How a 100-year-old Muslim community helped shape this rural Australian town

For decades, tobacco cultivation attracted waves of migrants to northern Queensland. Today the town of Mareeba is home to a thriving multicultural community.

Mareeba, a regional town in North Queensland.

Benyamin Murat (inset) and his family call the North Queensland town of Mareeba home. Credit: SBS

Key Points

Mareeba, a town west of Cairns in northern Queensland, is home to a tight-knit Muslim community.
The area was once a hub for tobacco farming, leading many migrants to call it home.
Today, locals say shared values and mutual respect are key to Mareeba’s multicultural harmony.

The Murat family's time in Mareeba can be traced back to 1929 when Jack Murat, an Albanian migrant, arrived to work on a local tobacco farm.

Mareeba, a small regional town in northern Queensland about 1,483km from Brisbane and an hour’s drive from Cairns, today boasts a population of around 23,000 according to the 2021 Census.

In 1929, 16-year-old Jack Murat arrived in Mareeba to work on a tobacco farm. Credit: SBS Urdu

Benyamin Murat, the youngest son of Jack and a casual imam at Mareeba Mosque, estimates that about 300 Muslims live there now.

"When my father settled and married here, the town was much smaller and primarily known for tobacco farming," he told SBS Urdu.

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An exhibit at Mareeba Heritage Museum highlights the hard work required for tobacco cultivation, from planting to harvesting. Credit: SBS Urdu

Valuable contribution of migrants

Sandrine Gloton, 84, the founder and manager of the Mareeba Heritage Museum, reflected on the town's once-booming tobacco industry, which shut down in the mid-2000s.

"Australia’s tobacco industry was the most subsidised agricultural sector, but deregulation in the 1990s led to its collapse," she said.

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Sandrine Gloton, the founder and manager of the Mareeba Heritage Museum. Credit: SBS Urdu

The museum claims to be home to Australia's largest tobacco industry exhibit, which highlights the long, labour-intensive work hours required of tobacco cultivation.

The industry was driven by waves of migrants, whose impacts are still felt in the town today, Gloton added.

Many young migrant workers, like Jack, contributed significantly to Mareeba’s growth.
Sandrine Gloton

Around 20 years ago, the Murat family transitioned to sugarcane farming.

Today, multiple generations of the family continue to live in Mareeba, branching out into different fields.

But making a home in regional Australia has not been without its challenges, as Skender Murat, Benyamin's elder brother, recalled.

Skender Murat says his farming profession aligns with his faith. Credit: SBS Urdu

Skender said his twin Peter's conversion to Christianity in the 1980s marked a "painful" period for some in the family.

Despite any initial differences, Peter continues to work on the family’s sugarcane farm to this day.

Even though my twin brother became a Christian, we continue to work together with respect.
Skender Murat

Plum Murat, another of the Murat brothers who now runs a coffee farm named after their father, shared similar sentiments.

"Despite challenges, our family remains united," he said.

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Plum Murat at his coffee farm in Mareeba. Credit: SBS Urdu

Keeping the culture alive

Benyamin said that, like many migrant families, the Murats faced a big challenge regarding how to preserve their culture, religion and values, compounded by their relative isolation.

Benyamin Murat, a casual imam of Mareeba Mosque. Credit: SBS Urdu

He said the opening of the Mareeba Mosque in 1970 was a major milestone for his community.

However, it wasn't until the 1980s that regular prayers began.

"The mosque became a central hub for the Muslim community and marked a key moment for the Murat family to stay connected with their values and faith," he said.

Mareeba Mosque was built in 1970, and regular prayers began in the 1980s. Credit: SBS Urdu

He said the mosque was built through contributions from non-Muslim communities, including the Italian and Greek communities.

Mareeba’s Mayor, Angela Toppin, said the town had benefited from strong bonds across different cultures and faiths, recalling that her Italian-speaking mother was friends with the Murat brothers’ Albanian mother.

Mareeba Mayor Angela Toppin commended the town’s harmony. Credit: SBS Urdu

"Even our parents, Italian and Albanian mothers, formed lasting friendships, fostering community support despite differing faiths," she said.

Twin brothers Skender and Peter Murat with their late sister, Mary Galina. Credit: SBS Urdu

Locals agree that mutual respect is essential in maintaining harmony in Mareeba.

Ross Cardillo, a councillor for Mareeba Shire Council, highlighted the presence of several Muslim communities, including Albanian, Burmese, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Turkish communities.

"These communities coexist with respect and share multicultural values, which are the foundation of Mareeba's harmony," he said.

Warm welcome

In recent years, Dr Fawad Ali and Asjad Ali, both Muslims of Pakistani origin, have also made Mareeba their home.

Fawad is an agricultural scientist and researcher at Griffith University, while Asjad works in a local business.

"I moved to Mareeba five years ago. I feel the regional nature of Mareeba is far better suited for maintaining our culture, religion and values compared to larger cities," Asjad Ali said.

Fawad Ali shared a similar outlook.

Contrary to misconceptions about regional Australia, I feel Mareeba warmly welcomes immigrants of all religions and cultures.
Dr Fawad Ali

The future of the community

Skender’s daughter, Sherry Murat, is eyeing off another community milestone.

Together with her husband, Semir Elmazi, she's working to establish an Islamic school in Mareeba.

The school, expected to be completed in 2026, aims to provide faith-based education while fostering community and preserving cultural values, she said.

"We need an Islamic school, similar to Catholic and other faith-based schools, to nurture values and provide faith-centred education," she said.

During a visit to the newly acquired land, about 20 minutes from Mareeba's centre, Sherry noted that the local community had been highly cooperative.

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Sherry Murat has secured land for an Islamic school in Mareeba. Credit: SBS Urdu

"Most of the community participates in multifaith activities, such as a multifaith iftar," she said, speaking of an event where the mosque hall is opened to all for an evening meal during the fasting month of Ramadan.