Coffs Harbour Enchante

Wow, really wish that I could visit this Gurudwara.

ANYONE travelling the Pacific Highway in northern NSW would be hard-pressed to miss two distinct landmarks — a glimmering white, domed temple in Woolgoolga and, about 20 km south in Coffs Harbour, the Big Banana. Surprisingly, these seemingly disparate attractions have a shared history.

This area has long been the mainstay of NSW's banana industry, of which the lion's share in Woolgoolga is owned and operated by Australians of Punjabi Sikh heritage. The town now lays claim to having the largest rural Sikh community in the country, and it's banana farming that's responsible for the Sikhs' firm establishment in the region.

"The Punjabi Sikhs who began moving here in the 1940s came from an agricultural heritage," says third-generation Sikh Australian Rashmere Bhatti (nee Arkan), who lives in Woolgoolga and manages the Woolgoolga Neighbourhood Centre. "Many of them were already in Australia, working in the sugarcane in northern NSW and in Queensland, and they came here because there was a shortage of labour on banana farms during World War II."

Hard-working and keen to succeed, the Sikh arrivals realised that banana-farming didn't require vast acreages or a huge financial outlay, and many were soon owner-operators. More moved to the area as the White Australia immigration policy was wound back.

Kashmir Gill came to Woolgoolga in 1970 as a 23-year-old and went straight to work in the banana groves. After two years he bought a 4 ha farm, and today he and his son have 12 ha of bananas. "It takes hard work, but if you are willing to do it you can make a good living," Kashmir says. The banana industry peaked between 1974 and 1988 and many Sikh families prospered. Extended families came out from India and the Woolgoolga community burgeoned, growing from around 40 families to more than 100 between 1970 and 1990.

The first Sikh temple, or gurdwara, in Australia was built on Hastings Street in 1968. It was an ordinary-looking building that blended into the rural landscape. Two years later, a new temple complete with traditional Indian domes and arches, the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, was built on River Street. By 1994 the expanding congregation outgrew the Guru Nanak gurdwara's original hall and the temple was renovated and extended. Rashmere says religion has always been a unifying force and even today the Sikh community always comes together at the temple.

Councillor Keith Rhoades, the mayor of Coffs Harbour City Council, which incorporates Woolgoolga, says the Sikh community has always been a positive influence on the region. "Agriculture maintains a key role in the economy of the area and the Sikh community has been instrumental in its growth and development," Keith says. "Coffs Harbour is rightly proud of the Sikh culture and the unique influence it has had on Woolgoolga and the wider area."

Australian Sikhs work with council at many levels, including a Multicultural Reference Group that aims to promote multiculturalism in the area. The annual Curryfest is put on by the Woolgoolga Chamber of Commerce.

The banana industry went into sharp decline in the 1990s but agriculture remains central to the region's Sikhs, many of whom now grow blueberries and other crops. "There are still dedicated banana growers who make a good living, but…blueberries are very lucrative and less hard work," says Rashmere, who has a small blueberry farm herself. "The Punjabi community is very successful in blueberries as they can utilise the whole family for labour — the men look after the spraying, pruning and netting while the women and older children pick and the kids often help out by packing."

This tradition of owning and operating agricultural businesses is vital to the Woolgoolga Sikh community. "Autonomy is in their blood," Rashmere says. "Because they're self-employed, people have time to spend on religious, cultural and family commitments. The work allows people to remain in Woolgoolga, and because they work for themselves they hold religious festivals on the exact date, rather than the nearest weekend day or public holiday. It's the agricultural way of life that keeps the culture strong."

"Autonomy is in their blood…it's the agricultural way of life that keeps the culture strong."

Further reading: A Punjabi Sikh Community in Australia: From Indian Sojourners to Australian Citizens, edited by Rashmere Bhatti and Verne A Dusenbery.

PHOTO (COLOR): The fruits of labour: Punjabi Sikhs (above right) first came to the Woolgoolga region during World War II and flourished on its fertile soil. Today, the Sikh community — the largest of its kind in Australia — gathers regularly at the Guru Nanak Sikh temple (below right) and at events such as the annual Curryfest (opposite). "It's a little piece of paradise," says third-generation Australian Sikh Rashmere Bhatti (left)