Navigation for An Indescribable Beauty

An Indescribable Beauty

A young German writes letters home to his mother after immigrating to Wellington in 1859.

Wellington, 1859, and a young German immigrant called Friedrich August Krull writes a series of letters home to his mother about his new life in a far-flung country. More than century later, those letters have been collected in a new book An Indescribable Beauty, published by Awa Press. The letters capture a country on the cusp of change, and describe a New Zealand we would struggle to recognise today.

This four-part documentary series is produced by Justin Gregory and features Adrian Hollay, Gavin McLean, James Bade and Marama Muru-Janning.

Related audio: Publisher Mary Varnham talks about An Indescribable Beauty on Nine to Noon

Cover of An Indescribable Beauty; Friedrich Krull
Fredrich Krull in uniform of Consul for the German Empire. He was appointed in 1871 aged 36. This photo is from the collection of Whanganui Regional Museum.

  • An Indescribable Beauty (Part 1)

    14 Sep 2012

    Krull arrives in Wellington and is excited by what he finds there. He’s also appalled at how much everything costs, and stunned by how hard the wind blows. Audio

  • An Indescribable Beauty (Part 2)

    21 Sep 2012

    Friedrich Krull ventures out of Wellington for the first time. He travels into Wairarapa in search of wild bush, exotic birdlife and “dangerous natives”. Audio

  • An Indescribable Beauty (Part 3)

    28 Sep 2012

    Friedrich Krull and best friend Karl Hartmann walk the length of the Kapiti Coast. Along the way they dodge desperate outlaws, visit a village that is just about to disappear, and meet two giant… Read more Audio

  • An Indescribable Beauty (Part 4)

    5 Oct 2012

    Krull gets a taste of home while visiting German settlers in Nelson. But first, he casts his eye over race relations and considers questions of class - and money. Audio

 

 

An Indescribable Beauty