BEDOUIN CAR BANDITS

Evening Star, Issue 21055, 18 March 1932, Page 1

BEDOUIN CAR BANDITS

How, with the pointing'finger of a Bedouin as his only guide, one of New Zealand’s sons, Air Norman Naira, was instrumental in organising the first regular mail service over 500 miles of trackless desert in tho face of hostile tribesmen, is one of the romances of tho postal world, writes George Cuddon, in ‘ Ideas.’

Demobilised at Beirut after serving in tho Palestine campaign, Mr Naira went into the motor car business in that city, and in 1922 was requested by the authorities to convey a political mission across the desert to Bagdad. This he did, with his brother Gerald acting as chauffeur.

,The Nairas then realised the possibilities of a regular service. This was commenced the following year, when a request was made to Mr Nairn by the British Postmaster-General to start a mail service across the desert to reduce the period by twenty-four hours that it took to convey mails from London to Bagdad via the Suez Canal and Bombay. There w r ere 530 miles of trackless desert to be crossed, and attacks by wandering tribes of Bedouins—notorious plunderers of caravans and travellers—to he faced, and to placate these brigands tho Naira brothers arranged for a subsidy of not less than £2,000 to he paid to certain of the tribes. Yet, despite this heavy bribe, cars were still subject to the stray attacks of isolated prowlers of the desert, who frequently took the form of well-equipped raiding parties in high-powered cars.

It was thus necessary to protect the mails from such prowlers, and for the first few journeys machine-guns with steel shields were fixed to tho rear seats of the cars. Even so, it was always an exciting adventure. “ A\ 7 e had to be at the wheel day and night, and maintain a sharp look-out,” wrote Air Norman Nairn to a friend in New Zealand. “ Compasses were not of much use, although wo carried them. AVhat mattered most was our Bedouin guide. He sat in front with the driver, and using his hand as an indicator, pointed the way over the dreary miles, never making a mistake. These Arabs have a bump of locality that is amazing. We started the service without a tradk, but it was not Jong before our cars, going over the same ground so often, made a well-defined road that could he followed easily.”

At first tho journey occupied nine days, as against eleven taken by a fast camel caravan, but with the use of modern six-wheeled tractor cars, it is now accomplished in a little over thirty hours.

Some three years ago the British and French Governments combined to patrol the route, and so now the 15,000 passengers who accompany the mails yearly are transported in absolute security. Afotor cars, however, arc not the last word in transport. A flying service is projected over the route, which will cut tho journey down to five hours.