Local author and history buff Murray Crawford is launching Whimsical Tales of Old Wanganui on Monday, June 25 at Jane Winstone Retirement Village.
Murray is becoming well known for his historical fiction and the continuing series of the adventures of Granny Dalton — a real historical character placed in fictionalsituations.
In Whimsical Tales he has reverted to hard fact, tempered with editorial opinion and musing, with an eclectic collection of stories plucked from the archives of Whanganui. Illustrated with lots of photographs, Murray takes us on a trip through the town's written records, covering all manner of subjects and discussing many of the district's personalities.
The book is fun, informative, entertaining, educational ... and a good way to learn about early Whanganui without too much effort.
Murray has cherry picked some amusing and not so light-hearted episodes, topped them with some clever headings (like "Tentative tintinnabulatory timing trials trashed" — a story about church bells) and presented them to the reader in easily digestible form. He touches on topics as diverse as the Colonial Hospital and its deliberate arson in honour of the Queen, to the disappearance of the Christ Church cornerstone. Granny Dalton makes an appearance as her historical self and the author tells us stories of the original town bridge.
It's a decent-sized book of 321 pages, crammed with delightful anecdotes and historical perspective. Murray's impeccable research and passion for Whanganui history makes this a must-have book.
Whimsical Tales of Old Wanganui will be launched at Jane Winstone's Village Lounge, 49 Oakland Ave, at 6pm on Monday, June 25.
