Lord Howe Island by Alan and Valrie Finch

Lord Howe Island

by Alan and Valrie Finch

Rigby, 1967, [First Edition], black and white photographic plates, illustrated end papers (maps), hardcover, dustjacket

Very Good Condition, minor edge and shelf wear, minor rubbing and bumping to edges, corners and spine, no inscriptions, dustjacket shows a little edge and shelf wear with a little rubbing, bumping, chipping and small tears to edges and corners (see photographs)

“Small as it is, Lord Howe Island has a history which is as colourful as its coastline.  Settlement began there in the great days of whaling, when shops and men from all over the world found shelter behind its huge cliffs.  But whaling slumped, and the islanders knew hard times until the palm-seed industry was born.  Between that day and the era of tourist invasions, they lived by seed-growing ventures and fishing.  Sometimes the outlook was grim.  There was even a proposal once to make the island a convict settlement.  But as Valrie and Alan Finch point out on almost every page, there were also some delightfully humorous interludes and some intriguing visitors – including Sir Francis Chichester on one of his early adventures.  It tells the story of Sir Francis’ sea-plane flight from New Zealand to Australia in 1931, in which he crash landed on the island and repaired his aircraft with the help of the islanders.”