Kenneth Gardner: Rich Man's Coffin

Reviewed by MARGIE THOMSON

"The legend of Black Jack White, an American slave in New Zealand", this is indeed an extraordinary story that well deserved to be unearthed. History has many corners: who among us knew that in the early 19th century a slave named Arthur Alesworth escaped from Mississippi, made it to New York, joined the crew of a whaler and ended up, in 1828, at Te Awaiti in the Marlborough Sounds? He became part of the lucrative shore whaling industry there before a series of accidents led to him joining Te Rauparaha, who was rampaging through the upper South Island. Alesworth, dubbed Black Jack by his whaling mates, rose to become as important as a tribal chief. He never left New Zealand, lived into his 80s and is survived by his hut. Its remains, at Para in Marlborough, constitute one of the earliest European structures in the South Island still standing. Gardner, an American who stumbled across the story while visiting New Zealand, tells his story with great enthusiasm, and has done much research. The narrative unfortunately lacks magic (the sex scenes are particularly disturbing) and depth, but the story is a wonderful one. The entire, free e-book version can be obtained by visiting Publishers Marketplace, or Amazon UK, or ordering through a bookshop.

Xlibris, $74.72