Memoirs of a Century

Published by Steele Roberts, 2007
Good condition, slight crease in back jacket.
From the publisher: Sir Jack Harris Bt inherited his baronetcy from his father, but would have earned a knighthood in his own right, given his impact as a pioneering manufacturer and civic leader in New Zealand. This readable and entertaining memoir begins with grandfather Wolf Harris setting up a business in New Zealand during the gold rush era. Sir Jack's eccentric mother was a suffragette who later became a member of the notorious Aleister Crowley's coven, designed Tarot cards and pursued Eastern mysticism. His father, a Liberal MP who went to school with Winston Churchill and did indeed know Lloyd George, represented the cockneys and pearly kings of Bethnal Green in the House of Commons. Jack, born in London and educated in Cambridge, set out in the Great Depression to rescue the family business in New Zealand, and under his helmsmanship his firm, Bing Harris, became our largest manufacturer. Like his outspoken wife Patricia, who also features in this book, Sir Jack never shied from public profile on matters of conscience. He will long be remembered for his leadership in the successful Save Manapouri campaign, a milestone of New Zealanders' environmental awareness.