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Charakter der eingeborenen Bevölkerung, daß man, trotzdem manche Maoris arm sind, nie etwas
von einem von ihnen begangenen Diebstahle hört. Sie sind zu stolz um zu stehlen. 188
Thus, the safe ‘paradise’ is no better illustrated than in the promising colony of Nelson, which
gives few need to complain or beg for their daily meal. In fact, it is only on the goldfields that he
witnesses an instance of a forlorn man begging “ihm um Gotteswillen etwas zu essen zu geben,
da er vor Hunger und Ermüdung nicht weiter könne. Eine bis dahin seltene Erscheinung in Neu-
Seeland, wo ich während vieler Jahre nie einen Bettler zu Gesichte bekommen”. 189
Following his initial contribution, Haast’s impressions of the Maori, on the other hand,
gradually assume less importance than the above themes of immigration and colonial life due to
the locations visited. Being less knowledgeable in the areas of science and philosophy than
Hochstetter, Haast was therefore not privy to all the same influences, leading to Social Darwinian
notions of ‘fatal impact’ and philosophical views holding a less significant impact on his
narrative. Instead he assumes a rather good-humoured and jovial character as he relates
memorable experiences and observations with a touch of humour and colourful language in an
effort to entertain as much as educate the reader. Unfortunately, Haast uses Hochstetter and
various relevant articles from the New-Zealander as source material for his main Novara account,
sometimes even translating directly and paraphrasing, 190 while stereotypes also make up a fair
amount of the Maori content, making parts of his contribution less original in the process. Haast
begins his observations of the friendly and welcoming character of the Maori at the reception of
the Novara crew at Eruera Maihi Patuone’s 191 annual Christmas celebrations in Takapuna. In this
instance, the opening speeches of various chiefs to Commodore Wüllerstorf-Urbair, who is
referred to as an “Offizier Deines großen Königs, welcher ein Freund der Königin Viktoria und
ihrer Kinder ist”, 192 give the picture of both peaceful co-existence between Maori and Pakeha and
the importance of British rules on Maori life in general. 193 Paora Tuhaere, 194 for example,
comments:
188
Ibid., 1081.
189
Haast, “Beschreibung einer Reise von Christchurch”, 139.
190
These include: “The Imperial Austrian Expedition”, in: The New-Zealander [=NZer] 29 Dec (1858): 3; “The
Austrian Scientific Exploration in Auckland: Inspection of the Drury and Hunua Districts and Visits to the Waikato”
in: NZer 1 Jan (1859): 3; “The Visit of the Imperial Austrian Expedition to Patuone’s Christmas Feast” in: NZer 5
Jan (1859): 3; “Visit to Mangatawhiri and the Waikato” in: NZer 5 Jan (1859): 3.
191
See Angela Ballara, “Patuone, Eruera Maihi ? – 1872: Nga Puhi leader, peacemaker, trader, government adviser”,
in: DNZB 1, 338-40.
192
Hanf, “Expedition der k. k. Fregatte ‘Novara’”, 342.
193
This section is little more than a direct translation of an article from the New-Zealander (see “Patuone’s Christmas
Feast”, 3).
213