Andreas Reischek (15 September 1845 – 3 April 1902) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the process ...

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

and grave robber notable for his extensive natural history collecting expeditions throughout New Zealand as well as being notorious for acts of

grave robbing A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

there. He added materially to the understanding of the biology and distribution of the New Zealand avifauna.Westerskov, 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.

Early years

Reischek was born in

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. After attending school for a few years he worked as an apprentice to a

baker A baker is a tradesperson who baking, bakes and sometimes Sales, sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient histo ...

and developed a strong interest in natural history, also becoming skilled in

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proces ...

. He saw war service in

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

in 1866 during the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence () was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in Austria giving the region of Venetia (p ...

and also served as a

gamekeeper In the United Kingdom, a gamekeeper (often abbreviated to keeper) is a person who manages an area of countryside (e.g., areas of woodland, moorland, waterway or farmland) to make sure that there is enough Game (hunting), game for hunting, or fish ...

and guide before working as a taxidermist in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He married Adelheid Hawlicek on 5 May 1875.Phillipps, 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-200

/ref>Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Andreas Reischek
/ref>

New Zealand

In 1877 Reischek was chosen by

Ferdinand von Hochstetter Christian Gottlieb Ferdinand Ritter von Hochstetter (30 April 1829 – 18 July 1884) was a Germany, German-Austrians, Austrian geologist. In 1857 he was appointed geologist on the Austrian Novara expedition to New Zealand, collecting natural his ...

to travel to New Zealand for two years to help set up displays at the Canterbury Museum in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, then under the directorship of

Julius von Haast Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (1 May 1822 – 16 August 1887) was a German-born New Zealand explorer, geologist, and founder of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Early life Johann Franz Julius Haast was born on 1 May 1822 in Bo ...

. Much of Reischek's early work in New Zealand centred on the museums in Christchurch,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

(where he was employed between 1880 and 1888) and

Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...

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 Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution of ...

and

ethnographical Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

specimens, including

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

skull The skull, or cranium, is typically a bony enclosure around the brain of a vertebrate. In some fish, and amphibians, the skull is of cartilage. The skull is at the head end of the vertebrate. In the human, the skull comprises two prominent ...

s and

mummified A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furthe ...

cadaver A cadaver, often known as a corpse, is a Death, dead human body. Cadavers are used by medical students, physicians and other scientists to study anatomy, identify disease sites, determine causes of death, and provide tissue (biology), tissue to ...

s robbed from burial sites. On his expeditions he was constantly accompanied by his dog "Caesar", who saved his life on more than one occasion. 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 The stitchbird or hihi (''Notiomystis cincta'') is a honeyeater-like bird endemic to the North Island and adjacent offshore islands of New Zealand. Its evolutionary relationships have long puzzled ornithologists, but it is now classed as the ...

Little Barrier Island Little Barrier Island, or Hauturu in Māori language, Māori (the official Māori title is ''Te Hauturu-o-Toi''), lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. Located to the north of Auckland, the island is separated from the ...

at a time when it had become extinct everywhere else.Wilson, Kerry-Jayne. (2004). ''Flight of the Huia''. Canterbury University Press: Christchurch. He was strong, physically fit and a good linguist, becoming fluent in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

. In 1885 he was elected a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...

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 Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species such as the

huia The huia ( ; ; ''Heteralocha acutirostris'') is an extinct species of New Zealand wattlebird, endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. The last confirmed sighting of a huia was in 1907, although there was another credible sighting in 1924 ...

, 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 The Natural History Museum Vienna () is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museums and non-university research institutions in Austria and an important center of excellence for all matt ...

in Vienna. 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. He is commemorated in the name of

Reischek's parakeet Reischek's parakeet (''Cyanoramphus hochstetteri'') is a small green parrot confined to Antipodes Island, one of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, which it shares with a congener, the larger Antipodes parakeet. Taxonomy The common name com ...

, endemic to New Zealand's

Antipodes Islands The Antipodes Islands (, ) are inhospitable and uninhabited volcanic islands in subantarctic waters to the south of – and territorially part of – New Zealand. The archipelago lies to the southeast of Stewart Island / Rakiura, and to the ...

Repatriation of ancestral remains

In September 2022 the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

in Vienna returned the remains of about 64

and

Moriori The Moriori are the first settlers of the Chatham Islands ( in Moriori language, Moriori; in Māori language, Māori). Moriori are Polynesians who came from the New Zealand mainland around 1500 AD, which was close to the time of the ...

people, collected by Reischek, to

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand.

Bibliography

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 Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

): * 1881 – Notes on Zoological Researches made on the Chicken Islands, East Coast of the North Island. Vol.14, pp. 274–277. * 1884 – Notes on New Zealand Ornithology. Vol.17, pp. 187–198. * 1885 – Notes on New Zealand Ornithology: Observations on ''Pogonornis cincta'' (Dubus); Stitch-Bird (Tiora). Vol.18, pp. 84–87. * 1885 – Notes on New Zealand Ornithology: Observations on ''Procellaria parkinsoni'' (Grey), Brown Petrel (Taiko). Vol.18, pp. 87–90. * 1885 – Observations on Gould's Petrel (Hutton), ''Procellaria gouldi'' (Ohi), their Habits and Habitats. Vol.18, pp. 90–91. * 1885 – Observations on Cook's Petrel (Grey), ''Procellaria cooki'' (Ti Ti), their Habits and Habitats. Vol.18, pp. 92–93. * 1885 – Observations on ''Puffinus gavius'' (Forst.), Rain-bird, (Hakoakoa), their Habits and Habitats. Vol.18, 93–94. * 1885 – Observations on ''Puffinus assimilis'' (Gould), Totorore, their Habits and Habitats. Vol.18, pp. 95–96. * 1885 – Observations on the Habits of New Zealand Birds, their Usefulness or Destructiveness to the Country. Vol.18, pp. 96–104. * 1885 – Notes on the Habits of some New Zealand Birds. Vol.18, pp. 105–107. * 1885 – Observations on ''Sphenodon punctatum'', Fringe-back Lizard (Tuatara). Vol.18, pp. 108–110. * 1885 – Notes on the Habits of the Polecat, Ferret, Mongoose, Stoat, and Weasel. Vol.18, pp. 110–112. * 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. * 1886 – Notes on Ornithology. Vol.19, pp. 184–188. * 1886 – Ornithological Notes. Vol.19, pp. 188–193. * 1887 – Notes on Rats. Vol.20, pp. 125–126. * 1887 – Recent Explorations North of Chalky Sound, West Coast of Otago. Vol.20, p. 441. * 1888 – Notes on the Islands to the South of New Zealand. Vol.21, pp. 378–389.Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 1888 (electronic resource)
at rsnz.natlib.govt.nz

Early years

New Zealand

Later years

Repatriation of ancestral remains

Bibliography

References

Further reading