Haast and the Moa: Reversing the Tyranny of Distance

Abstract

The powerful position of patrons and interpreters at the imperial centers and the secondary, supportive position of colonial contributors to the scientific enterprise have been emphasized in the literature on colonial science. For Sir Julius von Haast, however, New Zealand provided both the opportunity and the resources for a scientific career of international fame. Moa bones were his most valuable resource. The exchange and sale of moa bones stocked his museum; gifts of moa skeletons brought him honors; and he began to claim that being at the periphery and having seen the bones in situ gave his interpretations credibility.