![]() ![]() Sadly, George never got to see the new lighthouse because his small boat was overturned when he was rowing back to the lighthouse during a winter squall. Appeals to the government for better quarters and a better light went unheeded for several years until a shipwreck with the loss of thirty live got the attention of the governor who then approved a new lighthouse. In gales, the couple and their growing family took shelter in a cave, fearing the house would blow away. The nearest fresh water source as well as firewood required a hike across the terrain. Although the view from the cliff was beautiful, the couple’s home was meager and constantly blasted by the wind. George and Mary married, and George took the position of the first keeper at Pencarrow Head lighthouse, which was initially a light in the bay window of the couple’s small dwelling. So George left for New Zealand, and shortly after Mary sailed to the country as well, taking the position of a governess to the future mayor of Wellington. Mary’s father forbade the relationship, but the lovestruck couple would not be deterred. But when George Bennett was hired to work on their estate, the two fell in love. Mary was the daughter of an English squire, where she lived a comfortable life of prestige. However, for many years, her contribution went unnoticed. A wonderful book’.Mary Jane Bennett was New Zealand’s only female lighthouse keeper and was the head keeper of the country’s first permanent lighthouse. ‘.a fine historical work about an almost forgotten subject.Collin sketches a beautiful portrait of the island. ‘.this exhaustively researched book.Collin’s dedication is second to none.’ Sunday Herald Life and Death on Little Ross is a comprehensive and thoroughly researched history of the island and its lighthouse.the book is very well written and a tribute to a bygone way of life’. Collin goes to great effort to provide the reader with every detail imagined about the island and its lighthouse. LIFE OF A LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER FULL'.a full history of the much-appreciated island'. ![]() ‘Without doubt this is a valuable social document’. ![]() ‘Collin has written a broad-ranging human and natural history of the island, its keepers, and their families.Collin writes with great knowledge and affection for the island.we are fortunate that Collin has set down the history of a small island lighthouse that might have otherwise faded into obscurity’. Bulletin of Liverpool Nautical research Society ![]() David Collin set out to pay tribute to them and his research has certainly achieved that’. ‘Lighthouse communities whose lives were physically, socially and geographically confined have now been much more widely revealed and recognized. ‘Impressive’ is indeed the appropriate word for the entire book…’ Transactions of Dumfries & Galloway Natural History & Antiquarian Society ‘…meticulous, scrupulously accurate, detailed, and almost dauntingly comprehensive research presented in an easy, readable style lit by flashes of humour. The story of the restoration and conversion of the lighthouse keepers’ derelict cottages is one of courage, patience, stamina, skill and resourcefulness which should inspire all of the many people that love wild, beautiful and unspoiled places like Little Ross Island and care about the future of buildings of distinction. The process of automation began immediately after the event and the work of conversion, repair and maintenance, including first-hand accounts by some of the tradesmen is provided. Also featured are the island's earliest inhabitants, the ships and their crews that came to grief, the case made by concerned local people for a lighthouse to be erected, the political wrangling that frustrated its approval for many years, the lighthouse design, and the eventual construction of the buildings. In Life and Death on Little Ross, the author has redressed the balance by telling the story of the island, its lighthouse and its people who lived and worked there including extracts from a detailed diary that has survived from WWI. Over the subsequent 57 years, he has repeatedly been asked to tell his story but the 117 years of diligent tending of the light by numerous lighthouse keepers and their families has been largely forgotten. LIFE OF A LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER TRIALThe author was at the island on the day of the murder, and was a witness in the High Court trial that followed. The island was unknown to most people until 1960 when a murder in the lighthouse buildings brought it widespread notoriety, to the grief and consternation of all who were involved. Little Ross is an attractive and unspoiled island and its lighthouse, beautifully designed by the famous Stevenson family, is officially a 'lesser' light, far away from busy sea lanes, at the summit of this remote island. ![]()
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