The Search for Thomas Kerr: Mariner, Mapmaker, Missionary, Meteorologist

by Jean D. Day

There's something irresistible about a diary, especially one from over 150 years ago discovered under a house. Scrawled cryptic entries on water-stained pages, near-impossible to read, but hinting at the story of a man's adventures sailing in the South Pacific. That random find sent author Jean Day on a fifty-year journey of discovery where she found uncanny parallels between her life and that of the long-departed diarist, Thomas Kerr. This book is the story of how she unravelled the tangled threads of the careers he followed; his travels across the globe, from being an orphan in Devonport England; to becoming a naval officer and taking part in charting NZ on the HMS Pandora and fighting in the Chinese Opium Wars .His life as a Melanesian missionary in the islands around Vanuatu; and then as Vicar of Devonport NZ; and his final years as a meteorologist at Valentia, Ireland; until his death in 1875.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1508927642
• ISBN13: 9781508927648
• Release Date: March 2015
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 298 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"