Thom Conroy has given us a story of Ernst Dieffenbach, rebel, exile and naturalist, a man of deeply felt liberal ideas concerning the fundamental unity of the many races of humanity.
Unable to return to his home in Germany, he travelled as naturalist on the first, illegal attempts of the New Zealand Company to colonise the country.
This in itself is an interesting and disturbing tale, telling as it does of the company's appalling attitudes to the Maori, in the days of Imperial Great Britain.
But it is the sympathetic drawing of the picture of Dieffenbach which makes the book such a riveting read.
A passionate man, desperately seeking acceptance, love and a place to call home, he found his deeply felt ideas were unacceptable in the Britain of the late 1830s to 1850s.
He first came to New Zealand in 1839, making good friends with several Maori and understanding their thinking and culture.
He studied native plants and birds, and met and knew Humboldt, Charles Heaphy and Darwin, who does not emerge well in this story.
The Naturalist is highly recommended.
Margaret Bannister is a retired Dunedin psychotherapist and science teacher.
