Arabic

Newspaper resources

Explore these resources using the links below. When the web page opens, click the green "Browse this collection" button.

The front page of The Australian Panorama Arabic Newspaper. The masthead is written in red Arabic script.

(2008). The Australian panorama Arabic newspaper. [Panorama Arabic Newspaper], [Parramatta, New South Wales] https://www.panoramanews.net nla.gov.au/nla.obj-747828340

Arabic settlement in Australia

Migration from Arabic nations to Australia has a complex and multifaceted history. As a region, the 22 members of the Arab League (as of 2021) are Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Languages are complex and dialect differences within nations are common.

An example of early Arabic immigration is the story of the Afghani cameleers. The minaret of a mosque arises out of the MacDonnell Ranges. It stands in Alice Springs and is called the Afghan Mosque. Four thousand cameleers arrived in outback Australia between 1860 and 1930, bringing their camels with them. Many of the cameleers were Afghanis, while there were also Pakistanis and Indian nationals.

A sepia photograph showing a man leading a long train of camels through arid scrub land. Another figure can be seen in the background walking beside a camel. There are at least 6 camels in the train.

Frank Hurley, An Afghani man leading a heavily laden camel train, 1914, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-152791565

A photo of a man leading a camel-drawn carriage across desert sand dunes in South Australia.

Alexander Lorimer Kennedy, A camel buggy, South Australia, 1914, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-253064049

Learning activities

Have students write an article about a mystery (real or imagined). Use this exercise to make students consider writing style and tone. Students will need to demonstrate a range of writing and grammatical styles and consider the tone of the article, the audience and the purpose of the article.
Discuss the ways different language newspapers might be affected by the delivery of information from the land of origin.
Explore the articles and content of the newspaper resources linked above.