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Story: Germans

Johann Dierks

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Johann Dierks

Some early German arrivals were ministers of religion sent out to convert Māori to the ways of Christ. Johann Dierks worked at the Lutheran mission at Waitōtara in Taranaki for 20 years until his death in 1898.

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Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: PAColl-5871-05

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

James N. Bade, Germans – Early settlements, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/541/johann-dierks (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by James N. Bade, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 July 2024.