Mary Garden Mary Garden i(A17069 works by)
Born: Established: 1950
c
New Zealand,
c
Pacific Region, ;
Gender: Female
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BiographyHistory

Mary Garden was born in Whakatane, New Zealand and grew up in Tauranga. In 1973, she abandoned an academic career to spend seven years in India following gurus such as Bhagwan Rajneesh and Sai Baba. On her return to Australia she settled in Queensland. Her book, The Serpent Rising is an account of her years in India, and of the religious manipulators she encountered.

In 2019, Garden published a biography of her father, Oscar Garden, a Scots-born aviator who later settled in New Zealand.

Sources include Notes for a Radio National programme: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/relig/spirit/stories/s1136919.htm, sighted 20/07/2004)

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Sundowner of the Skies - The Story of Oscar Garden, The Forgotten Aviator Chatswood : New Holland , 2019 17022827 2019 single work biography 'In the early morning of 16 October 1930, Oscar Garden taxied his tiny Gipsy Moth across London’s Croydon aerodrome and, with a wave of his hand to the only person there to farewell him, took off. His plan was to fly to Australia, which was sheer madness as he only had a mere 39 flying hours under his belt. When he landed at Wyndham 18 days later no one was expecting him. However, his flight – the third fastest after veteran aviators Bert Hinkler and Charles Kingsford – captured the world’s imagination. With a lack of fanfare, he had given the impression he had just set out on a short pleasure trip, instead of the most formidable feat in aerial navigation. The press dubbed him ‘Sundowner of the Skies’. Unlike most of his contemporaries who died in crashes, Oscar survived and went on to a career in commercial aviation. He ended up as Chief Pilot of Tasman Empire Airways, the forerunner of Air New Zealand, but left suddenly in 1947. He never flew a plane again.' (Publication summary) 
 
2020 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's History Prize New South Wales History Prize — General History Prize
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Last amended 12 Jun 2019 12:46:47
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