Return of remains

We should all welcome the return of the indigenous remains collected by Andreas Reischek ( Austria to return stolen ancestral remains to NZ, Sept 27).

He was recruited by Ferdinand von Hochstetter in response to Julius von Haast’s request for a taxidermist, but became a collector well beyond that role, including accessing secretWaikato cave burial sites, gathering toi moko. In this, he needed and got both information and physical help from some local Māori.

Regrettably, he also shot endangered birds, some of which, such as the huia, are now extinct. Huia were also prized byMāori, notably for their feathers.

Reischek hoped that his collection would be rewarded by Emperor Franz Joseph witha high appointment, including leading Vienna’s Natural HistoryMuseum. In this and in other aspirations, he was disappointed.

New Zealanders will rightly see his collecting activity as outrageous and congratulate all involved in the decades of work to have these remains successfully returned. Kerry Burke, Strowan