Truth and myth of The Ghan

hey Danna
thanks for the post , I for one didn,t know that an many others
probably don,t know
cheers mechpete

I wouldn't take that as gospel either!

Plenty of so called explanations around as to where the name came from!

This seems to contradict the OP
http://www.pichirichirailway.org.au/history/the-ghan-story.html

Strange then that as its symbol it has a picture of a Camel on the rolling stock.
The linked article actually says it is not known how it was given its name and asks a question about it.
It does NOT confirm what is said above in any shape or form.
If you have documentory evidence of this I suggest you post a valid link to it.

I don't quite agree with your statement "everyone knew that cameleers were not from any part of Afghanistan but from India".
This statement from the Australian Government website - History section (SITE LINK)...
quote "The cameleers were collectively known as 'Afghan' cameleers. While some were originally from Afghanistan, others came from countries such as Baluchistan, Kashmir, Sind, Rajastan, Egypt, Persia, Turkey and Punjab, so spoke a variety of languages. Their common bond was their Islamic religion and the fact that they were almost exclusively young or middle-aged men." end quote.
But yes I agree they were not highly regard people at the time. Another quote from the same page - quote "Almost all of the cameleers who came to Australia during this period faced enormous hardship. While their skills were needed and mostly appreciated, they were largely shunned by the European communities. Indeed, racism and anger towards them was rife."... end quote.
I haven't done any detailed research about the history of the name of the railway.

The train to Oodnadatta and was called the Afgan Express. It was built and run by SAR. It later changed its name to the Ghan and then was taken over by CR in about 1928.

Thomas Gahan didn't become commissioner of CR until about 1928, 2 years after the Ghan was named under SAR stewardship.

Personally that adds up more than a train being named after a commissioner for a railway that didn't even run it at the time.

There is no doube that it was called the Afghan express in the early 20's. That is a short jump to the Ghan.

I think the site below gives the best outline of the origin of the name of the 'Ghan.

Pichi Richi Railway - the Ghan story

It's not hard to believe that when the first train on the Northern line arrived in Alice Springs, it was regarded as a replacement for the Afghan cameleers - and as such, deserved the moniker as "the (railway) 'Ghan".

However, the above site states that a plaque in Alice Springs - unveiled in 1980 - outlines clearly that the 'Ghan train derived its name from an event in Quorn, when the first sleeping car service was introduced between Terowie and Oodnadatta in August 1923 - fully six years before a train steamed into Alice Springs.

It would be interesting to study the Trove online newspaper resources to find when the 'Ghan name first found its way into the newspapers.
In that era, popular nicknames soon found their way into the print media.

If the train was being referred to as the 'Ghan between 1923 and 1929 in the papers - then that would back the story on the Pichi Richi website, and the history plaque in Alice Springs.

Cheers, Ron.

The factual article from the Pichi Richi Railway (PRR) website was relayed to PRR by our first Life Member, Mr. George Williams, who was one of the SAR, railworkers in Quorn on 30th August 1923 when the first sleeping car train to Oodnadatta came into Quorn. George Williams also authored a couple of books about the Central Australian Railway (it's correct title, not the Ghan Line or Ghan Railway) from Port Augusta to Alice Springs, in which he relates his first hand account of the events in Quorn in August 1923.
The reason there was time in Quorn for evening prayers, was the way in which the train had arrived from Terowie before venturing onwards to Oodnadatta. The line from the east from Terowie into Quorn and also the line to the north to Oodnadatta are at the same point in the yard. After arriving from Terowie, the locomotive detached from the head end, to be replaced by another locomotive. The Guards Van was removed from the rear end and then placed onto what was the head end, which now became the rear end for the trip north to Oodnadatta.
The sleeping car Alberga, is one of three identical sleepeing cars that were built for the Broken Hill express (Terowie to Broken Hill). The other two cars are Coonatto and Nilpena. All three sleeping cars are now in Quorn at PRR, Nilpena in original condition and Alberga and Coonatto bastardised into workers camp cars by the SAR for use on the Eyre Peninsula division.
The SAR ran the Afghan Express for a further 2.5 years until the Commonwealth Railways (CR) took over operation of the CAR. The CR then built there own carriages at Port Augusta for the Ghan. Out of 11 carriages built in the late 1920's for the Ghan, PRR has 10 in it's collection. Five of which are used on it's Afghan Express, the other five are used for members accommodation when at Quorn. PRR is still utilising a 1920's built steam loco (NM25), which was built for the CR to operate on the CAR to haul these carriages, on the last remaining operational section of the former CAR.