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spread beyond its borders into neighbouring tribal regions right through the North Island and
encompassed many sympathisers and neutrals, 10 the Waikato War (1863-64) which saw the
invasion of Kingite territory in the Waikato in order to break the backbone of ‘Maori
independence’, followed by further conflict in Tauranga, 11 and the skirmishes of Riwha
Titokowaru in South Taranaki and Wanganui and Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki in the Bay of
Plenty, Poverty Bay, Taupo, East Cape and the northern Hawke’s Bay (1868-72). 12 With this in
mind, it is natural to assume during the various wars or skirmishes throughout the predominantly
northern parts of the country that the traditional preconceptions of Europeans either gave way to
more backward ideas of the Maori or else reinforced them. 13
This therefore brings us to the issue regarding the impressions of non-British European
immigrants to the colony during a period which was at times rife with conflict and at other times
balanced with relative peace. A number of reports and articles on the Maori and the wars
appeared throughout the 1860s in such popular German publications as Das Ausland and Globus,
known for their interest in foreign nations, especially in the fields of current affairs, general
science, anthropology and ethnography, in which the authors characteristically side with the
Maori and emphasise their barbaric treatment at the hands of the British. The language used to
describe this conflict is often centred around a “Rassenkampf” or “Vernichtungskrieg” against the
brave and courageous Maori, which will only lead to accelerating the process of their eventual
“Ausrottung” as they are continually being replaced by the increasing number of European
immigrants flooding into the country. 14 For most German-speaking immigrants and explorers this
10 Belich, NZ Wars, 73-116; Maxwell, Frontier, 23-59.
11 Belich, NZ Wars, 119-200; Maxwell, Frontier, 60-105.
12 See Belich, NZ Wars, 203-88; Maxwell, Frontier, 154-368; James Belich, I Shall Not Die: Titokowaru’s War, New
Zealand, 1868-9. Wellington: Allen & Unwin/Port Nicholson Press, 1989; James Belich, “Titokowaru, Riwha ? –
1888: Ngati Ruanui leader, military leader, prophet, peacemaker”, in: DNZB 1, 541-45; Judith Binney, Redemption
Songs: A Life of Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki. Auckland: Auckland University Press; Bridget Williams Books,
1995; Judith Binney, “Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki ? – 1893: Rongowhakaata leader, military leader, prophet,
religious founder” in: DNZB 1, 462-66.
13 See Belich, NZ Wars, 323-30.
14 See, for example, “Der neue Aufstand der Maori auf Neu-Seeland”, in: Ausland 33:31 29 July (1860): 743f.; “Der
neuseeländische Krieg”, in: Ausland 34:3 13 Jan (1861): 61-63; “Der Maorikrieg auf Neu-Seeland”, in: Ausland
34:10 3 March (1861): 239f.; “Barbarei der Engländer auf Neuseeland”, in: Globus 5:3 (1864): 95; “Die Unruhen auf
Neuseeland und deren Veranlassung”, in: Globus 5:7 (1864): 215-17; “Die neue Pai Marire-Religion der Maoris auf
Neuseeland”, in: Ausland 38:35 2 Sept (1865): 839; “Die Maoris und die Engländer auf Neuseeland”, in: Globus 9:1
(1866): 1-9; “Der Vernichtungskrieg gegen die Eingeborenen auf Neuseeland”, in: Globus 14:9 (1868): 283f.;
“Neuseeländische Maoris als Mitglieder des Colonialparlamentes”, in: Globus 21:7 (1872): 111f. Also of interest is
the 1869 work by Gustav Droege, the founder and editor of the short-lived “Neuseeländische Zeitung”, who wanted
to produce an account of the wars that was not based on the predominantly biased English sources that appeared in
many German newspapers, but on his own knowledge and personal experience from working in literary and
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