THE NAIRNS: PIONEERS OF DESERT TRANSPORT

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24914, 29 June 1946, Page 6

THE NAIRNS: PIONEERS OF DESERT TRANSPORT

DA jfASCUS-BA GHDAD

(Specially written for “The Press ”)

(By

WALTER BROOKES.]

The cabled announcement this week that the Nairn brothers’ aesert ous service between Damascus and BBgndad, is to close down, after 23 years of operation, comes as a surprise. When .Mr Gerald Nairn was visiting Christchurch about a year ago ne spoke of plans to improve the service and mentioned his brother’s forthcoming visit to the United States to see about the designing and construction of new buses which would reduce the time of the run. It may be said, however, that this Is not the first time the Nairns have made sudden cbjpges of plan, and not the first time teey have closed down, •because of unsettled conditions in the area where they work. In fact, the story of the two New Zealanders’ enterprise is one of continuous struggle against ’the unexpected. Whether or not they now intend to retire we can only conjecture. Mr Gerald Nairn told the writer of this article that he and his brother Norman intended to write a book about their career. They may now mean to devote themselves to this task, but a glance at their past sjory suggests that it is equally likely that they may think of embarking on sonie new venture in transport or other similar occupation. Seeking Their Fortune Gerald and Norman Nairn were born in Blenheim, where they were running a small motor-cycle business at the outbreak of the 1914-1918 war. They both joined up, Gerald in New Zealand and Norman in England, where he was buying equipment. They met in Palestine, and aftefc the war decided to stay in the Middle East and try their fortune. They had no capital, but, financed by a Syrian, they started in business buying up cars from army disposal and selling them in Beirut. This proved successful, and a year later they went ahead with a scheme of importing cars for Egypt. Unfortunately, just as the cars were shipped, the price of cotton dropped, and it was impossible to sell them *in Cairo or Alexandria. The Beirut market was tried, but the closed cars, suitable for Egyptian conditions, were not wanted there and had to be of by lottery and auction, so that the brothers lost all the money they made in the first year. However, they kept a couple of cars out of the consignment, ana in 1920-21 started a service between Beirut and Haifa. There were no roads except between Beirut: and Tyre, and from Tyre to Akka they travelled over ploughed fieldj. In winter they had to get the assistance of draught horses for two days of the run. Between Akka and Haifa the route was along the beach,, and the timetable was governed by the i tide. The service was abandoned after a year, when the Nairns met with icompetitiun which they could not face-with their limited equipment and resources. Trial Wondering whether they should pack up and go home or stay and try something else, they had two cdfs as their stock-in-trade when they were approached by the British’ liaison officer and the British consul at Damascus. who proposed a trip to Baghdad and offered guides and otherthelp. The journey, made in April,-1923, took two and a half days, and persuaded the Nairns that Iraq and England could be linked by a journey of 10 days. Large numbers of people wished to go home, and travellers and mails had to go from Baghdad to Basra, from Basra to Bombay-, then to Suez, and through the canal to England, a trip of five to six weeks. The Nairns approached the High Commissioner in Iraq, now a British mandate, and asked for assistance in opening up the route. They were told that others had thought of doing the same thing, but that the climate was too hot in summer for regular service. Returning to Damascus, they made the trip in July, the hottest month of the year, and, now convinced that a regular service was possible, went to the Tost and Telegraph Director with a request for a contract to carry the mails. The director was interested but, stressing the predatory habits of the desert tribes, said that he would require a guarantee of security before a contract could be signed. The High Conttnis-

sioner was informed of the position and again asked for assistance, which was again refused. Hazards of the ftoad Help, however, came from an un* expected quarter. A sheik, who had been running a camel convoy between Damascus and Baghdad, was attracted by the project and agreed to give them security for 2000 gold pounds a year. He provided some of his old camel drivers as guides and interpreters. but, as it happened, they did not prove of very great value. They knew the desert well when travelling across it with their camels, but their knowledge was of little service to them in cars travelling at speeds up to 50 miles an hour. They did not stay lone; it was found more practical to fit the cars with compasses and leave the drivers to make their course themselves. The trips were adventurous. Raiding parties frequently attacked, left the drivers and mail on the desert, and drove the cars away. Returning, they would make further raids with the stolen cars. Such incidents, however, were not* considered very serious, except during the Druse rebellion in 1925. when a British driver was shot and died later in Damascus. At this time the raiders would strip the transports of everything, even the clothing of the drivers; their depredations forced the French authorities to close the route for a time. The French, however, were very helpful. The company was allowed to import equipment from America free of duty, and was even granted a small subsidy. It was recognised that the transport service would bring passengers and goods to the Syrian ports and open up Lebanon as a health resort. From Cars to Buses The Drpse rebellion led to the operation of a new route through Palestine. This journey was long and difficult, and the lava beds that had to be crossed were extremely hard on tyres. After six or eight months a change was made to a run beginning at Beirut and passing through Homs and Palmyra, with a rest house at 'Rukvah, half way across the desert Because of these changes it Was for a time impossible to Replace the service cars with buses as had been intended; but eventually, when the direct Da-mascus-Baghdad run was established* the buses were introduced, and since then the Nairns have been developing buses suitable for desert transport. This, as Mr Gerald Nairn stated, means contending with dust in the summer and mud in the winter. Passenger traffic was developed steadily, and in 1037 blue-prints were taken to America for two stainless-steel, fully air-con-ditioned buses, the first of their kind m the world, at a cost of £12,000 each. Still in operation last year, after having travelled 750,000 miles, they were fitted with wash-basins and facilities for serving meals and drinks on board. They reduced the time of the run from 24 to 18 hours. War-time Vicissitudes More recent troubles in the Middle East presented further difficulties for the company, and during the rebellion in Iraq and Syria in 1942 it was forced to close down for a time. The Nairns took refuge in the British Embassy. Their garage, which was next to the airport, was bombed, and the rest house at Rukvah was looted. When they were/ released they spent two weeks scouring the countryside for equipment, most of which they found left by. the roadside in very bad condition. Informed that they would have to leave Syria or be interned, they paid off the whole staff in Damascus, where they left their equipment Undaunted again, they began a service in Palestine with the two buses which the French had aHowed them to retain, running from Haifa to Baghdad When the British “and French authorities in Syria reached an agreement they returned to Damascus, where they found everything as they had left it The French had borrowed one small car. which they returned. From then on the company took up the task of transporting army personnel, which during the rest of the war comprised about 90 per cent, of its passengers.