Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky (1828 - 1868)

Born 15 Feb 1828 in Braunsberg, East Prussia

Husband of Emilia Ross (Bell) von Tempsky — married 9 Jul 1855 in Bluefields, Nicaragua

Descendants

Died 7 Sep 1868 at age 40 in Te Ngutu o Te Manu, South Taranaki, New Zealand

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Biography

Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky was a larger-than-life character - an adventurer and natural leader who spoke several languages, painted in watercolours, sang, and wrote popular books and articles.

Von Tempsky was born at Königsberg (Kaliningrad), East Prussia, on February 15, 1828. After receiving a military education, and serving briefly in his father's regiment, he left in 1846 for Central America. He fought as an officer when the European colonies on the Mosquito Coast came under attack by Nicaraguan forces. Later, he spent time in the California gold rush before returning to the Mosquito Coast, where he married Emelia Ross Bell, the daughter of a British government official, in 1855. In 1857 the Tempskys left for Scotland, where they spent a year before emigrating to Australia. After failing to make his fortune there, Tempsky moved to New Zealand to work in the Coromandel goldfield.

At the outbreak of the Waikato War in 1863, Von Tempsky joined the Forest Rangers, an irregular colonial force, and became an officer, commanding a company in several engagements. After distinguishing himself in combat, he was promoted to major in April 1864.

In January 1868, Von Tempsky was appointed inspector of the newly formed Armed Constabulary at the Patea station in Taranaki. ^[1]

On September 7, 1868, Von Tempsky was shot in the head while covering the retreat of British forces near Te Ngutu-o-te-manu in South Taranaki. All attempts to recover his body failed and it was later burned on a funeral pyre by the Maori defenders. ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2210, 21 January 1868, Page 3
2. ↑ description of the engagement in which Major Von Tempsky was killed Star, Issue 103, 11 September 1868, Page 3

• Tempsky, Gustavus Ferdinand von. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Volume 1, 1990.[1]
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavus_von_Tempsky
• New Zealand Wars