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The best illustration of the great affection shown towards this ‘Austrian chief’, albeit a
more believable one, is when Reischek is invited by Te Rerehau, the “treuer Freund Hochstetters”
(196) and close relative of Wahanui, to visit his home in Mokau. 223 However, to get there he
would have to travel through the “von den erbittertsten Europäerfeinden bewohnten Gebiete”
(196) of the King Country. He is told by the King that it is dangerous and he cannot guarantee his
safety, as “viele der Leute aus diesen Gegenden […] noch nie einen Weißen gesehen [hätten],
wohl aber viel Schlechtes über sie gehört” (197). This last point is emphasised during his stay
through many being surprised at seeing a European among them (182, 201f.), some of whom are
unable to hide their displeasure (193), while others are dumbfounded why Tawhiao would permit
him into their territory (202), and in one instance, the Maori are so astonished at seeing his white
skin that they “sahen mir bei dem Rockärmel hinein, ob ich auch da weiß sei” (207). While this
may be true among some Maori, Reischek senior makes it clear elsewhere that it is the young
ones who have never seen a white man before, 224 unlike in Sterbende Welt, which seems to stress
both the isolated nature of the area and the dangerous inhabitants in the interior who harbour a
great hatred towards the British. Certainly most adults would have been involved in the wars, but
many of the ‘rebel’ warriors and ‘outlaws’ were made to lay down their arms in return for
protection, and many others favoured peace and pacifism. After continued efforts to reach his
destination, Reischek witnesses several of these bitter enemies of the British only for the reader to
find they are little more than ‘unfriendly’ and ‘suspicious’. These include Winiata, who he claims
to have seen often, “aber er verschwand immer gleich, wenn er mich sah” (197), Te Mahuki, 225
who threatens him with words instead of weapons (202), and the infamous Te Kooti, who,
although he had not picked up a weapon since 1872 and was pardoned by the Government in
1883, reportedly lives with the “tiefsten Haß gegen alle Europäer”, yet his brethren in Te Kuiti
can only manage “sehr unfreundliche Mienen” (205).
Reischek is eventually taken by Te Rerehau’s son to Kuratahi, where his father “nahm
mich freundlich auf” (207). However, instead of witnessing the qualities of a chief who “mehrere
Sprachen beherrschte und der sich in Europa mit Zylinder und Handschuhen in besten
223 Toetoe had meanwhile lost all his tribal land in Rangiaowhia during the Waikato War, and lived out the remainder
of his existence in Waiuku and the Manukau Heads as a poor and broken man until his death in February 1881
(Hogan, Bravo, Neu Zeeland, 109; King, Collector, 83n).
224 Reischek, “Meine Reisen auf Neu-Seeland”, 617.
225 See Chris Koroheke, “Te Mahuki ? – 1899: Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Kinohaku prophet”, in: DNZB 2, 518f.
275