Book review: An Island to Oneself

This reissue of the long-out-of-print 1966 classic, this is the story of one Kiwi who did what we've all thought of doing at times - just upping and going it alone on a desert island.

At the age of 18, Tom Neale signed on as an apprentice engineer in the New Zealand Navy. He spent four years at sea, before buying himself out, and wandering around the South Pacific islands, clearing bush, fish and preparing copra.

He later settled on Moorea, where he learned to speak Tahitian, and in 1943 became a shopkeeper in the Cook Islands. It wasn't until he was in his fifties, however, that Wellington-born Tom, who grew up in Greymouth and then Timaru, sailed to Suvarov (now Suwarrow), where he lived alone on this desert island with nothing but a couple of cats, some bric-a-brac to tie and bolt his meagre dwelling, and the strength of body and mind to survive completely isolated from society.

This book covers six of those years. Neale vividly describes the heroic moments, toils and perils alongside the peace and beauty that he found on his adventure. Live the chaos as he tells the stories of battling a furious hurricane than engulfed the coral islet, and five desperate hours in a stormy lagoon with a crippling back injury, to some reluctant blood-letting on wild pigs and a mammoth sea turtle. There are also plenty of moments of tranquillity - his descriptions of building a chicken coop, baking with banana leaves and the delight he felt from just a sip of brandy, as well as the joy of taming a wild duck, are all great reminders of the simple pleasures we forget about in our busy lives.

This is an escapist read for anyone who’s ever just felt like leaving it all behind.

An Island to Oneself: Six Years Alone on a Desert Island, Tom Neale, HarperCollins, RRP $45.00