Baloch would later settle in [[Hergott Springs]] where he fathered a son [[Ben Murray]] with Karla-warru (also known as Annie Murray), who was an [[Arabana people|Arabana]] and [[Diyari|Thirari]] woman.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Austin |first=Peter |last2=Hercus |first2=Luise |last3=Jones |first3=Philip |year=1988 |title=Ben Murray (Parlku-Nguyu-Thangknyiwarna) |journal=Aboriginal History |volume=12 |pages=115-188 |via=Informit}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Hankel |first=Valmai A. |title=Dervish Bejah (1862–1957) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bejah-dervish-5187/text8721 |access-date=2025-08-06 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}}</ref>
The Baloch cameleers significantly influenced [[Culture of Australia|Australian culture]], establishing makeshift mosques known as "bush mosques" during their travels. One of the earliest mosques in Australia was built by Baloch cameleers in Hergot Springs (Maree, South Australia) in 1884.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thefridaytimes.com/15-Dec-2022/tracing-the-identities-of-baloch-cameleers-in-australia|title=Tracing The Identities Of Baloch Cameleers In Australia |work=[[The Friday Times]]|date=15 December 2022|access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref>
==Current Presence== Today, there is a notable number of Baloch individuals in Australia<ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours">{{cite book |last1=Carina،Korn |first1= Jahani،Korn|title=The Baloch and Their Neighbours |page=11|date=2003|publisher= Reichert|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Baloch_and_Their_Neighbours/b3IMAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=baloch+australia+carina&dq=baloch+australia+carina&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> pursuing education and employment opportunities. The community continues to celebrate its heritage while integrating into Australian society. Sabah Rind a fourth generation Baloch woman continues to speak Baluchi at home.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/dari/en/article/meet-the-fourth-generation-of-a-baluch-afghan-cameleer/4riaj5u3t|title=Meet the fourth generation of a Baluch Afghan cameleer |work=[[SBS Radio]]|date=31 May 2019|access-date=28 December 2024}}</ref>
==Notable people== * [[Dervish Bejah]] * [[Dost Mahomet]] * [[Ben Murray]]
==See also== * [[Baloch diaspora]]
==References== {{reflist}} {{Baloch diaspora}} [[Category:Australian people of Baloch descent]] [[Category:Baloch diaspora]] [[Category:People of Baloch descent]] [[Category:Ethnic groups in Australia]] [[Category:Balochistan|Diaspora]] {{Pakistani diaspora}} {{Iranian diaspora}} {{Ethnic groups in Australia}}