T V Bulpin Books

Thomas Victor Bulpin (1918-1999) was a South African writer of books about notable African big game hunters, South African travel and history.

"The very essence of travel is excitement, the intellectual, personal and physical experience of venturing over the hills and far away, of seeing for yourself new places, meeting new people, making new friends, eating new foods, the fragrance of new flowers and plants, new sounds and melodies and the discovery for yourself of the natural and unnatural wonders of this wonderful planet Earth". T V Bulpin, 1959

The Hunter Is Death by T V Bulpin (1962) is aptly dedicated to that special band of adventurers known as professional ivory hunters, the author talks about men like George Rushby, Jim Sutherland and more men who went to Africa in search of adventure and found more than the dose they sought.

The Ivory Trail by T V Bulpin (1954). Bvekenya (Cecil Rutgert Barnard, to give him his real name) is almost a legend in the wilderness and on the great Limpopo river. Here he relives the strange adventures of ivory poaching, blackbirding and outlawry, which made him one of the most colourful of all personalities in Africa. We read of the hunts, fights, escapades and adventures of a man who was an outlaw for twenty years, an adventurer of the wilds who defied the police of three countries and fought a one-man war with complete success against all control and authority. The story of the king of the ivory poachers, as told by himself to T V Bulpin.

Tavern of the Seas: The Story Of Cape Town, Robben Island And The Cape Peninsular by T V Bulpin (2003) was published posthumously. This book takes the reader on a fascinating journey around Cape Town pointing out the historical features, local legends and scandals and the culture of the earliest settlers through to modern times.

Southern Africa: Land of Beauty and Splendor by T V Bulpin (1977)

Discovering Southern Africa by T V Bulpin (1980) ia a well-informed guide to the various territories comprising Southern Africa.

East Africa And The Islands by T V Bulpin (1956) is a scarce book about East Africa, as it was in the early 1950s, a decade before independence and the southern Indian Ocean, or sea of Zanj comprising Madagascar, the Mascarenes (Mauritius, Reunion, Rodriguez), the Seychelles and the Comoros.

Islands In A Forgotten Sea by T V Bulpin (1959). The sea in question is the Sea of Zanj, the Indian Ocean and its islands off the coast of Eastern Africa - Seychelles, Comoros, Zanzibar and Pemba, Madagascar, the Mascarenhas.

Lost Trails Of The Transvaal by T V Bulpin (1956) "To the Transvaal, in fact, have come a remarkable collection of human beings, attracted there from the ends of the earth in hope of finding their heart's desire of freedom or fortune in the wilderness. Through the years they have adventured and explored, argued, intrigued, and fought to secure their ends. Of them all, many prospered and the purposeful trails they blazed have grown into mighty highways. But many more simply played their part in the human drama, and then vanished from the scene entirely; their ambitions and dreams and schemes trampled in the dust; the trails they blazed quite overgrown; their purpose forgotten; their hopes for ever lost."

Shaka's Country: A Book Of Zululand by T V Bulpin (1952) is a fascinating background to the early days in Natal from pioneers to explorers and adventurers.

Storm Over The Transvaal by T V Bulpin (1955) recounts episodes in the history of the South African Republic from the discovery of gold in the mid 1870's to the outbreak of the Boer War.

Tickey - The Story of Eric Hoyland by T V Bulpin (1976) is one of the scarcest of Bulpin's books and is also an important contribution to the literature of the circus. Tickey the Clown was beloved by generations of South African circus goers in the golden age of Boswell's Circus.

To The Banks Of The Zambezi by T V Bulpin (1965) is a history of Zimbabwe/Rhodesia, from geological times onwards. "In the whole continent of Africa there is not a more picturesque part than the wild garden of trees and aloes and flowering plants that lies between the Limpopo and the Zambezi rivers..."

The White Whirlwind by T V Bulpin (1961) is a biographical narrative of the remarkable life of Johan Colenbrander, one of the most resolute of all the frontiersmen who lived and fought their way through the wild events during the early years. He was a protégé of Tom Dunn and hence on friendly terms with the Zulus. Later he aided Rhodes with the Matabele.

Natal And The Zulu Country by T V Bulpin (1966) is an account of the history of Natal and the Zulu country.

To The Shores Of Natal by T V Bulpin (1954) is a tale of golden beaches, of palm trees and lagoons, of green hills and traditions and adventures all woven into a written picture of one of the most beautiful parts of South Africa. The place names of Natal, the lives of the pioneers, the strange gold rush down the South Coast, the Drakensberg and its legends, the carefree adventures of the transport men and other odd characters.

Lost Trails On The Low Veld by T V Bulpin (1951) is a book about "the early days of this country when everything was in the raw and a nation was being built." The book tells of the fortunes won and lost by men whose names are not even a legend any more - Louis Trichardt comes to life again together with a host of other characters whose lives were spent in a country in some ways comparable to the Wild West of America, when law and order was conspicuous by its absence.

Trail Of The Copper King by T V Bulpin (1959) is the story of Orlando Baragwanath (1872 - 1973), the boy who found the great cooper belt in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and other prospectors in Southern Africa. The Baragwanath farm in South Africa later became the site of the Baragwanath Hospital. The hospital was originally built and opened in 1942 for British World War II troops and now serves as the main medical centre of Soweto and is the 3rd largest hospital in the world.

The Golden Republic by T V Bulpin (c.1950) is a history of the rise and fall of the old republic of South Africa by an acknowledged authority on the area. All the charecters are here, Mzilikaza, king of the Matabele, Hendrik Potgieter and his trekkers, the prospectors and the hunters.

Your Undiscovered Country by T V Bulpin (1965). Tourist guide to Southern Africa.

The Great Trek by T V Bulpin (1969). A short history of the Voortrekkers of South Africa.

Illustrated Guide To Southern Africa by T V Bulpin (1980). The original text was supplied by T V Bulpin.

Scenic Wonders Of Southern Africa by T V Bulpin (1985) depicts one of the most varied, strange, beautiful, dramatic and challenging parts of the Earth. Exposed on the surface of Southern Africa are groups of rocks the ages of which cover almost the entire 46000 million year histiry of this planet. Travel to the Munyengedzi River(the Sand River) south-east of Messina and on either side of the old causeway may be seen exposures of granite gneiss dating back 3852 million years.

Wild Company by T V Bulpin (1954) is a book of photographs of African wildlife prefaced by T V Bulpin.

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Page Updated: Nov 2020