UAE | Society
An engineer's flashback
When David F. Spearing first arrived in Dubai on July 10, 1968, it was a "chaotic experience"
- By Sharmila Dhal, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:00 December 1, 2011
- Image Credit: Abdel-Krim Kallouche/XPRESS
- David Spearing was involved in the construction of some of the earliest buildings in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.
Abu Dhabi: When David F. Spearing first arrived in Dubai on July 10, 1968, it was a "chaotic experience" that cemented his resolve to go back to England before Christmas. But 43 Decembers later, he is still in the UAE to tell the tale.
The 75-year-old British structural and civil engineer, who is associated with many landmarks in Abu Dhabi, including its first underground pedestrian crossing, recalled how he was left to fend for himself on arrival.
The company he worked for had not sent anyone to collect him and the staff at the "terminal building" had downed shutters and driven off in a Land Rover. "It was pitch dark and I was alone in a new land."
When he somehow made it to the Bustan Hotel where he was supposed to stay, he was told there was no booking. But he was given a bed in a twin-share room, only to be told later that it had been occupied. So he trundled along to the Airlines Hotel where he spent what was left of the night in a room with a big fan.
"But in two weeks' time, I had managed to settle down because there was a large group of Britons already here."
A pioneer in his own right, Spearing has worked on the earliest buildings in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi in 1968-69, well before the Federation. Among them: a hotel in Al Ain (now Hilton), Shaikh Khalifa Palace in Al Ain and the Khalifa Buildings (in Abu Dhabi) that no longer exist.
Daunting task
"We were the designers and supervisors. The contractors often faced difficulties in transporting material through the sand dunes. There were no finished roads; only subkha - a compacted mixture of sand and salt - which would pothole over a period of time."
He said reinforced concrete was used even then. "It's only the quality of additives and treatment of reinforcement that has changed and improved."
Spearing has a reputation in areas other than engineering as well. He is the longest-serving honorary steward in the history of Wimbledon and has been organising the box where the players' families sit for 38 years. Of the 13 seats in the box, each player's family used to be allotted six, which left Spearing the 13th seat. Little wonder he is on a first name basis with many of them.
Spearing is single and keeps a busy diary. He is the longest serving member of the Civil Engineering Programme Advisory Committee at the Higher Colleges of Technology. He has established an Oxford and Cambridge alumni society which he runs and is also on the committee of the British Business Group.
"I have many friends here and I have settled down for good."
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