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understood within the context of land sales at the time. While he omits the dubious nature of the
majority of the Company’s transactions, Dieffenbach does criticise the Government for
auctioning town and country lands, which encourages speculations of town allotments and
specifically caters to “land-jobbers” who raise the value of the auctioned land beyond its true
worth in order to sell off miniscule parcelled allotments at exorbitant prices to new arrivals for a
profit of 200 to 300 per cent, whereby its value can only decrease upon viewing the actual
resources of the area (I:11f.). The “land-sharks”, on the other hand, who appear to originate from
Australia, make certain they are the first to buy land at the town sales, which are small in number
and short in notice, and then proceed to subdivide the allotments, and put each piece up for public
auction, whereby the unsuspecting newly-arrived immigrant is deceived into buying land, while
the former can get away with initially paying only the 10 per cent deposit to the Government,
before re-selling the land and again making much profit at the colonist’s expense (I:13). 54 The
Company’s practices, as far as the welfare of new colonists is concerned, in obtaining the above
land are therefore described in a rather generous manner, as he appears somewhat reluctant to
overstate the Company’s role. 55
When viewed in this light, it is interesting to see how Dieffenbach then approaches the
most popular image of New Zealand as a natural paradise. In spite of the seemingly endless
supply of propaganda proclaiming the profusion of nature, he, on the other hand, recognises the
limitations of this abundance not only in terms of variety, but also amount and locality. Although
his work is far from a comprehensive examination of the entire country’s natural resources, he
proclaims the “vegetation of New Zealand is nourished by the constant moisture, and, although
remarkable for the freshness of its verdure, there is not much variety, considering the extent of the
island” (I:77). In fact, the “visitor to the distant shores of New Zealand will be struck by the
Waikato tribes. It was said that the missionaries were much concerned in these transactions” (I:161). Third is the
example of multiple ownership, albeit with differing degrees of justification: “Kapiti and the adjacent islands have
been sold over and over again to different parties, and spots may be found to which half a dozen different persons lay
claim. The chiefs sell their land as many times as they can, still finding hungry sharks ready to purchase, though not
very liberal in their offers, who establish by these means some shadow of a claim. A future investigation into the
land-titles will afford much work and profit to the lawyers” (I:110).
54 He does not stop here with his criticisms of the Government’s handling of land sales, whether through their
surveying of various sites for prospective cities and towns or numerous allotments “never destined to exist except on
paper” turning up for sale as imaginary towns and villages: “It will be acknowledged on all sides, that to found a
dozen capitals and commercial ports, and more than two score of villages, before any population is in the island, any
produce raised to support a population, or any article of commerce ready to be exported, is subverting the natural
order of things, and would have raised a smile on the lips of William Penn, who is often regarded as the father of
modern colonization” (I:15).
55 Cf. I:114, 129, 131.
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