Irwin Districts Historical Society
The Society acknowledges the traditional owners of the Irwin Districts, their continuing connection to land, sea and community and pays its respects to elders and their cultures, past and present.

Sikh Heritage of Dongara – Part 3 Person List and References

Part Three: APPENDICES ਅੂੰਸਿਕਾ

List of Sikhs recorded in the Irwin district before the 1950s, with known years present.

No.NAME/DATESOTHER NAMESCOMMENTS
1Sojan Singh c1901-1920Sagan Singh, So Jaw Singh, Lojan Singh, Francis Sojanborn Lahore, Punjab, and his wife Grace née Maddison and five children Estelle, Guy, Lionel, Marie (May), Roy and Joyce and a still-born son Boota
2Pola Singh c1901-1934Palar Singh, Polo Singh, Bola Singh, Aola Singhborn Punjab
3Chatteree Singh 1902
4Pedava Singh 1904 
5Goodah Singh 1904
6Easa Singh
190x-1909
Esa Singhborn Punjab
7Rur Singh
1908-1947
Rue Singh
8Attra SinghAttura Singhand his wife Mat Kaur (Mahan Koor, Machacor, Mahakour) c1904-1908/09, and four children – Basutli (Bevan), Lahorea (Lahor), Pun (Poona), Cashu, Ram Kishan (Kishin, James), two still-born females, one still-born male
9Buta Singh 1908, 1909
10Sarner Singh 1908, 1909
11Busan Singh
1909
Busana Singh
12Chatta Singh 1909
13Toman Singh 1920, 22, 24Tomal Singhborn Budaun, United Provinces
14Surchia Singh 1920, 22
15 K. Singh 1924

List of known Sikh cremations in or near Dongara

No.DETAILS
1Easa Singh, cremated 15 February 1909, at Whale Point
2Sojan Singh, cremated 13 May 1922, at Dongara Cemetery ‘in the presence of the public’
3Toman Singh, cremated 5 March 1924, at Whale Point
4Pola Singh, cremated 28 April 1934, at Seven Mile Beach (Nhargo)

List of known Sikh burials in or near Dongara

No.DETAILS
1Francis Sojan Singh, buried 10 November 1920, exhumed for cremation 1922

List of other known Sikh burials in the Irwin District

No.DETAILS
1Boota Singh, still-born son of Sojan and Grace Singh, buried 13 October 1906, at ‘Irwin House’
2Still-born daughter of Attra Singh and Mat Kaur, buried 9 September 1907 at ‘Tyford’

Acknowledgements

  • Paul Barron and his team at Sandpiper Entertainment
  • Jane di Giuseppe, custodian, Clarkson (Tyford) Account Journals
  • Graham Grundy, former owner, Old East End
  • Tarun Preet Singh and the Sikh Association of Western Australia
  • Shirley Scotter and Bev Sharpe, IDHS Research Centre
  • Frank Tomasi AM, owner, Old East End 

References 

  • Atkinson, Anne (ed), Asian Immigrants to Western Australia 1829-1901, Dictionary of Western
  • Australians, Vol V, UWA Press, Nedlands 1988
  • Commonwealth of Australia, Census reports, 1911, 1921, 1933
  • Deen, Hanifa, Ali Abdul v The King: Muslim stories from the dark days of White Australia, UWAP, Crawley 2011
  • Forde, Matthew, Weaponry Within the Sikh Faith, https://www.fordemilitaryantiques.com/articles/2019/3/19/the-sword-of-god , accessed 26/9/22
  • Hewins, Jonathon, The Pioneer Sikhs of Western Australia 1886-1950: Immigration, Discrimination, Occupations and Cremations, Hons Thesis, Murdoch University 2021
  • Martens, Jeremy, Empire and Asian Migration: Sovereignty, Immigration Restriction, and Protest in the British settler colonies, 1888-1907, UWAP, Crawley 2018
  • Morgen, Ruth, Cecelia Leong-Salobir and Jeremy Martens (eds), Western Australia in the Indian Ocean World, Studies in Western Australian History, Vol 28, Centre for Western Australian History, UWA 2013
  • Walker, David, Anxious Nation: Australia and the rise of Asia 1850-1939, UQP, St Lucia 1999
  • Westrip, Joyce and Peggy Holroyde, Colonial Cousins: A Surprising History of Connections between India and Australia, Wakefield Press, Kent Town 2011
PHP Code Snippets Powered By : XYZScripts.com