Scribbles and scratchings (Horatio Robley in Ams 261)

From Tauranga City Library’s archives
A monthly blog about interesting items in our collection

The scribbles and scratches of Pablo Picasso are worth exorbitant amounts of money, such is the universal acclaim of the man. Not quite so universally acclaimed is our own Horatio Gordon Robley (1840-1932) who has attracted both admiration and ire. The admiration is mostly for his art and in particular his interest in tā moko. His 1896 published book “Moko; or Māori Tattooing” for example preserved much of this knowledge during a time when the practice was actively suppressed by Pākehā.  But also ire, for the way we made a collection of preserved Māori heads from various shops and collectors in Europe during his retirement. A thesis by Tim Walker (Walker, 1985), of which we have a copy in our archives, has been an influential read in this space. 

Ams 261 consists of the letter fragments by Robley writing to the younger John Cuthbert Adams (1854-1932), former mayor of Tauranga (1917-1919).  Most locals will know Adams from the ‘Adams Cottage’ on Adams Ave in Mount Maunganui (Arabin, 2015). The letters to Adams are mostly scraps, typical of Robley, written on torn off letter bottoms and decorated with illustrations and doodlings. There are seven parts or series to the collection, carefully arranged by Heritage Specialist Jody Smart and now stored in the library archive climate-controlled room.   

Tauranga City Libraries Ams 261

Series one mentions (among other interesting things) his hasty sketching of trenches after the Battle at Pukehinahina (1864) to send them on their way to The Illustrated London News, where they are published on July 23. Robley had arrived in New Zealand as part of the 68th Durham Regiment of Foot Light Infantry, tasked with securing it as part of the colonial invasion of the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. His art, undertaken during the actual conflict and immediately afterwards, is considered a contributing factor to the public discontent with the war back in England (Simons, 2019). An etching published in The Illustrated London News, and based on his sketch, sits alongside a scathing rebuke of the war declaring the “real cause of the war is the coveting of their neighbours land by English settlers” so that the “colonial speculators in land may confiscate the heritage of the native” (The Illustrated London News, 1864)

The Illustrated London News. (1864, July 23).

It’s interesting to note some of the differences between this etching based on Robley's work, and his own watercolour (below). The etching back in London has been interpreted to a degree. There is no dead or dying Toa in the etching and no British carrying away the dead in the background. The watercolour seems to show an understanding of the functions of the pa construction too. It depicts dugouts coming off of the trenches, which played a crucial role in protecting the defenders as they waited to spring the trap. The etching shows no such awareness. 

Breach at Gate Pa, morning of April 30, 1864 (Te Papa Collection)

In series two, Robley refers to an event just before the Battle at Pukehinahina, in which he had found time to go duck-shooting up the Waimapu estuary with his guide, Raniera Te Hiahia. Never without a sketchpad, he’d sketched the inland view to the south-west and put it away. Later during the early part of the battle, when he saw from a frontal position, Māori entrenching on Pukehinahina, he knew he was viewing from another angle one of the ridges drawn in the sketch (Melvin, 1957, page 9). This is a time in British military history when there simply wasn’t a great emphasis on surveillance or intelligence gathering (Simons, 2019) so it is astounding that the British were able to flank the Māori at Pukehinahina simply because of the accidental intelligence gathered during someone’s recreation.  To finish that account, Robley had been taken by Colonel Greer to see General Cameron, who was then able to place troops in the rear of the Māori position before opening his attack. In this part of series two, Robley recalls how the firing created artistic reflections on the wet ponds and pools, which made for a nice picture.

Tauranga City Libraries Ams 261

Series three is a 1929 letter to Robley from an old soldier friend in the 68th and serving in Egypt. Robley has used the reverse to write to J.C. Adams, recalling how he ran to catch the coast steamer on April 30 to send sketches to the Illustrated London News and to inform family of his whereabouts.

Series four contains a sketch looking westward toward the battle site Pa at Pukehinahina (at the top of this article). On the reverse is the view from the other side.

Series five includes a small newspaper cutting discussing the gifting of a photo of the pātaka of Tame Te Kapua to the Premier by Mr D. Asher and a letter referencing the work of Tregear, Edward (1846-1931), a prolific writer of the time. In 1891 Tregear published the Māori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary.

Series six includes Gilbert Mair's notes on a Robley's picture published by scholars Percy Smith and James Cowan and the final series seven refers to Robley’s painful knee and his need to go about “on sticks”.

Tauranga City Libraries Ams 261

The papers are small and inconsequential looking, but we see in the illustrations dotted throughout, the mind of an artist fascinated with Māori design and art. 

Pae Korokī is not a static thing, we need your help to keep improving it. Here, for example, we often struggle to correctly transcribe the handwriting. If you excel at reading difficult handwriting, pop into Pae Korokī and click the “TEXT” button then “Transcription” where you can read our efforts. You might be able to then “suggest an edit” using the button on the top left of the page (it looks like a pen hovering over a piece of paper).   

See also a "The Past and the Curious" video on this topic (May 4th, 2022)

Sources:

Arabin, S. (2015). Adams Cottage, Mt Maunganui. Retrieved from Tauranga Historical Society and Brain Watkins House: http://taurangahistorical.blogspot.com/2015/07/adams-cottage-mt-maunganui.html 

Melvin, L. (1957). Horatio Gordon Robley, Soldier Artist in The Bay of Plenty 1864-1866 (edited version of "Soldier with a Pencil"). Tauranga Historical Society (1990)

Engraver using Robley. (1864). The war in New Zealand - the conflict of April. Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa: https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/224988 

Ray, W. in Radio New Zealand's podcast "Black Sheep". Headhunter, the story of Horatio Robley

Robley, H. (1864). Breach at Gate Pa, morning of April 30, 1864. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/139061 

Simons, C. (2019). Soldiers, Scouts and Spies. Massey University Press

Tauranga City Libraries, Ams 261: https://paekoroki.tauranga.govt.nz/nodes/view/57267 

The Illustrated London News. (1864, July 23). Retrieved from Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/illustratedlondov45lond/page/80/mode/2up 

Walker, T. (1985). Robley : Te Ropere, 1840-1930, a thesis. Auckland: Auckland University

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This archival item has been digitised and  added to Pae Korokī. For more information about other items in our collection, visit Pae Korokī or email the Heritage & Research Team: Research@tauranga.govt.nz

Written by Harley Couper,  Heritage Specialist at Tauranga City Library.