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'A beautiful memoir from John Cook, one of Tasmania's last kerosene lighthouse keepers. A story about madness and wilderness, shining a light onto the vicissitudes of love and nature.
'I loved the life of the island, because I knew my body was more alive than those on the mainland. People asked how we stood the isolation and boredom, but in some ways, it was more stimulating to have your senses turned up to the top.
'In Tasmania, John Cook is known as 'The Keeper of the Flame'. As one of Australia's longest-serving lighthouse keepers, John spent 26 years tending Tasmania's well-known kerosene 'lights' at Tasman Island, Bruny Island, Eddystone Point and Maatsuyker Island.
'From sleepless nights keeping the lights alive, battling the wind and sea as they ripped at gutters and flooded stores, raising a joey, tending sheep and keeping ducks and chickens, the life of a keeper was one of unexpected joy and heartbreak. But for John, nothing was more heartbreaking than the introduction of electric lights, and the lighthouses that were left empty forever.
'Evocatively told, The Last Lighthouse Keeper is a love story between a man and a dying way of life, as well as a celebration of wilderness and solitude.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Large print.
- Dyslexic edition.
Works about this Work
-
Peter O'Brien : Bush School and John Cook with Jon Bauer : The Last Lighthouse Keeper
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , August 2020;
— Review of Bush School 2020 single work autobiography ; The Last Lighthouse Keeper 2020 single work autobiography'These two memoirs of life in remote parts of Australia reveal the challenges of isolation.'
-
Peter O'Brien : Bush School and John Cook with Jon Bauer : The Last Lighthouse Keeper
2020
single work
review
— Appears in: The Newtown Review of Books , August 2020;
— Review of Bush School 2020 single work autobiography ; The Last Lighthouse Keeper 2020 single work autobiography'These two memoirs of life in remote parts of Australia reveal the challenges of isolation.'
Awards
- 2021 longlisted Indie Awards — Nonfiction