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the Maori as well as an ethnological mindset despite his initial encounters conveying a
demoralised and mostly degenerate urban Maori and a somewhat greedy entrepreneurial merchant
in the Hot Lake district. Like Reischek he desired to ‘save’ Maori treasures from the fate of time,
and believed their final resting place should be in a museum. And while he tries to dispel several
Maori stereotypes, he is unable to do so without confirming others due to a noticeable
disappointment that his expectations as a visitor, rather than a scientist or naturalist, in the Hot
Lake district in particular are not entirely met. Even so, he does not dispute the recurring image of
the hospitable Maori host; he only questions its applicability in certain situations.
Reuleaux, by contrast, had the shortest stay of all the visitors under investigation. As a
result of his visiting only the economically stable Auckland and the tourist-friendly Hot Lake
district, he does not encounter any negative conditions. The most memorable aspects of his
account instead are his contacts with German colonists and especially the Maori, the latter of
which fascinate him the most. Being a scientist with a philosophical outlook, he adopts
Hochstetter’s Social Darwinist perspective, in addition to Reischek’s collector mentality, when
observing the Maori, and questions the merits of intertribal warfare, especially in light of the
threat of extinction coming from the British majority. However, the main image that not only
captures but exceeds Hochstetter’s Romantic imaginings is his parting thought on the Maori,
which sees the Roman Empire’s invasion of German land being analogous to the British Empire’s
conquest of Maori land, in doing so leaving his sympathies firmly with the rightful Maori heirs.
Finsch, on the other hand, produced a non-philosophical account of his stay in New
Zealand, but was certainly more travelled than Reuleaux and in the colony for a longer period.
Accordingly, he shows more interest in the political, commercial and economic spheres, leading
to his observing the effects of economic depression and constant borrowing, and relating
information from colonists concerning unsatisfactory conditions such as the unequal distribution
of land and wealth among farmers. By the same token, he also witnessed many positives,
particularly the cities and towns he visited, which were not far behind, if at all, most European
counterparts, sometimes offering even more, and the Canterbury museum, which far exceeded
Germany’s own. While not all landscapes live up to his expectations, he does share Reischek’s
museum-naturalist perspective on conservation and collecting. The driving negativity in his
perceptions of the Maori, however, is the result of his often being disappointed at the treatment he
received by Maori, especially as it confounded his main purpose for seeking them in the first
place. And although he is able to meet Tawhiao, it does not change the fact that he was first
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