About this title.
Taranaki has experienced a goodly share of “characters” since its early days of settlement, but few have matched the extraordinary Felix Tanner’s colourful nature, determination, exuberance and unbridled self-confidence.
Just who was this man? Margaret de Jardine began researching this subject in the 1970s, and with typical thoroughness presents a striking portrait of a person who attracted attention wherever he went throughout New Zealand and Australia, where he was born.
Was he just a madcap inventor, a “Blondin from Down Under,” master of fasting, balloonist, mariner or diver? Or was he simply an enthusiastic exhibitionist grabbing every opportunity to promote himself - and make a living while doing it? You must judge for yourself.What cannot be denied is his extraordinary resilience. He might not have won many friends for his maritime feats, but he must be given top marks for trying!
This is a most enjoyable account of incidents that might easily have been lost but for the author’s enthusiasm for recording the history of ships and those who sail in them. This book will sit very comfortably alongside her earlier three authoritative volumes.
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