GEORGE DIBBERN: CHRONOLOGY OF HIS LIFE
1889
Born March 26 in Kiel, in the
north of Germany.
1907
After completing school, went
to sea as ship's apprentice.
1909 - 1914
Jumped ship in Sydney,
Australia; worked odd jobs; travelled to New Zealand, back
to Germany; returned to Australia, then NZ where his
movements were restricted at the outbreak of WWI.
1914- 1918
Lived in Dannevirke, NZ
among the Maori till internment on Somes Island, Wellington
Harbour, 4 June 1918.
1919
Deported back to Germany.
1921
Married Elisabeth Vollbrandt;
purchased farm at Stocksee, Schleswig-Holstein. Birth of son
Jens Rangi; death of Jens at 5 months.
1922
Birth of daughter, Frauke
Wahine
1924
Birth of daughter, Elke Maata
1925 - 1930
Sale of Stocksee. Birth
of daughter, Sunke Tai (1925). All attempts at business
ventures / employment failed; relocation to Berlin.
Publication of short stories, mostly accounts of NZ
experiences.
1930 - 1932
Intention to sail to NZ
aboard 32 foot Te Rapunga, establish self there with
help from his Maori spiritual mother, then bring out his
family. Departure from Kiel aboard Te Rapunga with nephew
Günter Schramm, Albrecht von Fritsch and his sister
Dorothée von Fritsch as crew. Took paying passengers in
Mediterranean.
1932 - 1934
Atlantic Crossing.
Panama Canal. Arrival of Dibbern and Schramm aboard Te
Rapunga in San Francisco, USA after 101 days without
touching land. Heroes' welcome. To Honolulu, Samoa.
1934
Arrival of Te Rapunga
in Auckland, NZ. Mother Rangi dead. Refusal of Elisabeth to
risk coming. Trans Tasman Race, Auckland to Melbourne, with
crew of Schramm, Fred Norris, Austin Vaile, Noel
Tattersfield. Te Rapunga won over only other
competitor, John Wray's Ngataki.
1935
Winner of Melbourne to Hobart
Race. Return to NZ. Decision to be, with Te Rapunga,
a bridge of friendship. Departure with Maurice Black, Roy
Murdock and Eileen Morris for extended voyage. Rarotonga,
Tahiti.
1936 - 1937
Honolulu. Creation of
Dibbern's Flag. First port arrival with new flag, Victoria,
BC, Canada.
1937-1939
Sailing Gulf Islands in
summer. Dictating of Quest in winter. Purchase of
land for artists retreat/commune. Dibbern denied residency;
referred to as "Man without a Country".
1939 - 1940
Seattle. San Francisco.
Appearance on radio program We the People in New York.
Manuscript to publisher in NY. Creation of passport. To
Honolulu. Revision of Quest. Return to NZ.
1941 - 1945
Hurricane. Arrival of Te
Rapunga, George and Eileen only, in Napier. Seizure of Te
Rapunga. Dibbern interned on Somes Island (12 February
1941), a second time. Publication of Quest (March
1941). Receipt of first letter from Henry Miller (June
1945). Dibbern interned till October 1945.
1946
Dibbern not free to sail till December
when Te Rapunga was returned to him to defend his
title in Trans Tasman Race. Race ultimately cancelled.
1947 - 1949
Major overhaul of Te
Rapunga in Takapuna, NZ. Birth of George and Eileen's
daughter Michela Lalani. George’s family struggling in
post war Germany. Henry Miller and friends helping out. Te
Rapunga to Rarotonga, then Penrhyn to work on next book.
Aitutaki. Return to Auckland.
1950 - 1953
To Hobart, Tasmania to visit nephew
Günter Schramm. Won £10,000 in Tatts lottery, but gave
half to the chap who presented him with the ticket for
covering his work shift. Purchase of Satellite (Woody)
Island, followed by purchase of Partridge Island. George and
Eileen farmed Woody Island for 3 years. George assembled
all-female crew for 1954 Trans Tasman Race.
1954 - 1957
Parting of ways with
Eileen. Finished last in Trans Tasman Race, but made his
point of equal opportunity for women. Woody Island up for
sale. Voyage with young crew to NZ. Te Rapunga hit by
rogue wave, dismasted, washed ashore near Greymouth, NZ. One
man lost in rescue attempt.
1958
Repairs to Te Rapunga
in Greymouth, Wellington. To Auckland.
1959
Departure from Auckland to
Brisbane with restored Te Rapunga and new crew of
young men. Dismasted in hurricane. Towed back to Auckland by
Japanese freighter. Flight to Hobart in anticipation of sale
of island. Stuck in Tasmania for a year.
1960 - 1962
Return to Auckland for
repairs to Te Rapunga. Working odd jobs. Plan to
return to Germany to visit family, to "close the
circle." Died of heart attack in Auckland, June 12,
1962. Henry Miller visited Elisabeth Dibbern in Munich;
initiated translation of Quest.
1965
Quest appeared in
translation under the misleading title Unter eigener
Flagge [Under his own Flag] (Hamburg: Claassen, 1965).
2004
Publication in June 2004 of
Erika Grundmann's Dark Sun: Te Rapunga and the
Quest of George Dibbern
2008
Publication of first reprint
edition of Quest.
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