Canberra: In Dongara, some 351 km northwest of Perth, more than a century-old leather-bound book containing entries written in Gurmukhi - the official script of the Punjabi language - has been found.

The discovery was confirmed by Tarun Preet Singh of the Sikh Association of Western Australia (SAWA), who went to Dongara in person to see the newly-discovered treasure, which offers rare insight into the largely forgotten Sikh community of Dongara, the SBS Punjabi reported.

Sikhs are known to have arrived in Australia in the mid-nineteenth century and found work as hawkers, cane cutters, and camel drivers. In the early part of the 20th century, they became active with the wrestling circuit all over Australia.

“The gurdwara in Canning Vale got an email that some old leather ledger with transactions written in Punjabi script had been found and that the Western Australia Museum wanted help with the translations,” Singh told SBS Punjabi.

Singh, who is actively engaged in uncovering Sikh history in Australia, said that the ledger shows that even 100 years ago, Sikh settlers were established businessmen in Australia and carried out their day-to-day transactions in their own language.