DESERT TRANSPORT

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 134, 3 December 1929, Page 16

DESERT TRANSPORT

NEW ZEALANDERS' PART

MOTOR REPLACES CAMEL (By Telegraph.) (Special to "The Evening Post.") AUCKLAND, This Day. A New Zealander, who took modern motor transport to the desert of Syria and Irak, arrived at Auckland by the Niagara to-day. He is Mr. Norman D. Nairn, formerly of Blenheim, who is revisiting his native land for the first time since he left early in 1916 to join the Flying Corps. He was met by his mother, whose home is now in Wellington. With his brother Gerald, Mr. Nairn conquered the desert by motor. Now he has just come from a business visit to the United States, as a result of which he expects that the Nairn Eastern Transport Co., Ltd., will soon be running an air service between Damascus and Bagdad, using three-engined 12-passenger aeroplanes, ■which -will fly' over 530 miles of desert in 4% hours. Before the motor service from Beirut to Damascus and Bagdad, a total distance of 612 miles, was begun by the Nairus in 1923, a fast camel caravan carried mails across the desert in 11 days, The motors now do the trip in less than 30 hours. This conquering or transport difficulties in the desert appeals to the sense of romance in several ways. Not only had serious obstacles interposed by Nature to be overcome, but roving warlike Arab tribes were a source of frequent menace. During the Druse rebellion in 1925 the transport service was given a particularly lively time. Cars were "shot up" on several occasions, and one which Mr. Nairn was driving was pierced by 22 bullets.

DANGEROUS SITUATION. The sevious clash between Arabs and Jews in Palestine a few mouths ugo caused a dangerous situation for a short time, but the motor route was to the north of the principal disturbed area. The safety of those who use the service is now assured by a patrol of the route by fast armoured cars, which is provided by the French and British Governments, the former being responsible for the part which lies through Syria and the latter for the greater length which is within the territory of Irak. War service with General Allenby's army first took Mr. Nairn to Palestine and Syria. He saw an apparent opening for enterprise,' obtained his discharge at the close of hostilities, and made the most of, that opening. After serving for 18 months with the Flying Corps at Salonika he had been sent to England and transferred as a technical officer to the mechanical transport branch, afterwards proceeding to Palestine as a transport officer. After the war he engaged in motor trading at Beirut until 1922, when the scheme for desert transport service was set on foot.

THE FIRST TRIP. The first trip across the desert to Bagdad was made at the request of a political officer to convey a political mission. Mr. Gerald Nairn was the driver on that occasion. The British Postmaster-Genemi then wrote asking Mr. Nairn if he would start a mail service to reduce the time (24 days) taken for mails to travel from London to Bagdad. The Nairn brothers agreed and they reduced the time to nine days. Bedouin guides showed the way to cars across the 530 miles of trackless desert for the first six months; now years of traffic have worn the equivalent of a road. In those early days an Arab sheik, Mohammed Ibn Bassam, was paid £2000 to guarantee non-interference with the cars. The natural difficulties in summer are dust and heat, the temperature sometimes going as high as 125 degrees in the shade, coupled with rough surfaces, which impose great stresses on the vehicles. In winter there is mud often 18 inches deep, and every two years a tremendous flooding by the Euphrates is expected, which may necessitate a detour of as much as 100 miles. At the Bagdad end of the route last May the worst flood on record occurred, and, Raniadi, on the Euphrates, 80 nules.frdm Bagdad, was an island for two months. The cars then had to run an extra.'loo miles, going south from Bagdad and crossing the Euphrates at Hymdeh barrage instead of at Felluja, which is 40 nules^ below Ramadi. A camp had to be established to take the place of the depot at Ramadi,. which is the first point of civilisation after the crossing of 470 mil^s of-pure desert from Damascus. Beirut is the actual Mediterranean terminus of the service, but motors are run down the coast to Haifa, linking with tne railway from Port Said.

SIX-WHEELED MOTORS. Luxurious six-wheeled motors run between Beirut and Bagdad. Apart from stops, for meals, they travel continuously in order to take advantage of the night coolness on the desert section as far as possible. coPicn Ure6li uei scenery is passed through on bennies of the route between Beirut and Damascus There a modern asphalt road traverses the Lebanon Mountains, rising them the Antilebanou range, where the £000 feet" agai "' l° " ilt>igllt o£ abt)llt The view inland from the top oC the Lebanon? is one of the finest in the world Mr. Nairn thinks. The atmosphere is very C l eal . and there is beautifu ', eo]our m<? m the landscape. l»L he rV S "^ ndy; Uis a waterless "n I % ha*d" bakcfl s»rface in summer -Uie trafhc has developed until 15,000 passengers are being carried in a year. In 1926 the Nairn brothers sold the service an interest, and Mr. Norman Nairn is managing director. '