Better late than never as high school receives library book 72 years late

It's safe to say many of us will have an unsolicited souvenir or two from our high school years.It might be a music stand, a carpentry tool, but the odds are it's an unreturned book that was somehow overlooked by the school librarian.For 82-year-old Murray Bridge man Malcolm Blight, it was a copy of The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl."I borrowed it in 1954 from the Murray Bridge High School library and it's been on my conscience for many years to return it, but it's one of those things you never get around to doing," he told 891 ABC Adelaide."I was greatly inspired by it."The Kon-Tiki Expedition gives an account of Thor Heyerdahl's and five companions' expedition across the Pacific in 1947. (891 ABC Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)Heyerdahl's account of the 1947 Kon-Tiki expedition, in which he built a simple raft of balsa wood with ancient techniques alone and sailed across the Pacific Ocean with five companions, has been an inspiration for many a young adventurer.This includes Mr Blight, who went on to trek the full length of South Australia's 1,200-kilometre Heysen Trail, climb most of the peaks in the Flinders Ranges and canoe sections of the River Murray.Malcolm Blight atop Mount Chambers in the Flinders Ranges. (Supplied: Malcolm Blight)After holding onto The Kon-Tiki Expedition for more than 70 years, Mr Blight was finally prompted to return it after hearing that a copy of The Antiquities of Athens had been discovered in a tea chest bricked into a fireplace at Kiama in New South Wales.The Antiquities of Athens was returned to the town library 150 years after it was borrowed.Mr Blight had always intended to return his own grossly overdue book, so decided it was finally time and took it to the reception desk at Murray Bridge High School this month.Malcolm Blight was supposed to return the book on September 7, 1954. (891 ABC Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)"I said, 'I went to the school here a few years ago', and they laughed because of my age," he said."I said, 'Obviously, I went to high school here but didn't do very well', and she said, 'Well, perhaps you should have read more books.'"Receptionist Toni Rippin said that with most resources being digital today, it was "priceless" to receive something so old back at the school."We do have obviously a library here on-site, but most things are digital," she said."It will probably go in the library to be on display for students and staff that go in there to utilise that space."Ms Rippin said she was sure other items disappeared from the school, but people never got around to returning them.One of the more hilarious examples was portrayed to acclaim in the US sitcom Seinfeld, when the show's namesake was accused of hanging onto a library book for 20 years by a "library cop" played by Philip Baker Hall.A love for the outdoorsMr Blight went on to read many more books, all with a similar bent for adventure."I never read fiction. I just read adventure stories, or what people have achieved, whether they've been to the South Pole or Mount Everest or whatever," he said."The book I'm reading at the moment [My Droving Days: Life on the Long Paddock by Peter and Shirley Moore] is about a young lad who'd had a gut full of Sydney and left to become a drover."Those sorts of things certainly inspire me."The first English edition of The Kon-Tiki Expedition was published in 1950. (891 ABC Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)He recalled the time he decided on the spur of the moment to canoe the River Murray."I was just having a few beers with my brother and said I'd always wanted to, and he said, 'Well, why don't you?'" he said."So I raced home and said to the family, 'You're going to drop me off at Purnong and I'm going to canoe back to Murray Bridge', and they all thought I was mad."About halfway up to … I started to sober up and thought, well, I think I am mad, but I did it anyway and I really enjoyed it.Malcolm Blight about to canoe from Blanchetown to Purnong along the River Murray. (Supplied: Malcolm Blight)"I did it on my own in a fibreglass canoe. It wasn't a kayak or anything, and it can be a bit hard to handle just on your own."Taking three days, the following year he went from Blanchetown to Purnong, the next from Morgan to Blanchetown, and the following year from Waikerie to Morgan."The adventurous spirit's always been part of my life, really, and I just love being outside, same as my daughters and granddaughters, and so many people in South Australia," Mr Blight said."We've got the most beautiful state and country to do that sort of thing in."Thor Heyerdahl would have been proud.