Library Book Returned After 72 Years

By Malcolm Sutton

891 ABC Adelaide

Topic: Books

Murray Bridge High School receptionist Toni Rippin holds Malcolm Blight and his long‑overdue library book. (891 ABC Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)

Many of us keep a souvenir or two from high school, often by accident.

It could be a music stand or a carpentry tool, but most often it is a book that the librarian never got back.

For 84‑year‑old Murray Bridge resident Malcolm Blight, the book was The Kon‑Tiki Expedition by Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl.

I borrowed it in 1954 from the Murray Bridge High School library and have felt guilty for years, but I never found the right moment to give it back, he told 891 ABC Adelaide.

I was greatly inspired by it.

The Kon‑Tiki Expedition tells how Thor Heyerdahl and five companions crossed the Pacific in 1947. (891 ABC Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)

Heyerdahl’s 1947 voyage on a simple balsa‑wood raft, built with ancient methods, has inspired many young adventurers.

Blight later walked the whole 1,200‑km Heysen Trail, climbed most Flinders Ranges peaks and paddled parts of the River Murray.

Malcolm Blight standing on Mount Chambers in the Flinders Ranges. (Supplied: Malcolm Blight)

After keeping The Kon‑Tiki Expedition for over 70 years, Blight decided to return it when he heard a copy of The Antiquities of Athens had been found in a bricked‑up tea chest at a Kiama fireplace.

The Antiquities of Athens was given back to the town library 150 years after it was first borrowed.

Better late than never

Blight finally took his overdue book to the reception desk at Murray Bridge High School this month.

The book should have been returned on 7 September 1954. (891 ABC Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)

I said, “I went to this school a few years ago,” and they laughed because I am old, he said.

Receptionist Toni Rippin said that with most resources now digital, getting an old physical book back was “priceless.”

We do have a library on site, but most things are digital, she added.

It will probably be displayed in the library for students and staff to see and use the space.

Ms Rippin believes other items have disappeared from the school, but nobody ever returned them.

A funny example appeared in the US sitcom Seinfeld, where the main character was accused of keeping a library book for 20 years by a “library cop” played by Philip Baker Hall.

A love for the outdoors

Blight continued reading many books, all focused on adventure.

I never read fiction. I read adventure stories or accounts of people who achieved great things, like reaching the South Pole or climbing Mount Everest, he said.

The book I am reading now, My Droving Days: Life on the Long Paddock by Peter and Shirley Moore, follows a young man who left Sydney to become a drover.

Those kinds of stories definitely inspire me.

The first English edition of The Kon‑Tiki Expedition was published in 1950. (891 ABC Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)

He remembered deciding on a whim to canoe the River Murray.

I was having a few beers with my brother and said I’d always wanted to try it, and he replied, “Why not?” he said.

So I ran home and told my family, “Drop me at Purnong and I’ll canoe back to Murray Bridge,” and they all thought I was crazy.

About halfway there I started to sobern up, thought I was mad, but I kept going and really enjoyed it.

Malcolm Blight preparing to canoe from Blanchetown to Purnong on the River Murray. (Supplied: Malcolm Blight)

I did it alone in a fibreglass canoe. It wasn’t a kayak, and it can be hard to handle by yourself.

It took three days the next year to go from Blanchetown to Purnong, then from Morgan to Blanchetown, and the year after from Waikerie to Morgan.

The adventurous spirit has always been part of my life, and I love being outdoors, just like my daughters, grandchildren and many South Australians, Mr Blight said.

We have the most beautiful state and country for this kind of activity.

Thor Heyerdahl would have been proud.

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