An Indescribable Beauty

150-year-old letters by a young German settler provide an exciting journey into New Zealand’s past

Letters home by a 22-year-old German who arrived in New Zealand in 1859 are giving historians and readers a fresh look at the country on the brink of the New Zealand Wars.

Friedrich Krull, who hailed from northern Germany, landed in Wellington after a four-month voyage on a Swedish ship, the Equator. Intelligent, curious and adventurous, the young man then travelled on foot and horseback to many parts of the lower North Island.

Unlike most settlers, Krull was eager to experience and understand traditional Māori life. On his travels he sought out visionaries Tamihana te Rauparaha and Mātene te Whiwhi, founders of the Māori King movement, and provides vivid descriptions of their homes. He also journeyed with Te Atiawa paramount chief Honiana Te Puni-kokopu.

Germans were the second largest settler group in nineteenth-century New Zealand, and the letters were intended to give potential settlers information about the country. They do far more. Krull’s lyrical descriptions transport the reader to a New Zealand that is barely recognisable today. Māori outnumber Pākehā, there are so many birds their song is deafening, and most of the countryside is still in a state of extraordinary natural beauty.

The letters have now been published in English translation in An Indescribable Beauty by award-winning independent publisher Awa Press. As well as the marvellous letters, the book includes a fascinating selection of paintings, drawings and photographs of the places and people Krull encountered.

An excellent introduction by historian Oliver Harrison gives an overview of early German settlement in New Zealand, which was wide-ranging, from Houhara and Awanui in Northland to Gore and Germantown in Southland. Many New Zealand families have German ancestry.

Friedrich Krull lived in New Zealand for the rest of his life. He married and had six surviving children, became a Wellington city councillor and member of the Wellington Harbour Board, and in 1871 was appointed the first German Consul by Kaiser Wilhelm I. Later in life he moved to Whanganui. Many of his descendants still live in New Zealand. His grandson, Eric Krull, was a naval officer at the D-Day Normandy landings.

__________________________________________________________________________An Indescribable Beauty - Awa Press - August 2012 -  RRP $38