Bill Kemp shone a bright light on New Zealand lighthouse history and made a contribution to lighthouse history that will last well beyond his 92 years. Born in 1926, the son of John Benjamin Darcy Kemp and Annie Westrupp. Bill was the grandson of Benjamin (Laddie) Kemp. Sadly Bill passed away on June 5th 2019.
Click here for the article on Bill Kemp.
“Bill was a lighthouse keeper and wrote a most interesting book, “Pass Safely Sailor: Adventures of a Lighthouse Keeper”. Available on Amazon and well worth a read about Bill’s days as a lighthouse keeper. Bill became an inspector of lighthouses in NZ and then in Australia. Bill lived in Stokes Valley. I called into see him and his wife some three years ago. They are interesting people and very welcoming, telling me when I rang to see if I could see him that any Kemp was more than welcome anytime” – Bob Laing, son of Lorna Kemp.