General copyright and disclaimer - ResearchSpace@Auckland ...

deviation from the original stock; the children grow well and strong, with fresh and rosy faces,
and I am satisfied that in this respect New Zealand is in no way inferior to Great Britain”
(I:181f.).
However, due to the humidity of the climate upon arrival in the country, the new
immigrants are often subjected to “abscesses, or boils, and eruptive diseases, neither, however, of
a malignant character, and both disappearing without medical aid” (I:182) once they have
acclimatised. And although inflammatory diseases are, on the whole, uncommon, with any
ailments that do surface “always assum[ing] the character of catarrh”, “it is certain that causes
which, in England, would produce violent colds, and other injurious results, pass over in New
Zealand without any bad effect, even to those colonists who are in delicate health” (I:182f.):
The purity of the atmosphere, resulting from the continual wind, imparts to the climate a vigour
which gives elasticity to the physical powers and to the mind. Heat never debilitates, not even so
much as a hot summer’s day in England; and near the coasts especially there is always a cooling
and refreshing breeze. The colonist who occupies himself with agriculture can work all day, and
the mechanic will not feel any lassitude whether he works in or out of doors.
From all this I draw the conclusion, that as regards climate no country is better suited for a
colony of the Anglo-Saxon race than New Zealand; and were this its only recommendation, it
would still deserve our utmost attention, as the future seat of European civilization and institutions
in the southern hemisphere, since in the other southern colonies - for instance, in that of New
South Wales - Europeans undergo more or less alterations from the original stock.
Invalids rapidly recover in this climate, and there is no doubt that the presence of
numerous thermal waters in the island, and the attractive scenery, will make New Zealand the
resort of those who have been debilitated in India, and are in search of health. (I:183)
Thus, New Zealand, which has a climate that resembles England “more nearly than that of any
other country I am acquainted with”, is “moderate in every respect” (I:173), and whose winds
“purify the atmosphere, and prevent the collection of obnoxious exhalation” (I:175), is the
embodiment of the pure Anglo-Saxon paradise and the climatic paradise which mends all
ailments and promises much prosperity for the European settler. 44
However, in saying that, one must take the good with the bad, as “many incorrect and
exaggerated statements on the present capabilities of the colony have been brought forward”
44 In a letter to the editor published in the New Zealand Journal, Dieffenbach states: “And I think, Sir, we all agree,
that nothing has been said too much respecting the fine and healthy climate of New Zealand. It is so congenial to
Europeans, that it has not its equal in the world. It is much milder than ours: an everlasting green cover the trees, and
many may be seen at this moment with flower-buds ready to open: the air is always so fresh and pure, that it
invigorates body and mind. And we we [sic] must not think this unimportant in the foundation of a new state;
physical nature has a greater influence on the condition of men than is generally believed; and in this climate and
country there can only rise an energetic nation sending the blessings of civilisation over the countries which are
spread through the Southern Pacific” (Ernest Dieffenbach, “To the Editor of the New Zealand Gazette”, in: The New
Zealand Journal [=NZJ] 2:29 27 Feb (1841): 53; cf. Travels, I:247).
68