For 30 year he lived amongst crocodiles, cannibals and coffee in Papua New Guinea. In an unexplored country he operate as the first professional crocodile shooter. He worked with everyone from cannibals to missionaries to government officials. In 1950 he went to Papua New Guinea for crocodile hunting for the first time.
Photo. Cover from the book The Last Paradise - Tome Cole.
After I red this book, I could understand that the Crocodile Dundee movies are nothing compared with Tom Cole's real life. Based on the author's firsthand knowledge and experience you will get a good insight of real crocodile hunting. Not many people would ever dreamed about catching an eighteen-foot crocodile.
Another challenge there was the natives from over 800 tribes. They had many strange cultures, customs and rituals that the pioneers found hard to understand.
Hostile behaviour didn't frightened Tome Cole and his friends from hunting crocodiles. But sometimes it went wrong. Think about meeting tribes as the Goaribaris, considered to be one of the cruellest in the entire Pacific. As Cole telles about in his book, their raids they didn't show no mercy whatever to man, woman or child.
Nothing stopped Cole from hunting big man eating crocodiles, and selling the skin. As he writes: "crocodile skins were my life's blood. After a while his business became successful. The skins from crocodiles were made into all sorts of things, for instance bags and shoes".
Cole gives in his book also a historical background for years of exploring, pioneering and settlement in one of the worlds last frontiers. The stories are so full of life, colour and adventure. Many unique photos are included and show crocodiles, tribes and a magnificent nature.
Stein Morten Lund, 28 June 2000
Additional information
If you would like to read about Tom Cole's incredible life, you find the publisher's name behind: Angus & Robertson - an imprint of HarperCollings Publishers.
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