Page 131 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Three

company camps established in his territory. The company refunded
to the Ruler the cost of the guards' wages, and only rations were
given directly to the guards at each camp. In the first camp at Ra’s al
Sadr the head guard was Thani bin Murshid, who is the elder of the
Rumaithat section of the Bani Yas: he became the contact between
the company and the guards and eventually also between the entire
local labour force and the Ruler.
After drilling a well at Jabal 'Ali in Dubai territory. PD(TC) in 1953
moved their camp toTarif, west of Abu Dhabi, to drill the first well on
the Bab structure. The head guard Thani bin Murshid remained the
link between the government and the company, living for most of the
year in Tarif, although he had by then opened a shop in the suq in
Abu Dhabi. But he was never styled omlr.
In 1955 the main camp was moved again, first to drill a well at
Jazirah, west of the Sabkhah Matti, then on to al Hamra' to drill
another well on the coast near to Jabal al Dhannah.'10 A temporary
camp was also constructed for drilling al Juwaisah in Sharjah
territory in 1957. At the end of 1958, the camp al Tarif, which had
never been entirely dismantled, was refurbished because drilling on
the Bab dome was resumed. Guards were required at all these
drilling locations as well as at the camps of the seismic survey parties
and al the various places on the coast where materials were off­
loaded from barges. Where the Rulers guards were used in any of
these locations, Thani bin Murshid appointed head guards who
acted as his deputies in all matters concerning the guards as well as
the entire local labour force.01 In those years Thani bin Murshid
therefore held a very powerful position, being able to decide who
among the tribesmen would obtain employment with the company,
and in turn he could influence the relationship between the men and
the company.
During those early years the head guard in Tarif was directly
responsible to Shaikh Shakhbul. But he remained closely identified
with his own tribal group and his influence over some of the labour
force, which was recruited from almost all of Abu Dhabi’s tribes, was
not always sufficient to settle disputes and avoid stoppages of work.
In these situations only a member of the ruling family commanded
the necessary authority to make the men accept the conditions which
had been negotiated with the oil company’s representatives.62
After the announcement of the discovery of oil in commercial
quantities in October 1960, the company’s activity increased drama­
tically, and as a result of this the Ruler appointed in June 1961 a

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