Fazal Deen

Fazal Deen (19 June 1898 – 29 December 1963) was a hawker, battery-operator and entrepreneur.

Early life and education
Fazal Deen was born to Foth Deen and Umre Bibi in 1898 at Mehron, near Moga, in the Punjab, India. He was studied at Mathra Das College, Moga.

Life
Fazal left his family in 1922 and moved with his father to Blackall, Queensland, where he and him father began selling drapery and hosiery, luxury goods, candy and jewelry out of a Bedford truck with shelves on either side. Fazal brought Indian gems and peddled them to miners in the area. He moved north to Tennant Creek in 1933, where he opened a general store and gave credit to prospective goldminers. The following year, he built a battery on a property south of Mount Samuel, near the Stuart Highway, to process gold ore. Originally a two-stampper, it was expanded to four-stampper with a crusher, and in 1935-36 the plant was able to produce 1890 oz. of gold (54 kg) worth £13,375. Deen hired apprentices to work on the battery, but many were discouraged because he paid part of their wages in merchandise from his store.

He leased rights to a government bore nearby and charged passing drovers for water he pumped into drinking troughs. He also ran goats, cattle, and horses.

Personal life
At the age of 16, Fazal married Burkit Bibi. They were to have six children.