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Horatio Gordon Robley

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Horatio Gordon Robley
Lieutenant Horatio Gordon Robley, 68th Regiment, Naples, 1867
Te Ao Mārama—Tauranga City Libraries
Born(1840-06-28)28 June 1840
Funchal,Madeira
Died29 October 1930(1930-10-29)(aged 90)
London
Buried
Streatham Park Cemetery,London[1]
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
BranchBritish Army
Years of service1858–1887
RankMajor General
Unit68th Regiment
91st Regiment
Commands held1st battalion Princess Louise's (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders),1882–[2]
CampaignsNew Zealand Wars:Tauranga
AwardsNew Zealand War Medal[3]

Major GeneralHoratio Gordon Robley(28 June 1840 – 29 October 1930) was a Britishsoldierwho fought incolonial warsinNew Zealand,Mauritius,South Africa,andSri Lanka.He made drawings ofMāoripeople andMāori cultureand collected Māori items including almost three dozenMokomokai,or heads of deceased Māori men.

Early life

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Robley was born atFunchal,Madeira,on 28 June 1840, the son of John Horatio Robley, a captain (retired) of theMadras Native Infantry,East India Company,[4][5]and Augusta Jane Penfold (1809–1868), second daughter of William and Sarah Penfold of Madiera.[6]Robley followed in his father's footsteps to be a professional soldier. However, he also inherited his mother's artistic skills,[7]becoming an accomplished sketcher and watercolourist.

Military career

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In 1858 Robleypurchasedanensigncyin the68th (The Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry)for £450. That year, after a short period of training in Ireland, he joined his regiment inBurma.

East Indies

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Whilst in Burma, Robley observed the people and learned the language. In addition to his military duties he 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 who tattooed an image of theBuddha,in red, on his right arm. It was said that this "would make him invulnerable to all weapons".[8]This was the start of a lifelong interest in the practice oftattooing.The numerous sketches made during this period formed the basis for his illustrations some years later, when he was asked by the firmCassells & Co.to contribute to their publication,Races of Mankind.

Robley returned home to England on sick leave between September 1860 and March 1861,[3]where he began to specialise in rifle shooting, applying for and being granted a term in theSchool of Musketry.Rejoining his regiment in the East Indies in 1861, some years after theIndian Mutiny,he was assigned command of the guard placed over the last Mughal emperor,Bahadur Shah II,during his exile inRangoonthrough to death in 1862.

New Zealand

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In 1863, the 68th Regiment left Burma for theNew Zealand Wars,landing atAuckland,New Zealand,on 8 January 1864. Again, displaying a desire to absorb his new surroundings, Robley purchased aMāorivocabulary and other books about Māori. In the following April, Robley took his troops toTaurangato join General Cameron's forces atPukehinahina / Gate Pā.British forces suffered a humiliating defeat in theBattle of Gate Pāon 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.[9]

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 inThe Illustrated London Newsbetween 1864 and 1867.[10]

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 inSpithead,England, on 28 June 1866.

Africa and Ceylon

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In 1870 Robley purchased a captaincy for £1,100, and on 4 February 1871 transferred to the91st (Princess Louise's Argyllshire Highlanders).He remained on Home Service until 1880, when he was promoted to major and dispatched toMauritius.Later he was sent to South Africa and saw service inCape Colony,NatalandZululand.Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on July 1881[11]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 theirHistory of the 1st Battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.Orders were received forCeylonand then changed for Natal on 17 July.[12] The battalion served in Ceylon from 1885 to 1888[13]

In 1887, Robley retired from the army with the honorary rank of Major General[14]and returned to live in London.

Later life

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Horatio Gordon Robley, c.1887

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 Tattooingin 1896 andPounamu: 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 theAmerican Museum of Natural History,New York, for the equivalent of £1,250.[15]

Robley also collected Māori antiquities.[16]Some of his collection was purchased by the collectorWilliam Ockelford Oldmanwhose 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 withNew Zealand Houseduring his lifetime. He died in London on 29 October 1930.

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  • Ensign Robley, 68th Regiment, 1860
    Ensign Robley, 68th Regiment, 1860
  • "The King of Delhi". Bahadur Shah II in exile. Artist: H G Robley
    "The King of Delhi".Bahadur Shah IIin exile. Artist: H G Robley
  • Pukehinahina / Gate Pā following the battle, 30 April 1864. Based on a sketch by H G Robley
    Pukehinahina / Gate Pā following the battle, 30 April 1864. Based on a sketch by H G Robley
  • Te Manawa, Arawa Artist: H G Robley
    Te Manawa, Arawa
    Artist: H G Robley
  • Te Kuha Artist: H G Robley
    Te Kuha
    Artist: H G Robley
  • Tuterei Karewa, Ngāti Maru Artist: H G Robley
    Tuterei Karewa,Ngāti Maru
    Artist: H G Robley

Publications

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  • 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 Tattooing.London: Chapman and Hall, Limited – viaNZETC.
  • 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 ofMoko".Journal of the Polynesian Society.40(1 (157), March). Wellington: The Polynesian Society: 44–46.JSTOR20702344– viaJSTOR.

References

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  1. ^Cousins, John (13 August 2017)."Headstone sought for grave of Tauranga colonial artist".Bay of Plenty Times– viaNZME.
  2. ^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.
  3. ^abc"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 – viaThe National Archives, Kew
  4. ^Dodwell, Edward; Miles, James S. (1838).Alphabetical List of the Officers of the Madras Army; with the Dates of Their Respective Promotion, Retirement, Resignation or Death, Whether in India or in Europe; from the Year 1760, to the Year 1834 Inclusive, Corrected to September 30, 1837.London: Longman, Orme, Brown, and Co. pp. x, 152–153 – viaInternet Archive.
  5. ^"Births, Marriages, and Deaths".Allen's Indian Mail and Official Gazette.Vol. 26, no. 844. 16 December 1868. p. 1241.
  6. ^"Married".The Age.8 July 1838. p. 216 – viaNewspaperArchive.
  7. ^Robley, Augusta Jane (1845).A Selection of Madeira Flowers, Drawn and Coloured from Nature.London: Reeve Brothers.
  8. ^Andersen, Johannes C. (1931)."Obituary: Horatio Gordon Robley, 1840-1930".Journal of the Polynesian Society.40(1 (157), March). Wellington: The Polynesian Society: 39–46.JSTOR20702344– viaJSTOR.
  9. ^"War in Tauranga: Gate Pa".New Zealand History.Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 20 December 2012.Retrieved10 December2013.
  10. ^Melvin, L. W. (1957). "II".Robley—Soldier with a Pencil.Tauranga: Tauranga Historical Society. pp. 5–8 – viaNZETC.
  11. ^"War Office, Pall Mall, 26th July, 1881".The London Gazette.No. 24999. 26 July 1881. p. 3687.
  12. ^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.
  13. ^Hart, Henry George(1911).Hart's Annual Army List Special Reserve List and Territorial Reserve List for 1911.Vol. 72. John Murray. p. 519.
  14. ^"War Office, Pall Mall, 30th August, 1887".The London Gazette.No. 25734. 30 August 1887. p. 4696.
  15. ^Hubbard, Anthony (18 February 2009)."The trade in preserved Maori heads".Sunday Star-Times.Archived fromthe originalon 23 February 2013.Retrieved9 November2021– viaStuffandarchive.today.
  16. ^Papa hou (treasure box) collected by Robley in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Further reading

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