CAMELS & DONKEYS

Hokitika Guardian, 6 June 1930, Page 7

CAMELS & DONKEYS

OIL SHIPS OF AUSTRALIAN

DESERT

SYDNEY, May 39,

Long strings of camels and donkey teams are familiar sights in Central Australia, and in many cases are the only links between the small desert communities and civilisation. They now, however, are principally used to carry oil and fuel for aeroplanes and motor-cars and were it not for their reliability in the transpirt of petroleum product in these regions, many of the trips by aviators and overlanders would be impossible.

Before an aviator or motorist can penetrate far over the desert stretches into the outback parts of Australia he must first make sure that supplies of motor spirit and oil for his engine are available at regular intervals along the route. He therefore has to make arrangements for dumps of oil and fuel at places where he can conveniently pick them up. The vehicles by which the oil, .spirit, and other necessaries are conveyed over country too rugged for other transpirt are these camel or donkey teams. The wooden cases in which the motor spirit is conveyed are in keen demand among people in the interior where timber is scarce. It is a common .sight to see tables, beds, and other furniture made out. of cases bearing the imprint of a brand of motor spirit, and in several remote settlements all the houses have been built from the “empties.”