Every now and again someone who visits one of our museums (those run by the Historical Society) writes a note of appreciation.

This one came to the BH Council’s Visitor Information Centre, and it’s a beauty.

It refers to a visit to the Mosque Museum, which is open on Fridays from 11am to 1pm (and by appointment at other times).

This is the note:

Recently two of us visited Broken Hill for a too brief stay of only a few days. We had such a fantastic and interesting time. There is so much to see and experience in your city.

Brief as it was, I would like to say that the highlight of the trip for us was meeting Bobby Shamroze, the caretaker of the Broken Hill Mosque, and being given a guided tour of the premises by him. We were able to connect with Bobby through…a few Vimeos of interviews with Bobby talking about this most fascinating part of Broken Hill’s (and Australian) history.

How interesting and intriguing is his own family’s story of cameleering in the outback, and countless others who contributed so much to Broken Hill’s history. Bobby is indeed a living treasure.

The Mosque with its memorabilia, relics and hushedly beautiful prayer room is a wonder of survival in our modern century. I hope that the Mosque continues to be maintained and will always be there for people to visit and to learn about this remarkable chapter in Australian outback history.

More about the Mosque Museum here.