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NORTH-S 0TH ROAD.
WAR-TIME TRIUMPH.
Spanning a Continent
(By a War Correspoadent of "The
West Australian.")
One of the most dramatic stories
in Australia today is being written
on the all-weather road that runs
through the centre of the Northern
Territory from Alice Springs. The
road was opened in September, 1940.
Today it carries the largest single
transport organisation in the world.
Week after week there is an un
ending cavalcade of hundreds of
huge Army trucks rumbling north
ward with enormous quantities of
equipment, material and food for
northern battle stations.
Quantities carried and distances
travelled are so vast that it is diffi
cult to bring them into perspective,
and even after travelling over the
road watching line after line of con
voy trucks roll northward it, seems
almost incredible that such an or
ganisation could have been built in
less than 2 years. Army convoys
today are covering double the milage
of all the oil companies in Austra
ia in peacetime. Total milage for
º leading oil company was 9,000,000
a year. The conveys on the north
south road now do 3.000,000 a month.
Total milage from September, 1940,
to May, 1942, was 15,500,000.
Very soon the road will be com
pleted, an amazing highway passing
through some of the most remarkable
country in Australia, and linking the
northern defence areas with the
south.
.In the early days of Japanese
attacks on Australia it was a dis
quieting thought that the only land
link with supply and reinforcement
bases was a vulnerable railroad
which might be put out of action
for a time with one bomb. The new
road removes that fear, for even the
heaviest bombing could not put the
road out of action for long. The new
portion of the road is an extremely
valuable addition to lines of com
munication with northern battle sta
tions. After the war its value as a
tourist attraction will be enormous.
The miles of roadway have stood
up remarkably well to constant wear
of heavy Army traffic, and, although
corrugated in places, the road is
being regraded and will eventually
be covered with bitumen. Some strips
have already been bituminised.
Initial cost of the road was £484,000,
and large sums are being spent on
constant maintenance.
From the earliest days there was
no romance in the history of the
road. The road was built in the re
cord time of 87 days. Twelve hours
after the Army unit in charge of
the convoys arrived in Alice Springs
the first convoy set out. By the end
of the first month of operation the
trucks had covered 261,000 miles at
a cost of 6.77d a ton-mile.
Huge Milages.
Early in 1941 there was a decline
in distances covered, but in March,
1941, when there was a speeding-up
of defence work, totals began to
reach new heights. In November,
1941, the convoys travelled 595,000
miles at a cost of 4.98d a ton-mile.
December's total was 921,000. and in
January, 1942, the million mark was
passed. In March, the milage was
nearing 2,000,000. In June the total
milage was nearing 3,000,000, and
costs had been reduced- to 3.32d a
ton-mile. Costs are lower than for
normal civilian operation, and,
although wages and cost of vehicles
and supplies are, of course, lower
'for the Army, depreciation is higher
because of climatic conditions. Petrol
consumption for each vehicle shows
a good average.
The brigadier In charge, former
transport manager for a leading oil
company, who was responsible for
development of the organisation, and
has watched it grow from the day
the first convoy left Alice Springs,
is justifiably proud of the work his
men are doing. They live a hard
life, spending a great deal of their
time on the road, sleeping in the
trucks, eating at staging camps, and
enjoying few of the amenities of
more settled Jobs.
?e drivers are excellent," the
Brigadier. said. "They are doing a
marvellous job, pull well together,
and give practically no trouble. It
has been a long, uphill grind for the
last 2 years. In the early days there
were no workshops and few tools.
In those days we were short of men
to operate trucks, and I have often
seen men come off the trucks after
fishing a long trip, go an picket
uty that night, and leave with an
other convoy next morning. We
sometimes called for volunteer driv
era, and often men who had just
Ifinished a trip would offer to take
Strucks out again early next day.
There was never a convoy held up
through shortage of drivers."
Today there is not the same short
age of trucks or personnel, staging
camps along the road have better
equipped workshops, and there have
been improvements in every direc
tion. The men however still have
an arduous job. They carry on in
all weathem--Intense heat of sumu
mer, torrential rains, and the bitter
cold of winter nights. The drivers
attend to all loading and unloading.
and when they return from a trip
I pend the following day servicing
their trucks. The next day they
-train in the morning, and, although
:they have the afternoon off, are not
all3owed out of camp, for the town
Is out of bounds, and there are few
other places to go. The following
day they begin loading their trucks
again, and early next morning they
are beginning another 600-mile trip.
Considering the lack of entertain
ment and barrenness of their liies.
the convoy drivers are remarkably
content. They have, of course, many
minor grievances; but the only
-major grievance they seem to have
is lack of leave in their home State.
Leave ProbMem Overcame.
It is a big problem, bound up
largely with transport difliculties, as
it is not practicable to send large
numbers of troops on trains that are
badly needed to carry supplies. Army
authorities are trying to overcome
the dificulty, and a plan for grant
ing leave to soldiers who have
served 12 months or more is in ope
ration. First groups of convoy driv
ers are now on leave.
Splendid work in maintaining
vehicles and providing meals for
convoy personnel is being done at
the staging camps which have been
established. They are almost self
contained, carrying large stocks of
rations to cater for any number of
troops, and able to deal with prac
tically any mechanical defect that
occurs to trucks. Each camp has a
workshop and handles up to 200
trucks a week, doing a surprisingly
wide range of repairs.
At one staging camp. set aiid
hundreds of miles of a lonely wilder
ness. 'a small community has been
developed that is almost indepen
dent of the outside world. Water is
obtained from a bore sunk origin
allyto waterstock. There is a field
bakery producing excellent bread
and supplying 2 other staging camps.
The feature of the camp however is
the garden. In a dry, dusty plain
t small plot of ground has been
fenced off, and. with water from
showers, a flourishing vegetable gar
den has sprung up. Tomatoes, tur
nips, cucumbers, melons, and beans
are growing at an amazing speed.
znd so successful has been the ex
periment that it is now planned to
open 3 acres of garden The soil.
rich red loam, has been ploughed,
and 6 gardeners from another army
farm are soon to begin growing
vegetables. It is also planned to
keep pigs and fowrs at all staging
camps.
Every day some improvement in
arganisation and equipment is made.
and the efficiency of the present
system is indicativ- of the months
of backbreaking labour that went
into the making of the road and
establishment of the convoys.
The road has been of incredible
value in strengthening Australia's
defences. After the war it will be
of untold value to the Northern
Territory.
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