Austrian taxidermist, ornithologist and grave robber
Andreas Reischek (15 September 1845 – 3 April 1902) was an
Austriantaxidermist,
naturalist,
ornithologist and grave robber notable for his extensive natural history collecting expeditions throughout New Zealand as well as being notorious for acts of
grave robbing there. He added materially to the understanding of the biology and distribution of the New Zealand avifauna.[1]
Early years
Reischek was born in
Linz,
Austrian Empire. After attending school for a few years he worked as an apprentice to a
baker and developed a strong interest in natural history, also becoming skilled in
taxidermy. He saw war service in
Tyrol in 1866 during the
Third Italian War of Independence and also served as a
gamekeeper and guide before working as a taxidermist in
Vienna. He married Adelheid Hawlicek on 5 May 1875.[2][3]
Much of Reischek's early work in New Zealand centred on the museums in Christchurch,
Auckland (where he was employed between 1880 and 1888)[4] and
Whanganui but, after his initial two-year contract was completed, he made several extended collecting expeditions over the next ten years, covering most of New Zealand and its sub-Antarctic islands, collecting
biological and
ethnographical specimens, including
Māoriskulls and
mummifiedcadavers robbed from burial sites. On his expeditions he was constantly accompanied by his dog "Caesar", who saved his life on more than one occasion.[3][5]
Reischek collected not only for museums and private collectors, but primarily for himself. His ornithological collecting has been subsequently criticised for such reckless actions as shooting 150 specimens of the rare
stitchbird on
Little Barrier Island at a time when it had become extinct everywhere else.[6] He was strong, physically fit and a good linguist, becoming fluent in both
English and
Māori.[2] In 1885 he was elected a
Fellow of the
Linnean Society of London.[3]
Later years
When Reischek returned to Austria in 1889 he took with him a huge personal collection of over 14,000 items. Ornithological specimens alone numbered over 3000, including many of now
extinct species such as the
huia, and is one of the most complete in existence of New Zealand's birds. The collection was eventually bought by friends of Reischek and presented to the
Imperial Natural History Museum in Vienna.[1]
Two years after his return his wife gave birth to a son, Andreas. In 1892 he was asked to superintend the establishment of the Francis-Caroline Museum in Linz, the town of his birth, where he died in 1902.[2] He is commemorated in the name of
Reischek's parakeet, endemic to New Zealand's
Antipodes Islands.
Reischek's book about his travels in New Zealand, "Yesterdays in Maoriland", was compiled posthumously by his son from his diaries. It was first published in German in 1924 and was not available in an English translation until 1930.
While in New Zealand Reischek published numerous articles on natural history in Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute (now the
Royal Society of New Zealand):
1881 – Notes on Zoological Researches made on the Chicken Islands, East Coast of the North Island. Vol.14, pp. 274–277.[9]
1884 – Notes on New Zealand Ornithology. Vol.17, pp. 187–198.[10]
1885 – Notes on New Zealand Ornithology: Observations on Pogonornis cincta (Dubus); Stitch-Bird (Tiora). Vol.18, pp. 84–87.[11]
1885 – Notes on New Zealand Ornithology: Observations on Procellaria parkinsoni (Grey), Brown Petrel (Taiko). Vol.18, pp. 87–90.[12]
1885 – Observations on Gould's Petrel (Hutton), Procellaria gouldi (Ohi), their Habits and Habitats. Vol.18, pp. 90–91.[13]
1885 – Observations on Cook's Petrel (Grey), Procellaria cooki (Ti Ti), their Habits and Habitats. Vol.18, pp. 92–93.[14]
1885 – Observations on Puffinus gavius (Forst.), Rain-bird, (Hakoakoa), their Habits and Habitats. Vol.18, 93–94.[15]
1885 – Observations on Puffinus assimilis (Gould), Totorore, their Habits and Habitats. Vol.18, pp. 95–96.[16]
1885 – Observations on the Habits of New Zealand Birds, their Usefulness or Destructiveness to the Country. Vol.18, pp. 96–104.[17]
1885 – Notes on the Habits of some New Zealand Birds. Vol.18, pp. 105–107.[18]
1885 – Observations on Sphenodon punctatum, Fringe-back Lizard (Tuatara). Vol.18, pp. 108–110.[19]
1885 – Notes on the Habits of the Polecat, Ferret, Mongoose, Stoat, and Weasel. Vol.18, pp. 110–112.[20]
1886 – Description of the Little Barrier or Hauturu Island, the Birds which inhabit it, and the Locality as a Protection to them. Vol.19, pp. 181–184.[21]
1886 – Notes on Ornithology. Vol.19, pp. 184–188.[22]
1886 – Ornithological Notes. Vol.19, pp. 188–193.[23]
1887 – Recent Explorations North of Chalky Sound, West Coast of Otago. Vol.20, p. 441.[25]
1888 – Notes on the Islands to the South of New Zealand. Vol.21, pp. 378–389.[26]
References
^
abWesterskov, K.E. (1990). "Andreas Reischek, 1845-1902". pp.191-193 in A Flying Start. Commemorating Fifty Years of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand, ed. B.J. Gill & B.D. Heather. Random Century: Auckland.
ISBN1-86941-080-7
^
abcdPhillipps, William John. “REISCHEK, Andreas”, from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2007.
[1]