DAY OF TRAGEDY, TERROR AND HEROISM
Picnic Train Tragedy 1915
On January 1, 1915, the Silverton Tramway Co. provided 40 open concentrate trucks to convey 1200 men, women and children to the annual picnic held by the Manchester Unity Lodges, at Penrose Park, Silverton.
The picnic train left the Sulphide Street railway station at 10am passing through Rakow Street crossing.
It began to build up speed near the Picton Cattle Yards, when Gool Badsha Mahomed and Mullah Abdulla (who were born either in present day Pakistan or Afghanistan) almost immediately opened fire with their Snider and Martini Henry rifles while flying the Turkish flag attached to an ice cream cart killing two passengers (Alma Cowie and William Shaw) and wounding seven others.
Alfred Millard, a pipeline inspector, received a fatal wound to the head as he was cycling beside the train.
The two "Turks" (so called because they flew the Turkish Flag) moved on injuring Tom Campbell, and made a last ditch stand at an outcrop of white quartz on the western boundary of the city.
Local militiamen, police and the rifle brigade closed in, and after hundreds of rounds of ammunition had been exchanged, the stronghold was rushed where it was found that Mullah Abdulla was dead and Gool Mahomed so severely injured that he died in hospital a few hours later.
During the exchange of fire a stray Turkish bullet killed Jim Craig, who was chopping wood in his back yard at the rear of the Cable Hotel.
The whole city was incensed at the needless slaughter and looked about for some means of reprisal.
The Germans and the Turks were at war with the Allies: The German Club building stood empty in Delamore Street and by nightfall was in flames.
Because the "Turks" were Moslems a crowd rushed to the camel camp, ready to vent its anger on the Islamic community, but the road was blocked by police and militia and the crowd dispersed.
Three days later a miner found three statements beneath a rock at the "Turks" last stand written in Urdu (a language used by Afghan tribesman of the North-West Frontier Provinces around 1915). Two of the documents revealed the motives for attacking the picnic train; the third proved to be an application by Gool Mahomed to join the Turkish Army.
In neatly formed characters, Gool Mahomed wrote, "I kill your people because your people are fighting my country". Mullah Abdulla had been worried because of a recent court conviction for killing a sheep on private property, in his capacity as a Moslem official.
On one hand there was a fiery young Afrida itching to strike a blow for Turkey; on the other a simple friendless old man ready to join forces against authority.
The first day of January 1915 was long remembered as a day of tragedy, terror, heroism and high emotion in the city of Broken Hill.
The local Moslems were horrified at the tragedy and refused to be responsible for the burial of the Turks.
The bodies were later interred in an unhallowed undisclosed spot in Broken Hill.
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