- page -
http://www.cdu.edu.au/cdupress
Go Back >> List of Entries
the house. He would then arrive during the dinner party with a diatribe of the latest trouble, accept a drink and
then return to restart the engine. Eunice’s mother became disenchanted with the frequent breakdowns and on one
occasion laced the contents of the whisky bottle with Epsom salts to teach Arthur a lesson. Unfortunately, the next
engine failure was genuine and severe and Fazal called upon Jerry Maloney, resident engineer, to assist with the
engine problem. After repairs Jerry was invited to partake of a drink, which he did, unfortunately from the laced
whisky bottle. Eunice’s mother could not tell the assembled guests or Jerry about the whisky and many drinks
were consumed. Jerry was hospitalised as a result, but apparently accepted the explanation and viewed the event
as a good joke.
Fazal acquired water rights to the adjacent government bore and was given permission to charge one Shilling
per head of stock from passing drovers. The fee covered the cost of fuel to power the Lister engine needed to pump
the water into the tanks and troughs. Fazal supplied the fuel, which was transported to Birdum by sea and rail, then
trucked down in 44-gallon (200-litre) drums to Tennant Creek. All perishables came by camel train from Alice
Springs. Fazal also held an eight-hectare grazing lease to run five hundred goats, twenty cattle and some horses.
Eunice Deen rode her own horse and herded the goats when they strayed. The Aboriginal women were adept at
tracking the goats and often assisted in finding the goats and driving them home. Fazal slaughtered his own meat
in accordance with his religious beliefs, and his prayer ritual involving body cleansing and body positions was
observed five times daily.
Fazal’s eldest son Jagir had arrived from Blackall, to work with his father, and in 1936 the three other sons,
Wazir, Noor and Nasib (Tom), joined the family in the business. Nasib enrolled in the local school to complete his
education. Jagir returned to Pakistan in 1938.
Eunice married Wazir in a private ceremony in the Moslem faith in Tennant Creek. The registrar from Darwin
performed the ceremony and Constable Littlejohn was a witness.
At the onset of the Second World War the battery was rendered inoperable, with the removal of the battery
engine and the Lister bore engine.
Fazal’s health was suffering. Dr Jarvis Nye of Brisbane had diagnosed diabetes and Fazal required two insulin
injections daily. He left Tennant Creek in 1944. His father Fotth Deen had died and was buried in Mt Isa. The three
sons worked a wolfram and scheelite claim at Mosquito Creek near Hatches Creek. This was a protected industry
and O T Lemprey in Adelaide bought the minerals. The Battery installation and house was placed in a caretaker’s
hands until it was sold to Harold Williams. Fazal’s health stabilised in Brisbane. He regularly attended the
Mount Gravatt mosque and had made arrangements at the local abattoir to kill his own meat. Quite often a member
of the family killed meat for export to Moslem countries overseas. A special certificate of slaughter accompanied
these exports. Fazal owned and managed a number of cafe businesses in the Brisbane area. He also hosted dinner
parties in his inimitable style and entertained many notable guests.
In 1948 Fazal and his youngest son Nasib (Tom) returned to India to celebrate Tom’s marriage. The Partition of
India and Pakistan took place and the Deen family were placed in immediate danger through being Moslems in a
Hindu village. The friendship of an Indian neighbour in their home village of Moga saved them from annihilation.
The Deen family hid in a cellar for 30 days until they were smuggled into a refugee camp. After a month’s
internment they arrived in Pakistan.
In March 1949 the Deen family immigrated to Australia, Fazal’s wife Burkitt Bebe accompanied him. The Deen
family lost their ancestral land and buildings after Partition, though some monetary compensation was offered ay
the Pakistan government. In later years Fazal’s business acumen extended to the Chelmsford Hotel in Southport
and a Holiday Inn on the Gold Coast.
Fazal’s interpretative skills were utilised by various government agencies for many years and he was held in
high regard and respect by the community as the unofficial representative for Pakistan.
Upon his retirement from business and the death of his wife, Fazal resided at the family home in Wynnum until
his death of a heart attack on 29 December 1963.
AANT, F156 Item 77; Crushing reports, Fazal Deen Battery 1935–36; Invoice from Fotth Deen and Sons General Store; Letter from L N Stutterd,
Warden, to Director of Mines, Darwin, 28 April 1939; NT Oral History Project, transcript of interview, Mrs Eunice Deen interviewed by Cedric
Patterson, 11 October 1984; Copy of Moslem prayers; Letters from Mrs Eunice Deen, Mount Gravatt, Qld.
JUDITH CHURCH, Vol 1.
DELISSA, BENJAMIN COHEN (1839–1898), policeman, journalist, businessman and farmer, was born in
London in 1839, the son of Solomon Aaron Delissa, an optician. After employment in London, he travelled
to Mauritius to learn about sugar and thence to Adelaide, South Australia, where he was a police trooper and
journalist.
Delissa became involved in a ‘sugar manufacturing patent’ and an Adelaide syndicate sent him to Brisbane,
Queensland, to exploit it. It was, however, a failure. He worked at Louis Hope’s sugar mill at Cleveland,
near Brisbane, between 1871 and 1874, gaining much useful experience. In 1875 he was in Mackay, Queensland,
as a correspondent for an Adelaide newspaper. He reported on the wreck of Gothenburg late that year off the coast
near Bowen. Over 100 people travelling from Darwin were lost.
In 1876 the South Australian government was prepared to give a bonus of 5 000 Pounds for the first 500 tons
of sugar grown and manufactured in the Northern Territory before 30 September 1879. The government, though,
was not contemplating establishing plantations and was merely offering a bonus to planters without providing any
capital.
Delissa became involved in a sugar company, the Pioneer Company, in 1881 when applications were called
for special surveys of Cox Peninsula. At this time he was in Palmerston and he erected a mill and engine at a