Von Tempsky Street sign (2010). Mike Gooch. Word on the Street image collection.
Von Tempsky Street sign (2010). Mike Gooch. Word on the Street image collection.
Von Tempsky Street is in Normanby, just a few kilometres from the historic Te Ngutu o Te Manu (Beak of the Bird) site, where the legendary Gustav Ferdinand von Tempsky met his fate.
Von Tempsky, born in East Prussia (today's Poland) in 1828, was the son of a Prussian army colonel. His military education provided tuition in art, music, classics and literature. Throughout his life he used these skills, becoming a published author, newspaper correspondent and notable artist.
Following several military engagements in Central America and time on the goldfields of the United States and Australia, he arrived in New Zealand in 1862. His wife and three young children joined him later.
He bought with him Prussian military skill and experience, and soon became involved with the elite Forest Rangers. Gradually over the next five years he built his reputation as a charismatic and capable military leader in the Waikato and Taranaki. He was popular among his men and known for his rugged good looks and erudite mind. Among Māori, he was respected as a warrior and was given the name "Manurau" or "the bird that flits everywhere." This glowing reputation led to his appointment to command No.5 Division of the Armed Constabulary. The division was deployed to assist in South Taranaki in what is popularly known as Titokowaru's War.
Despite his seemingly impeccable character, it is said he was still susceptible to human foibles, with a battle against alcohol and a romantic attachment to a local Māori woman.
His final engagement, an attack on Titokowaru's pā at Te Ngutu o Te Manu led to his demise with a single shot to the head - a swift end to a colourful life on 7 September 1868. But the legend of larger-than-life von Tempsky lives on in the folklore of New Zealand and in a Normanby street.
This story was originally published in the Taranaki Daily News.
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