Von Tempsky's Sword?

Legends surrounding the death of the Prussian soldier Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky began springing up almost straight after he was killed in the Taranaki Wars during an attack on Te Ngutu o te Manu in 1868. Chief among them was the fate of his famous sword, which together with his bowie knife, became his signature weapon. Coveted by Māori, Pākehā, museums and collectors von Temspky’s sword seemed to multiply, with versions simultaneously appearing in public collections and auction houses. Tales of its burial in various places also were widely circulated.

This 1796 pattern British light cavalry trooper’s sword was donated to the Taranaki Museum in the early 1920s by a member of the Thrush family. Around the time of donation a surviving elderly veteran of the battle, James Henry Walker, said he was “perfectly certain” it was the blade von Tempsky was carrying when he fell. But few things in history are really “perfectly certain” and there are other claims which dispute this version of the swords history.