Today marks the 110th anniversary of a shooting on a train in outback New South Wales which claimed the lives of four civilians, including a teenager. Over the years, the event has been referred to as Australia's first terrorist attack, but local historians believe the label misrepresents the true story behind the tragic event.
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00:00A grave in Broken Hill is all that remains of 17-year-old Alma Cowie.
00:08She died in the arms of her boyfriend after being shot while riding a picnic train on
00:13New Year's Day 1915.
00:16That was sad that her life was cut short at a time of her life when it was all supposed
00:22to be such a wonderful time for her.
00:27It's 110 years since two gunmen opened fire on the picnic train heading from Broken Hill
00:33to Silverton.
00:34Little did they know of the danger lurking further down the line.
00:39The event was re-enacted for an ABC program broadcast in 2004.
00:45Probably since the commemoration in 2015 people have become more aware of it, but we're happy
00:51to see it again come into the attention of the Broken Hill people.
00:56The tragedy is commemorated in a new exhibition in Broken Hill.
01:01The shooting has been described as Australia's first terrorist attack, a description now
01:07rejected by historians who say the gunmen were outsiders in the local community of immigrant
01:14cameleers.
01:15It simplifies a complex situation in ways that overlook important aspects of the story.
01:22They had an older man who was treated dreadfully because he did have a disability of some kind
01:27and the children threw stones at him.
01:30The other gunman, Mullah Abdullah, was referred to as an imam, a title also disputed by the
01:37Muslim community.
01:38This first and foremost does a disservice to the community because it tries to put the
01:42perpetrators of the picnic train attack as being the head of the community.
01:47It's fine to remember these things, but to learn lessons from them and to move on.
01:53A hundred and ten years later, the circumstances leading up to the attack on the picnic train
01:58are still the subject of debate.
02:01In the hours after the attack, the local German club here on Delamore Street was set on fire
02:06and burnt to the ground, despite the local German community having nothing to do with
02:11the shooting.
02:12A demonstration that emotions stirred by conflict on the other side of the world can lead to
02:17tragedy, even here in the outback.