Hadji Mullah Merban, retiring to Adelaide after leading camel teams on the Australian Overland Telegraph Line and subsequently becoming a respected spiritual leader,[1] led the moves to have a mosque built. Abdul Wade (also known as Wadi, Wabed, Wahid), originally from the Quetta district (now Pakistan) and then merchant and cameleer in the area of Bourke, New South Wales, became the trustee and builder of the mosque. Funding was raised through donations from the small Muslim community in Adelaide[2] and also from Melbourne.[3]