Sikhs have been part of Australia's rich multicultural history for almost 200 years but their stories have been seldom shared or celebrated.

While many monuments honour colonial pioneers, there's little to recognise that Sikhs, originally from the Punjab in northern India, have been living, working and fighting for their country since the 1800s.

Now, for the first time, their contributions have been recorded in a monument that tells their history.

The Australian Sikh Heritage Trail is a network of winding pathways and storyboards by Perth's Canning River.

The trail winds its way through Adenia Park by the Canning River. ( ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne )

It points to their work as cameleers, hawkers, shopkeepers and professional wrestlers in the early days of colonial Australia.

Later, Sikhs served in Australia's armed forces in both world wars; records even show a number of Sikh soldiers were among the Anzacs at Gallipoli.

Teenagers Taje and Nikki Singh were born and raised in Perth.

This is the first time they have seen their ancestors acknowledged publicly.

"I grew up in Riverton, I went to school here, I made all my memories here, and it's really nice to see that my ancestors are being recognised in the place where we grew up," Taje said.

"I'm really proud."

Sikhs were among the Australian soldiers at Gallipoli in 1915. ( Supplied: Australian Sikh Heritage )

For Nikki, one of her favourite sections of the trail is the map of the Punjab region carved into the concrete pathway.

This area of northern India and Pakistan is where the Sikh religion formed 500 years ago.

"It's a physical representation of how our culture is really embedded within Australian history and it reveals how Australia is so multicultural and diverse," she said.

"We grew up here so we are familiar with these places and it's really nice to see how our own ancestors have been here [too].

"It's really touching."

Harjit Singh, one of the founders of Australian Sikh Heritage, speaks at the opening of the trail. ( ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne )

An early act of inclusion

The location of the trail, in parkland by the Canning River in Riverton, is of special significance as it was an early, unofficial cremation site for Sikhs in Perth.

The faith dictates that when adherents die they should be cremated and their ashes put into flowing water.

But when Sikhs began arriving in Australia the 1800s, burial was the norm and cremation was even unlawful in some parts.

A 1934 newspaper report about a Sikh cremation by the Canning River. ( Supplied: Australian Sikh Heritage )

"Cremations were happening on the quiet, on a farm, by a river somewhere," explained Kuljit Kaur Jassal, the first Sikh woman to join the RAAF.

"It was not lawful, but in 1932 two men, Bulla Singh and Massa Singh, petitioned the government to give us a place to cremate our people, so the government gave this area as a cremation site."

It was an early act of inclusion that Australian Sikh Heritage organiser Harjit Singh said was extraordinary at the time.

"The West Australian government acknowledged the religious needs of a minority and changed the law to make cremations legal when there was no reason to really do so," Mr Singh said.

Uncovering a lost Sikh history

The trail has been a labour of love for the Australian Sikh Heritage Association, which formed in 2012 to research, uncover and share the stories of the community.

Searching libraries, state records and tracking down information in private collections, the association has amassed collections of stories and photographs that show just how much Sikhs have contributed to Australian life.

Kuljit Kaur Jassal and Kuldeep Singh are passionate about preserving Sikh history. ( ABC Radio Perth: Emma Wynne )

"Some of us wanted to preserve the history and heritage," Ms Jassal said.

"If we don't share the story it gets lost."

For the younger generation, the trail is also an opportunity for them to learn more about past generations.

For Ms Jassal, after three years' work for the group to have the trail realised is an affecting moment.

"This whole trail, as you walk down, it's Sikh Aussies — the hawkers, the pedlars, the shopkeepers, the wrestlers, they are all Australian-based," she said.

"It's amazing, it's very emotional and it's very special."