Horatio Gordon Robley: Difference between revisions
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| unit = [[68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)|68th Regiment]]<br />[[91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|91st Regiment]] |
| unit = [[68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)|68th Regiment]]<br />[[91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot|91st Regiment]] |
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| commands = [[Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders|1st battalion Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)]], 1882–<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robley |first1=Horatio Gordon |last2=Aubin |first2=P. J. |title=History of the 1st Battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders |publisher=Murray & St. Leger, Printers |location=Cape Town |year=1883 |page=60 |url=https://www.google.co.nz/books/edition/History_of_the_1st_Battalion_Princess_Lo/oSIQAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP5&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> |
| commands = [[Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders|1st battalion Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders)]], 1882–<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robley |first1=Horatio Gordon |last2=Aubin |first2=P. J. |title=History of the 1st Battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders |publisher=Murray & St. Leger, Printers |location=Cape Town |year=1883 |page=60 |url=https://www.google.co.nz/books/edition/History_of_the_1st_Battalion_Princess_Lo/oSIQAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PP5&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> |
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| battles = [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]<br />[[New Zealand Wars]] |
| battles = [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]<br />[[New Zealand Wars]]: Tauranga |
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*[[Tauranga campaign|Gate Pā]], 1864 |
*[[Tauranga campaign#Battle of Gate Pā|Gate Pā]], 1864 |
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*[[Tauranga campaign#Battle of Te Ranga|Te Ranga]], 1864 |
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|battles_label = Campaigns |
|battles_label = Campaigns |
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| awards = [[New Zealand War Medal]]<ref>{{citation |title=Statement of the Services of Horatio Gordon Robley of the 91st Regiment of Highlanders with a Record of such Particulars as may be useful in case of his death |work=WO 76/114: WO 76. 58th Brigade Depot Stirling (72nd Foot/91st Foot) |pages=25–28 |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C178135}}</ref> |
| awards = [[New Zealand War Medal]]<ref>{{citation |title=Statement of the Services of Horatio Gordon Robley of the 91st Regiment of Highlanders with a Record of such Particulars as may be useful in case of his death |work=WO 76/114: WO 76. 58th Brigade Depot Stirling (72nd Foot/91st Foot) |pages=25–28 |url=https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C178135}}</ref> |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
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*{{cite journal |last=Andersen |first=Johannes |
*{{cite journal |last=Andersen |first=Johannes Carl |author-link=Johannes Carl Andersen |title=Obituary: Horatio Gordon Robley, 1840-1930 |journal=Journal of the Polynesian Society |volume=40 |issue=1 (157), March |publisher=The Polynesian Society |
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|location=Wellington |date=1931 |page=39–46 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20702344 |via=[[JSTOR]]}} |
|location=Wellington |date=1931 |page=39–46 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20702344 |via=[[JSTOR]]}} |
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* {{cite journal|author=Doherty, Seona|date=Dec 1998|title=Horatio Gordon Robley and the 'Mark of the Savage'|journal=National Library of Australia News|volume=IX|issue=3|pages=3–6|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/1998/dec98/dec98news.html|archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20120205171948/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/131760/20120120-0944/www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/1998/dec98/dec98news.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-02-05 <!--access-date=2019-12-19-->}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} |
* {{cite journal|author=Doherty, Seona|date=Dec 1998|title=Horatio Gordon Robley and the 'Mark of the Savage'|journal=National Library of Australia News|volume=IX|issue=3|pages=3–6|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/1998/dec98/dec98news.html|archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20120205171948/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/131760/20120120-0944/www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/1998/dec98/dec98news.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-02-05 <!--access-date=2019-12-19-->}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} |
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*{{cite news |last=Fildes |first=Horace Edward Manners |author-link=Horace Fildes |title=The Maori Wars: Major-General Robley; Soldier and Artist |work=The Evening Post |volume=100 |issue=57 |date=4 September 1920 |page=9 |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19200904.2.90}} |
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* {{cite book |last=Melvin |first=L. W. |title=Robley—Soldier with a Pencil |publisher=Tauranga Historical Society |location=Tauranga |date=1957 |url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-MelRobl.html |via=[[New Zealand Electronic Text Collection|NZETC]]}} |
* {{cite book |last=Melvin |first=L. W. |title=Robley—Soldier with a Pencil |publisher=Tauranga Historical Society |location=Tauranga |date=1957 |url=https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-MelRobl.html |via=[[New Zealand Electronic Text Collection|NZETC]]}} |
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*{{cite web |last=Phillipps |first=William John |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/robley-major-general-horatio-gordon |title=Major-General Horatio Gordon Robley |website=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |date=1966 |access-date=26 June 2024}} |
*{{cite web |last=Phillipps |first=William John |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/robley-major-general-horatio-gordon |title=Major-General Horatio Gordon Robley |website=Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |date=1966 |access-date=26 June 2024}} |
Revision as of 19:52, 30 June 2024
Horatio Gordon Robley | |
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Born | Funchal, Madeira | 28 June 1840
Died | 29 October 1930 London | (aged 90)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Branch | British Army |
Years of service | 1858–1887 |
Rank | Major General |
Unit | 68th Regiment 91st Regiment |
Commands | 1st battalion Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders), 1882–[1] |
Campaigns | Indian Rebellion of 1857 New Zealand Wars: Tauranga |
Awards | New Zealand War Medal[2] |
Major General Horatio Gordon Robley (28 June 1840 – 29 October 1930) was a British soldier who fought in colonial wars in New Zealand, Mauritius, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. He made drawings of Māori people and Māori culture and collected Māori items including almost three dozen Mokomokai, or heads of deceased Māori men.
Early life
Robley was born at Funchal, Madeira, on 28 June 1840, the son of Captain John Horatio Robley and Augusta June Penfold. Robley followed in his father's footsteps and became a professional soldier. However he also inherited his mother's artistic skills and became an accomplished sketcher and watercolourist.
Military career
In 1858 Robley purchased an ensigncy in the 68th (The Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) for £450. After a short period of training in Ireland he joined his regiment in Burma where he remained for nearly five years. There he observed the people and learned the language. In addition to his military duties Robley continued with his sketching and made visits into the countryside to document daily life. When sketching Buddhist temples he became friendly with several Buddhist monks and had an image of the Buddha tattooed in red on his right arm. This was the start of a lifelong interest in the practice of tattooing. The numerous sketches made during this period formed the basis for his illustrations some years later, when he was asked by the firm Cassells & Co. to contribute to their publication, Races of Mankind.
In 1860 Robley was sent home to England for a period of sick leave. He began to specialise in rifle shooting, applying for and being granted a term in the School of Musketry. Rejoining his regiment he was present at the siege of Delhi (1857); afterwards, at Rangoon, he assumed command of the guard of the exiled Mughal Bahadur Shah II.
Service in New Zealand
In 1863 the 68th Regiment left Burma for the New Zealand Wars and landed at Auckland, New Zealand on 8 January 1864. Again displaying a desire to absorb his new surroundings, Robley purchased a Māori vocabulary and other books about Māori. In the following April, Robley took his troops to Tauranga to join General Cameron's forces attacking Pukehinahina / Gate Pā. British forces suffered a humiliating defeat in the Battle of Gate Pā on 29 April 1864, with 31 killed and 80 wounded despite vastly outnumbering their Māori foe. Gate Pā was the single most devastating defeat suffered by the British military in the New Zealand wars: while British casualties totalled more than a third of the storming party, Māori losses totalled about 25.[3]
Robley remained at Tauranga for 19 months until the beginning of 1866 during which time he continued drawing. He completed a series of detailed sketches of the Māori defences at Pukehinahina and continued his interest in tattooing and completed accurate sketches of the tattoo designs of the wounded and dead. Several of these scenes were later reproduced in The Illustrated London News between 1864 and 1867.[4]
During his time in New Zealand he met Herete Mauao and they had a son whom they named Hamiora Tu Ropere.
His regiment was withdrawn from Tauranga early in 1866 and sailed from Auckland arriving back in Spithead, England, on 28 June 1866.
Service in Africa and Ceylon
In 1870 Robley purchased a captaincy for £1,100, and on 4 February 1871 transferred to the 91st (Princess Louise's Argyllshire Highlanders). He remained on Home Service until 1880, when he was promoted to major and dispatched to Mauritius. Later he was sent to South Africa and saw service in Cape Colony, Natal and Zululand. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on July 1881[5] and with the regiment designated the 1st battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in July 1882, Robley assumed command during Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Bruce's leave from 8 November 1882, and was appointed command of the battalion in July 1883. That year, he and P J Aubin published their History of the 1st Battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Orders were received for Ceylon and then changed for Natal on 17 July.[6] The battalion served in Ceylon from 1885 to 1888[7]
In 1887, Robley retired from the army with the honorary rank of Major General[8] and returned to live in London.
Later life
Continuing with writing after his retirement, he returned to his interest in tattoos and wrote two books relating to his time in New Zealand, Moko or Maori Tattooing in 1896 and Pounamu: Notes on New Zealand Greenstone. In the first book, as well as demonstrating and explaining the art of Māori tattooing, he also wrote chapters on the dried tattooed heads known as Mokomokai. Robley decided to acquire as many examples of Mokomokai as possible, and at length built up a unique collection of 35 heads. In 1908 he offered them to the New Zealand Government for £1,000; his offer, however, was refused. Later, with the exception of the five best examples which Robley retained, the collection was purchased by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, for the equivalent of £1,250.[9]
Robley also collected Māori antiquities.[10] Some of his collection was purchased by the collector William Ockelford Oldman whose collection was purchased by the New Zealand Government in 1948.
Robley maintained a lively correspondence with a number of New Zealanders and maintained close links with New Zealand House during his lifetime. He died in London on 29 October 1930.
Gallery
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Ensign Robley, 68th Regiment, 1860
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"The King of Delhi". Bahadur Shah II in exile
Artist: H G Robley -
Pukehinahina / Gate Pā following the battle, 30 April 1864. Based on a sketch by H G Robley
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Te Manawa, Arawa
Artist: H G Robley -
Te Kuha
Artist: H G Robley
Publications
- Robley, Horatio Gordon; Aubin, P. J. (1883). History of the 1st Battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Cape Town: Murray & St. Leger, Printers.
- Robley, Horatio Gordon (1896). Moko; or Maori Tatooing. London: Chapman and Hall, Limited – via New Zealand Electronic Text Centre.
- Robley, Horatio Gordon (1915). Pounamu: Notes on New Zealand Greenstone. London: T. J. S. Guilford & Co. Ltd.
- Robley, Horatio Gordon (1931). "List of Mataora Patterns of Moko". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 40 (1 (157), March). Wellington: The Polynesian Society: 44–46 – via JSTOR.
References
- ^ Robley, Horatio Gordon; Aubin, P. J. (1883). History of the 1st Battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Cape Town: Murray & St. Leger, Printers. p. 60.
- ^ "Statement of the Services of Horatio Gordon Robley of the 91st Regiment of Highlanders with a Record of such Particulars as may be useful in case of his death", WO 76/114: WO 76. 58th Brigade Depot Stirling (72nd Foot/91st Foot), pp. 25–28
- ^ "War in Tauranga: Gate Pa". New Zealand History. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
- ^ Melvin, L. W. (1957). "II". Robley—Soldier with a Pencil. Tauranga: Tauranga Historical Society. pp. 5–8 – via NZETC.
- ^ "War Office, Pall Mall, 26th July, 1881". The London Gazette. No. 24999. 26 July 1881. p. 3687.
- ^ Robley, Horatio Gordon; Aubin, P. J. (1883). History of the 1st Battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Cape Town: Murray & St. Leger, Printers. p. 60.
- ^ Hart, Henry George (1911). Hart's Annual Army List Special Reserve List and Territorial Reserve List for 1911. Vol. 72. John Murray. p. 519.
- ^ "War Office, Pall Mall, 30th August, 1887". The London Gazette. No. 25734. 30 August 1887. p. 4696.
- ^ Hubbard, Anthony (18 February 2009). "The trade in preserved Maori heads". Sunday Star-Times. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2021 – via Stuff and archive.today.
- ^ Papa hou (treasure box) collected by Robley in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
Further reading
- Andersen, Johannes Carl (1931). "Obituary: Horatio Gordon Robley, 1840-1930". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 40 (1 (157), March). Wellington: The Polynesian Society: 39–46 – via JSTOR.
- Doherty, Seona (December 1998). "Horatio Gordon Robley and the 'Mark of the Savage'". National Library of Australia News. IX (3): 3–6. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
- Fildes, Horace Edward Manners (4 September 1920). "The Maori Wars: Major-General Robley; Soldier and Artist". The Evening Post. Vol. 100, no. 57. p. 9.
- Melvin, L. W. (1957). Robley—Soldier with a Pencil. Tauranga: Tauranga Historical Society – via NZETC.
- Phillipps, William John (1966). "Major-General Horatio Gordon Robley". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- Robley, John (2001). "Major General Horatio Gordon Robley (1840 – 1930)". Robley Genealogy. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- Robley, Marian (2001). "Rev. Isaac and the Crosthwaite Robleys". Robley Genealogy. Retrieved 26 June 2024.
- Walker, Timothy (1985). Robley: Te Ropere 1840–1930. Auckland: University of Auckland – via NZETC.
External links
- Works by or about Horatio Gordon Robley at the Internet Archive
- "Major General Horatio Robley / Person / Overview and Related Information. Associated works including drawings, collection items and images". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
- "Headhunter: The Story of Horatio Robley (Part 1). From Black Sheep presented by William Ray". RNZ. 29 October 2018.
- "Headhunter: The Story of Horatio Robley (Part 2). From Black Sheep presented by William Ray". RNZ. 5 November 2018.
- 1840 births
- 1930 deaths
- 68th Regiment of Foot officers
- British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars
- 19th-century New Zealand military personnel
- Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers
- British Army major generals
- British war artists
- British art collectors
- New Zealand art collectors
- People from British Burma