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elief that the Maori who inhabit the area remained ‘frozen’ in time and uninfluenced by
European customs or culture, something which is frequently contradicted within the text itself (no
doubt due to a discrepancy between Reischek senior’s material and the image his son was trying
to convey), as even the very notion of a Maori King is European in origin. 159 In his 1890
presentation before the Imperial Royal Geographical Society in Vienna, entitled “Meine Reisen
auf Neu-Seeland”, Reischek senior describes the King Country tribes as being “abgeschlossen
von jeder Civilisation”:
Sie erblickten in jedem Europäer einen Feind und nicht ganz ohne Grund. Denn obwohl die
neuseeländische Regierung sich immer bemüht hat, gute Gesetze einzuführen, damit die
Eingeborenen nicht von geldgierigen Leuten überlistet werden, so konnte sie doch unmöglich jede
Ausschreitung verhindern. Es wurde demzufolge auch jeder Weisse, welcher ihre Grenzen
überschritt und den Warnungen nicht folgte, getödtet. 160
The respective passage in Sterbende Welt does not alter this view (142), yet it goes much further
in its generalisations and exaggerations by implying there was no or little contact between Maori
and Pakeha even before laying down the boundaries, which in itself is astonishing considering the
wars which preceded it.
At the bordering township of Pirongia, Reischek repeatedly assures the local chiefs of his
intentions to explore their territory “nur als Forscher, nicht als politischer Spion”: “Es würde mich
sehr schmerzen, von dem hochintelligenten Maorivolke, das ich liebte und achtete,
zurückgewiesen zu werden” (178). Three days of intense discussions then follow, in which
representatives from every tribe form a “Parlament der Eingeborenen” (178). Leading the
proceedings is Wahanui Huatare, the ‘ariki’ of Ngati Maniapoto and loyal advisor to King
Tawhiao. 161 Reischek describes him as “ein alter Krieger, ein Mann von festem Charakter, Mut
und gerechter Gesinnung [der] von seinem Volk wie ein Vater verehrt [wurde]” (206). However,
it was not always the case that he only enjoyed great respect in Maori circles:
Reischek was at the mercy of a translator, leading to the possibility that he was simply misinformed. Secondly,
Tawhiao is clearly not referring to kin or those who were already living there before the borders were closed, and
traders did not stay or travel into the heart of the King Country. A third consideration is that he was indeed
popularising the event, which is clear to some extent from his manuscript, but regardless of whether he recorded
events straight away or at a later date, this does not change the fact that he does not make his son’s claim.
159 Tawhiao had already visited nearby European settlements, including Raglan, Hamilton, Te Awamutu, Kihikihi,
Cambridge, Ngaruawahia and Mercer, and become a frequent visitor of Pirongia (he even invited certain parties to
his home) all before his official visit to Auckland in 1882 (Kirkwood, Tawhiao, 129, 137f.).
160 Reischek, “Meine Reisen auf Neu-Seeland”, 616.
161 See Manuka Henare, “Wahanui Huatare ? – 1897: Ngati Maniapoto leader”, in: DNZB 2, 559-61.
259