History on display: Salvaging the city’s oldest fire engines

K-P Directorate of Archaeology and Museums to start work on restoration of old fire brigade building.

PESHAWAR:

When the British left the subcontinent, they left bits and pieces of their heritage behind. In Peshawar, they also left two fire engines manufactured by Merryweather and Sons of London.

These engines, one from 1918 and the other from 1921, are now on display at an event arranged by the provincial tourism corporation, in collaboration with the Frontier Heritage Trust (FHT) and Sarhad Conservation Council (SCC) in Gor Gathri. This was organised on Thursday as a part of the centenary celebrations of the historic, but dilapidated, fire brigade building built in 1912.

The fire engines, one from 1918 and the other from 1921, are now on display at an event arranged by the provincial tourism corporation, in collaboration with the Frontier Heritage Trust and Sarhad Conservation Council in Gor Gathri. PHOTOS: HALIMA MANSOOR/EXPRESS

The engines brought in by the British government for the fire brigade building had been gathering dust for decades till the SCC, with help from Maureen Lines, a social worker better known as Bibi Dow, took an interest in their restoration.

The SCC and FHT, then, began a campaign in 2008, when the authorities were willing to give the engines up as junk.

The restoration work of the engines was completed at a cost of Rs25 million; provided by the provincial government. The responsibility of breathing new life into these remnants of history was placed on the shoulders of the president of the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan, Mohsin Ikram, and another expert in the field, Romano Karim from Karachi. Ikram is also the man behind the restoration of Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s car, now displayed at the Quaid-e-Azam Museum in Karachi.



“The engines were little more than junk when we found them,” said General Secretary SCC Adil Zareef. “We are thankful to the FHT, who took special interest in giving us back this piece of our history.”

Zareef spoke of Gor Gathri, where excavation work had produced artefacts from thousands of years ago, which have proven Peshawar to be one of the oldest living cities in South and Central Asia. He lamented that it was not only Gor Gathri and the fire brigade building that was in tatters, but all other historic sites in the province. He stressed that action needed to be taken on an emergency basis to restore and preserve them for our coming generations. As an example, Zareef talked about the Muhafiz Khana set up by the British government; carrying documents traced back to the Durrani Empire. “The government was going to demolish it, until a stay order was issued by the Peshawar High Court,” he added.



“This is our identity,” said K-P Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah Khan, speaking at the event. “The only nations honoured in the world are the ones who have preserved their culture and heritage.”

Apart from the two fire engines, fireproof gear of the time, including shoes, helmets, water tanks and bells preserved at the museum in Gor Gathri, were also put on display.

As part of the centenary celebrations, the K-P Directorate of Archaeology and Museums has started work on the reconstruction of the building, which is in a state of complete decay. A glass case is to be made for the two engines at Gor Gathri, where they will be on permanent display to the public. For now, they are open for a viewing at the event for the next four days.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2014.