In thinking about historic imaging methods - lithography, wet plate photography, etc. - in relation to geology (my printmaking, Joyce Campbell's work, Auckland...), I came across an online copy of a book written by Dr. Ferdinand von Hochstetter. Hochstetter is regarded as one of the pioneers of geological study and development, and was employed by the Government of New Zealand in 1859 to make a first geological survey of the land, journeying on the ship Novara. Above is an image of a map he developed of the Auckland volcanic field - The isthmus of Auckland with its extinct volcanoes (1865, 20 x 25cm).
In looking into Hochstetter's history, I also came across a copy of the book he wrote on his time in Aotearoa New Zealand, which can be found here (Auckland chapter, here; short but worth a read). Below are some segments and images I thought were curious... Its strange reading such a detailed account of the landscape from the perspective of a European traveller, at a time when colonisation was underway but Auckland's mountains had yet to be dug into...
We were surrounded on all sides by islands, peninsulas and main-land, Tiritirimatangi, Wangaparoa, and the outlines of the North-shore; a low, undulating country destitute of woods, with steep shores, exhibiting regular layers of sandstone and shale, with small, sandy bays, the beach of which was dotted with small, isolated wood-huts. — Before us, in the direction of the sporadic groups of houses composing Auckland City , there lay numerous small truncated cones of hills, the form of which at the very first glance betrayed their volcanic nature. Pre-eminent among all the rest, as it were the leader of the whole host, who alone had ventured out into the sea, and here proudly reared his lofty head, arose the Rangitoto, an island mountain, 900 feet high, — the true prognostic of Auckland. Attractive as the view of this volcanic island was to me, ... its black streams of lava, with its strangely formed summit, where one small cone seemed to be set in the crater of another larger one: the first view of Auckland, I must confess, equalled by no means my brilliant anticipations of New Zealand.
Is that Auckland? — 1 said to myself, the farfamed capital of the “ Great Britain of the South sea?” Where is the New Zealand Thames? Where the steaming, seething geysers and boiling springs? Where are all the volcanic cones of which I had read, the ever-steaming Tongariro; the Ruapahu covered with perpetual snow and ice; the Taranaki rearing its lofty head to the very clouds; where the New Zealand Alps? The picture my imagination had created of New Zealand was quite different to that now presented to my view. The stupendous conical mountains in reality seemed to me shrunk up into little insignificant conical eruptions from 500 to 600 feet high. Although I knew full well, that those gigantic volcanoes, and the snow-clad mountains of the South-Island were no fables but that they lay at such a distance from this coast as to render them invisible; yet my eye searched inquiringly after them, and I felt quite disappointed that not even the last trace of them was to be descried. However, I always felt so, whenever I first set foot on a land, about which I had read a great deal; and every traveller, I think, will experience the same. The reality of the spot which he first steps upon in a new country, never corresponds with the picture created by the imagination. After a long voyage he approaches the new coast with a feeling of impatience and utmost curiosity in the full belief of finding all that is attractive and remarkable collected on the very spot he happens first to set foot on , ready and waiting for him , who lias come so far over the waters to see, with his own eyes, all he had read and heard of. But as it is with the traveller, who would like to see and experience at once all on one and the same spot, so it is, on the other hand, with others in regard to the traveller. He, in his turn, is expected to have seen all and every thing, to have experienced and passed through every thing, especially if he happens to be a so-called “circumnavigator.” And if he moreover should happen to have just visited the gold-fields of Australia, — why, nothing seems more natural than that he should have brought home with him all his pockets and coffers stuffed' with gold dust. It is the imagination which ever speculates, brings the most distant objects near , and would fain comprise all in one grasp. Should my friends in Auckland require any further apology after this my candid avowal , that the impression made on me on the 22d of December 1858, on my first viewing the scenery of that country, did not realise the grand picture my imagination had drawn of New Zealand, I can only assure them, that as Auckland and New Zealand live in my memory at present, all my former expectations and anticipations have been surpassed by far, and should I live to be permitted a second view of that panorama, and to greet once more the Rangitoto, my heart would leap for joy.
The Isthmus of Auckland is one of the most remarkable volcanic districts of the earth. It is characterised by a large number of extinct volcanic cones with craters in a more or less distinct state of preservation, and with lava-streams forming extensive stone fields at the foot of the hills, or with tuff-craters surrounding , like an artificial wall , the cones of eruption piled up of scoriae and volcanic ashes. These cones are promiscuously scattered over the Isthmus and the neighbouring shores of the Waitemata and Manukau. The volcanic action seems to have made itself a new way nearly at every eruption, and has thus splintered into a number of small cones, while by always keeping one and the same channel, it might perhaps have formed one mighty volcanic mountain. On the geological map of the Isthmus I have traced , upon a rectangle twenty miles long and twelve miles wide, or within a radius of only ten miles from Auckland, not less than 63 separate points of eruption. They are volcanoes on the smallest scale , cones of only 300 to GOO feet above the level of the sea. The Rangitoto , the highest among them, rising at the entrance to Auckland Harbour as it were the Vesuvius of Waitemata Bay, measures 920 feet...
Unrelated, but found this a little amusing. Glad they got their money!
Comments