The first associations were formed early in this century by men who had served in the Second Boer War. Clubs, which were formed first of all to pick up the threads of wartime friendships, became in due course South African War Veterans' Associations, each autonomous in its own district, usually as an incorporated society. A national body, the South African War Veterans' Association of New Zealand, was not formed, however, until after the First World War. Membership was not restricted to New Zealanders, and the total of 1,479 in 1943 included Australians, Canadians, South Africans, and men from the United Kingdom. As late as 1952 there were 1,200 members, but the years took an increasing toll from then onwards and in 1962 the figure fell below 300. Though the various associations have undertaken welfare work among South African War veterans, their functions have been chiefly social. They were never numerous enough to exert great influence in Government circles and by the time many of their members needed help, more powerful spokesmen for ex-service interests had appeared on the scene.

The South African War volunteers had enlisted for one year only; they served in small contingents widely separated, and the 6,000-odd who returned were quickly reabsorbed into the civil community. The First World War of 1914–18 took more than 100,000 men and women abroad, the men mostly in army formations which attained a lively esprit de corps. They suffered great hardship and loss. Because of their greater numbers and the more intense quality of their war experience, therefore, the returned men of the First World War found it harder to settle down afterwards in civilian life. When they organised themselves, as they began to at the end of 1915, into Returned Soldiers' Associations, they at once engaged in vigorous debate on issues such as land settlement, the handling of patriotic funds, and promotion for those going overseas again. The Government and other public bodies soon recognised the RSAs as representatives of returned soldiers: trade unions, for example, discussed with them the matter of wages for disabled ex-servicemen. By July 1916 there were 18 local associations, as well as a national body, the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association, with headquarters in Wellington. On Anzac Day of 1918 the first issue of the RSA official newspaper, Quick March, appeared. Membership grew by 1920 to 57,000, but thereafter it began to fall off.

The NZRSA explored all aspects of what was then called “repatriation” (later “rehabilitation”), that is, the change from army to civilian life with its many problems of adjustment. It helped to gain official recognition of the fact that many illnesses – mainly tuberculosis cases – were attributable to war service. It thrashed out the complicated details of a pensions scheme and finally in 1923 got the Government to set up a War Pensions Appeals Board. The RSA Land Committee and Land Bureau helped returned men to find farm land and settle on it and, by May 1920, a total of 9,041 had benefited, of whom some 2,250 had settled on land provided by the Government. Looking to the good of the country as a whole, the RSA saw that repatriation could not be entirely successful except as part of a far-sighted post-war policy which must include close labour-employer relations, rational manpower distribution, development of new industries and State ownership of some of them, a broad hydro-electric plan, and better fiscal policy. All these were advocated in 1919; but this was too soon. The RSA was ahead of its time and it took the depression of a dozen years later to convince the country of the need for such measures. One practical step to cope with unemployment among returned men (as well as to help children in the war-devastated areas of France) was the pre-Anzac Day sale of poppies, which began in 1922; three-quarters of the proceeds were devoted to unemployment relief. Looking even farther afield, the RSA took part in a conference at Cape Town in 1920 which laid the foundations of the British Empire Service League, and its delegates there advocated support for the League of Nations.

The enthusiasm which had carried the RSA this far, however, began to wane. Quick March ceased publication in 1923, to be succeeded in the following year by the RSA Review, which has appeared regularly ever since. Membership fell by 30 per cent per year until 1926. Then the trend changed. By 1930 the figures were moving upwards and at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 they reached 31,549 members. With the stimulus of another war, which took even more men and women overseas, membership rose to 136,119 in 1947. It dwindled again from then onwards, but began to rise again in 1955. For some years it has held fairly constantly between 90,000 and 100,000 and in 1964 was 93,286.

Gatherings of ex-service men and women in clubs, associations, or reunions are very much a feature of New Zealand life. The principal ex-service associations are represented on welfare bodies, such as the Patriotic and Canteen Fund Boards and pensions boards, and Governments have often consulted them or heeded their views. Their membership totals well over 100,000, mostly of men over 40 years old, and they speak with varying degrees of authority for more than a quarter of a million ex-service people and their dependants.

The New Zealand Retailers' Federation has existed since 1921 under three names. Originally it comprised only those retailers selling clothing, textiles, and footwear. About 18 years ago it widened its representation to include drapers, department stores, chain stores, speciality fashion houses, and retailers of men's and boys' wear, household appliances, footwear, crockery and household hardware, and furniture and furnishings. It represents 2,900 retailers and an estimated 3,500 stores.

The federation watches over members' interests, disseminates useful information to retailers, fosters efficient retailing and service to consumers, encourages high ethical standards, and acts as a negotiator and authoritative link between the Government, State Departments, manufacturers, and wholesalers. The federation also keeps a close watch on economic trends and advises members on matters governed by economic fluctuations and on Government policies and legislation. Proposed legislation is scrutinised and any relevant retailers' views are submitted to the Government. For many years the federation, through its subsidiary organisation, the New Zealand College of Retailing, has been active in staff training. It has recently extended its work to include retail-management training, more particularly for the smaller store owners.

The federation, which comprises 15 district associations, all completely autonomous, is managed by a council appointed by the associations. Six national trade groups, representing the various types of stores in the federation, are subordinate to the council in matters of national policy, but autonomous in matters affecting their own trading sphere. A national secretary and staff look after general administration. Members are kept in touch with developments through a monthly journal, Retailer of New Zealand.

by Arthur Oman Heany, General Secretary, Associated Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand, Wellington.

The frogs are members of the class Amphibia, a group of cold-blooded vertebrate animals whose larval young live in water and breathe by means of internal or external gills, and later metamorphose into an adult form which breathes air by means of lungs. The class includes the frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and some limbless, wormlike, burrowing forms. New Zealand has a sparse amphibian fauna, limited to three species of native frogs and three frog species introduced from Australia in European times.

The native frogs belong to a genus (Leiopelma) restricted to New Zealand, which shows some of the most primitive skeletal and anatomical features of any known frog or toad.

Leiopelma archeyi occurs only on the Coromandel Peninsula, overlapping sometimes with Leiopelma hochstetteri which are also found in the coastal areas south of the Peninsula and at Warkworth and in the Waitakere Ranges. Leiopelma hamiltoni, the “Stephens Island Frog”, found on Stephens Island in Cook Strait, is now known to occur also on Maud Island in Pelorus Sound. The breeding of these frogs is of particular interest, for the few heavily yolked eggs laid are surrounded by a gelatinous capsule. The frogs undergo most of their development within this capsule and they hatch as well-developed froglets with a tail. At least two of the species are known to lack the free-living tadpole stage usually occurring in frogs. The native frogs are perhaps unique in that they are protected by law.

The introduced Australian frogs all belong to a single genus, Hyla, of a widespread family of tree frogs. The earliest successful introductions took place in 1867 and at least one of the species, the “Golden Bell Frog” (Hyla aurea), has become the most commonly encountered frog in both Islands. A second species, the “Brown Tree Frog” or “Whistling Frog” (Hyla ewingii), is found in Westland and in southern areas of the North Island. This frog produces a distinctive shrill piping call by means of vocal sacs on the throat.

The third species, the “Great Green Tree Frog” (Hyla caerulea), has rarely been found and possibly it is no longer present in New Zealand.

by Richard Essex Barwick, M.SC.(N.Z.), Lecturer, Zoology Department, School of General Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, A.C.T.

• Reptiles, Bellairs, A. d'A. (1957)
• Living Reptiles of the World, Schmidt, K. P., and Inger, R. F. (1957)
• Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Vol. 86 (1959), “The Life History of the Common New Zealand Skink Leiolopisma zelandica (Gray, 1843)”, Barwick, R. E.
• Dominion Museum Bulletin No. 17 (1955), “The Lizards of New Zealand”, McCann, C
• Tuatara, Vol. VI (1956), “Keys to the Lizards of New Zealand”, McCann, C.
• “Living Amphibians of the World”, Cochran, D. M. (1961)
• Tuatara, Vol. VIII (1961), “Illustrations of the New Zealand Frog Fauna”, Barwick, R. E.
• lb. Vol. VIII (1961), “The Introduced Frogs of New Zealand”, McCann, C.
• Ib. Vol. VIII (1961), “New Zealand Native Frogs”, Stephenson, E. M. (Lists Leiopelma Literature)
• Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Vol. 84 (1957), “Field Observations on the New Zealand Frog, Leiopelma Fitzinger”, Stephenson, E. M. and N. G.

Reptiles are a class of vertebrate animals whose living forms include the crocodiles, turtles, snakes, lizards, and the lizard-like tuatara, found only in New Zealand. Apart from the tuatara, the reptile fauna of New Zealand consists of two kinds of lizards –geckos and skinks. Occasionally large marine turtles and sea snakes are recorded from New Zealand shores as strays from warmer northern waters. New Zealand has no terrestrial snakes and their importation for any purpose is forbidden.

New Zealand's lizards include only two families of the more than 20 known in the world. Both the geckos (Gekkonidae) and the skinks (Scincidae) are widely distributed families, but the New Zealand native geckos are the only members of this family to give birth to live young. All other geckos lay eggs.

Geckos are small, with a soft loose skin which is dull and granular in appearance. The pupil of the eye appears as a vertical slit in bright light, but in darkness it becomes large and round. Rough plates or lamellae on the underside of the fingers and toes enable the animal to climb smooth surfaces, even glass.

Geckos are nocturnal. The green gecko (Naultinus elegans) is an exception, for it shelters in foliage during the day, but other species emerge from their daytime hiding places only at dusk. Hoplodactylus pacificus, frequently found on shingle beaches, is probably the most commonly encountered New Zealand gecko. Duvaucel's gecko (Hoplodactylus duvauceli) which can attain 10 in. in length, is the largest species and is restricted to some of the islands in Cook Strait and to others off the northern coast of the North Island. The species of the genus Heteropholis found in the South Island are among the most beautiful members of the family.

Skinks are active, rapidly moving lizards which have a surface covering of shiny overlapping scales, smooth and glossy to touch. Skinks are distinguished by a slender head, neck, and body, and by long slender fingers and toes which lack the toe pads of geckos. They move about with amazing speed in hot weather, feeding and basking in the sun by day and retiring to shelter at night. The common skink, Leiolopisma zelandica, has a wide distribution and can easily be found on stony beaches.

Nine species of indigenous geckos and 18 species of skinks have been identified in New Zealand. Lizards sometimes come in with foreign cargoes, but none of these is known to have become established.

Compared with other countries New Zealand has few kinds of frogs and reptiles but the native frogs and the tuatara are among the world's most curious and interesting living fauna.

The Remarkables are a spectacular and picturesque range extending from Kawarau River to Staircase Creek, rising to a height of 7,688 ft at Double Cone. The west face has been shaped by a Pleistocene glacier formerly occupying Lake Wakatipu. The western or Wakatipu face of The Remarkables was explored by D. A. Cameron and A. A. Macdonald in 1859 when they named the Devils Staircase at the south end. The lower slopes are fine for grazing and were first taken up as a sheep run in 1860 by W. G. Rees. Wye Creek on the western face is used for generating hydro-electric power for Queenstown.

The first recorded ascent of Double Cone was by T. N. Hackett, a geologist, in 1864. Lake Alta, a cirque lake, lies just below Double Cone at about 7,000 ft, and at the head of Wye Creek is a number of glacial lakelets, the largest of which is Lake Hope.

Nevis Valley to the east of and parallel to The Remarkables was the scene of much gold mining; the valley is aligned on large faults and is underlain by quartz gravels, oil shale, and lignite.

by Bryce Leslie Wood, M.SC., New Zealand Geological Survey, Dunedin.

Although most Maoris now follow the same religious professions as Europeans, two indigenous religious systems continue to attract adherents. These are the Ratana Church, founded by T. W. Ratana, and the Ringatu Church, founded by Te Kooti Rikirangi. To a large extent their doctrines are outgrowths from the Hauhauism of the 1860s, which blended Biblical teachings and traditional Maori beliefs. The basic theology of most Maori cults has been derived from the identification of the Hebrew Jehovah with Io, an important figure in Polynesian mythology. From this point certain Maori leaders found it possible to correlate their own word-of-mouth genealogies with similar or parallel genealogies in the Old Testament, and to identify their traditional beliefs with portions of the Scriptures. In this connection the many similarities between Maori traditions and Mormon teachings probably account for the success which has attended the latter's appeal to portions of the Maori population. The following table includes relative strengths of various Maori religious sects.

Maori Religious Professions

As is the case of other countries which share western European cultural traditions, New Zealand possesses a plethora of minor Christian, neo-Christian, and non-Christian religious sects. In general, these are New Zealand branches of overseas sects rather than indigenous movements. There was a time in some European countries' history when theological deviations were an embarrassment to the established governments and their exorcism or suppression required direct State action. At no time in New Zealand's history has the State shown any inclination to bind the conscience of the electorate. This does not mean, however, that individual politicians have not been guilty of advancing religious arguments in order to justify their policies or advocate new courses of State action. Nor does it mean that sects are unable to find instances where secular laws appear to conflict with their theology. There are also at least two relatively small sects which do not recognise any authority beyond their group. Fortunately, cases of such conflict are rare and always arouse widespread public interest when they occur. Practically all of the major non-Christian systems of religion have small followings in New Zealand, but in most cases their adherents form a negligible proportion of the total population.

In New Zealand the leaders of the State do accept the principle that they have moral obligations in the framing and enforcement of the laws. Consequently, many religious systems are often protected by general “conscience” clauses which are inserted in some particularly contentious legislation. It is felt that this is no more than people are entitled to expect, and the success of this policy of toleration – if it can properly be called a policy – is borne out by the complete absence of schism within the community as a whole.

While it can be said that the New Zealand State does not base its authority upon theological doctrine, it reveals a religious preference to the extent that where, on official occasions, prayer is considered appropriate, Christian forms are invariably preferred to non-Christian. Beyond this the State offers no advice and the form of prayer used is left to the discretion of the officiating clergyman.

To a limited extent the various churches function as pressure groups on educational questions and where moral issues are involved. In such cases they are accorded no more privileged treatment than that given to individuals or secular pressure groups. Their evidence is taken by Royal Commissions and is weighed, together with the submissions of other groups, and incorporated or not, as the case warrants, in the final report and recommendations.

The following is the most recent (1961) census report on the small denominations. The category “Object to state” represents those persons availing themselves of the special statutory right of objecting to answer a question on this subject. It is probable that the “not specified” group includes a number of persons objecting to the question.

(1845–1902).

Taxidermist, naturalist, and collector.

A new biography of Reischek, Andreas appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Andreas Reischek was born in 1845 at Linz, Austria, the son of a tax collector – his mother dying soon after his birth. After a few years' schooling he was apprenticed to a baker who encouraged in him a love for natural history. In 1866 Reischek saw war service in the Tyrol. By 1875 he had married and was settled down as a taxidermist in Vienna. He was selected in 1877 by Dr Hochstetter to visit New Zealand for two years to assist in setting up displays in the Canterbury Museum, Christchurch, then under the direction of Dr Julius Von Haast. In New Zealand his work centred around the Canterbury, Wanganui, and Auckland Museums, but he was also a collector on his own account, amassing a vast collection of biological specimens as well as many objects of ethnographic interest.

In 1888 Reischek visited the Auckland and Campbell Islands in the New Zealand Government steamer Stella which made annual voyages to service lighthouses and to search for castaways. In addition he spent several months collecting on the Chickens, Little Barrier Island, and at the West Coast Sounds. He also visited the King Country with the express permission of “King” Tawhiao, and on his journey southwards, at Whatiwhatihoe, Reischek received from the King's uncle, Te Witiora, a casket with a huia tail or hua. He was thus created a chief and named “Ihaka Reiheke, Te Kiwi, Rangatira te Auturia”. On later visits he received many gifts including two more hua, and in return he gave pipes, tobacco, mirrors, pencils, and ear-rings to the Maori chiefs. These travels occupied 12 years and on 13 April 1889 he returned to Austria. Ultimately Reischek was asked to superintend the formation of the new Francis-Caroline Museum at Linz, and he died there on 3 April 1902.

Reischek's ornithological collection numbered 3,016 specimens, including 738 extinct exotic birds and 227 Dinornis. Mammals were represented by 120 skins; fishes and reptiles comprised 8,000 items and plants, 2,406. The total number of Maori objects was 453, including weapons, agricultural implements, house carvings, canoe ornaments, and articles of personal adornment. There were also some 37 Maori skulls. Although urged to do so, the Imperial Museum authorities hesitated to purchase Reischek's collection. At last a number of Austrians subscribed sufficient money to acquire it and, in 1926, the Imperial Museum (now the Vienna State Museum) held a special Reischek exhibition.

Reischek is alleged to have secured four mummies from a cave at Kawhia, two being described as being in a state of perfect preservation. He had been guided to the cave by “two Maoris sufficiently europeanised to be willing to renounce their national and religious principles for gold”. Actually Reischek took only two bodies – now in the Naturhistorische Museum in Vienna – they were dessicated and trussed bodies (not mummies), much of the flesh being still preserved on the bones. The knees were drawn up and the hands folded on the body, a traditional posture used for Maori dead who were later hidden in secluded spots or even placed in large trees. Also outstanding in the Maori collection were two burial chests, one being elaborately carved and containing bones of at least two persons. The carving on this chest is archaic and, apparently, unique. Such chests belong only to Waikato and Northland, and held selected bones of dead ancestors.

Reischek was a skilful taxidermist and a selftaught naturalist. He is depicted as a tough, wiry, bewhiskered man with high temples, a swag on his back and a gun in his hand. He had a remarkable physique and was a good linguist, speaking English and Maori with fluency. His dog, Caesar, which he acquired as a pup and trained to his requirements, accompanied him on all his expeditions. Reischek shot hundreds of native birds for food or for his collections. He had a genuine love for, and interest in, bird life and was the first to suggest Little Barrier Island as a sanctuary for native birds. Reischek made many intimate friends among the Maoris; but he showed little hesitation in taking objects of rare value to add to his collections. For his contributions to botany he was elected a fellow of the Linnean Society. Many of his articles were published in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. The English translation of his book, Yesterdays in Maoriland, appeared in 1930.

by William John Phillipps, formerly Registrar and Ethnologist, Dominion Museum, Wellington.

• Yesterdays in Maoriland, Reischek, A. (1930), (1952)
• Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vol. 39 (1930) (W. J. Phillipps)
• lb., Vol. 40 (1931), (R. Firth).