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23/07/2008: ""GIBBO" ....... by SnapperGonza"
Gibbo is a Kiwi who migrated accidentally to Tasmania in the 1940's by clinging to a large Kauri tree that had washed downstream from Wellington, New Zealand during a flood.>/font> (ha ha)
Gibbo changed his name from Wally upon arrival at Hobart. His un-planned voyage had taken six weeks and remained a secret for many years.
When washed ashore at a lonely island in Bass Strait he used his limited materials at hand to survive.
With simply a pocket knife and a box of matches he constructed a cabin out of the log he had ridden from New Zealand.
For some months he survived on mutton birds and tiger snakes - which he later found an export market for.
The tiger snake venom was exported to pygmies in South America for use on poison-tipped blow darts.
He imported freshwater shells with bright colors and built up an international mail order business.
Glands from the mutton birds were traded with French perfume manufacturers for their outdated products which Gibbo in turn traded to Queensland rum makers (before sugar cane tops were found to be cheaper and safer ingredients for their product).
Other mutton birds were used as food and aroma enhancers for candles which were still in common use at the time.
Gibbo began diving when he fell off a bridge and knocked himself unconscious on rocks below.
Although unconscious he still managed to hold onto his breath while submerged.
A team of visiting navy divers witnessed the fall but mistook it for a dive and were wrongly informed by schoolboys it was an attempt to break the world breath-holding record.
When Gibbo regained consciousness he was still underwater. He surfaced and found he had established a new world breath-holding record of 15 minutes.
From then on his career exploded by salvaging war time shipwrecks in the Solomon Islands.
Gunpowder from the live ammunition was sold to Chinese firecracker factories seeking extra bang.
Brass shell casings went to Egypt for their famous currency being minted into the brass razoo.
