About Siva Singh:

Siva Singh arrived in Australia in approximately 1896, and worked as a hawker in Benalla and the surrounding regions from 1898. He established himself as part of the local community—widely recognised for his distinctive pink turban—and owned a 320 acre farm by 1915.

Siva took on the duties of a Granthi or custodian of the Sikh scriptures in Benalla and surrounding regions, however was challenged in performing religious ceremonies due to the lack of a Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (Sikh scriptures) anywhere in Australia. A Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji was sent from India to Benalla, and following its arrival, on 16 December 1920, an Akhand Path, or continuous reading, was performed for Hernam Singh on Siva Singh’s farm. Attended by approximately 30 Sikhs, the ceremony was photographed by William John Howship, and is the first known Akhand Path that included the Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in Australia.

Siva Singh is also remembered for his personal fight against the White Australia policy, which had seen him struck off the electoral roll despite having voted in three previous elections. While his court case was initially thrown out, and Siva ordered to pay the legal costs, he regained the right to vote in 1925 after a decade-long legal battle.

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