Australian camels

The camel story began in the early 1800s. Explorers of Australia's vast inland recognized that horses are not very suitable to explore the harsh unknown inland.

In 1840 "Harry", the first Australian camel, arrived in Australia. It was the only survivor of a small group of camels imported from the Canary Islands. Harry's life in Australia didn't last too long. During an expedition to the northern parts of the Flinders Ranges Harry accidentally bumped his owner just in the moment as he was loading a gun. The owner died a month later, and Harry was executed afterwards.

Despite Harry's bad luck, introduced camels made their way into the Australian Outback.

More and more camels were brought to Australia. In 1866 Thomas Elder established the first camel stud in Beltana, South Australia, with camels mainly from Karachi, India. Several types and breeds of camels from different countries were imported to Australia. They were large two-humped Bactrian camels and the one-humped dromedary, powerful camels from India suited for carrying heavy loads, and riding camels of Arabia.

The feral camels found in Australia today are a mix of all these breeds. They are strong animals of good quality. Would you believe that Australia is the only country in the world with feral dromedary camels? It's true.

Muslim cameleers arrived in Australia with the camels. They took part in expeditions, worked on the Great Northern Railway Line, and helped to open Australia's inland. The railway line from Port Augusta to Alice Springs soon became known as the Ghan Line.

Many Outback towns, like Marree, had their own "ghan towns" on the outskirts. From these ghan towns the cameleers operated as far as into the Northern Territory to bring supply to isolated stations, bush towns and telegraph stations. At the turn of the century camels were used all over the inland of Australia.

In the 1920s motor vehicles kicked the Australian camels out of their jobs. Some animals were killed, but most were just abandoned. The camels survived in Australia's vast unsettled inland.

It is estimated that between 500,000 and 1 million camels roam freely in the Outback today. The biggest numbers in Western Australia, but also in the Northern Territory, and in South Australia.

Although camels were introduced to Australia, the feral camels don't have such an destroying impact to the environment like other feral animals in Australia. However, as the numbers of Australian camels increase some people also consider them as a pest.

Camel trekking has become popular for tourists. Camel farms can be found throughout the Outback. They offer camel rides for an hour, and expeditions of a couple of days, or even weeks.

Feel like the early explorers, and enjoy a camel tour. Yes, that's adventure travel!

Want to experience the adventure before you go? Read one of my favourite books about a tough woman travelling from the red centre all across the deserts with camels. Alone!

Do you enjoy reading about Australian animals? Don't miss my pages about Australian fauna. Check the links in the right column and enjoy Australia's native animals.

Looking for more information about the Australian Outback? Please use the search box to search the Outback Guide.