DESERT MOTOR SERVICE

Greymouth Evening Star, 3 December 1929, Page 2

DESERT MOTOR SERVICE

NEW ZEALANDERS’ ENTERPRISE. (Special to “Star.”) AUCKLAND, December 3. The New Zealander who introduced modern motor transport to the desert of Syria and Irak arrived in Auckland by the Niagara yesterday. He is Mr Norman D. Nairn, formerly of Blenheim, who is re-visiting his native land for the first time since he left early in 1916 to join the Flying Corps. He was met, yesterday by his mother, whose home is now in Wellington. With his brother Gerald, 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 Company, Ltd., will soon be running a service between Damascus and Baghdad, using three engined 12-passenger planes, which will fly over 530 miles of desert in four and a-half. hours. Before the motor service from Beirut to Damascus and Baghdad-, a’ total distance of 612 miles, was begun by the Nairns in 1923, a fast camel caravan carried the mail across the desert in 11 days.. The- motors now do the trip in less than 30 hours. Nairn once made a particularly fast run of hours.