Sadadeen

About Sadadeen

Sadadeen is a suburb of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, on the traditional Country of the Arrernte people. Named after Afghan cameleer Charlie Sadadeen, born Saleh Sadadene around 1870 in Baloochistan, who came to Australia around 1890 and worked as a cameleer in Central Australia. By 1914 he managed 120 to 130 camels and in 1921 he established a market garden and date palms on Todd Street, becoming the first Afghan cameleer to build a mosque in Alice Springs. He was a devout Muslim and leader of the Afghan community until his death in 1933, buried facing Mecca. The Nishan-e-Afghan Park and Afghan Cameleers Monument were dedicated in 2000 on his original land. Two date palms he planted still stand at the site of his market garden, now the Alice Springs Town Council offices. The suburb is home to Sadadeen Primary School. The suburb had a population of 2,123 at the 2016 census.