Breach at Gate Pa, morning of April 30, 1864

This essay originally appeared in New Zealand Art at Te Papa (Te Papa Press, 2018).

Horatio Gordon Robley, artist, collector and soldier, arrived in New Zealand on 8 January 1864. As an ensign of the 68th Durham Light Infantry, he joined General Cameron’s forces for the 29 April attack on Gate Pā, near Tauranga, one of the great battles of the New Zealand Wars. It was a shock defeat for the British: seventeen hundred of their troops were repulsed by two hundred and fifty Māori, who then vacated the pā overnight, leaving the British to gather up the numerous dead and wounded.

The next morning Robley was on site, making sketches of the abandoned pā. He despatched the drawings to the coastal steamer, Alexandra, requesting that her commander, Captain Williams, forward them to a British newspaper. An engraving after Robley’s Breach of Gate Pa, morning of April 30, 1864 was published in the Illustrated London News on 23 July 1864.
Robley’s drawing provides the details of the innovative design of the earthworks of this fighting pā, constructed by Māori in response to the longer firing range of British artillery. He does not present a falsely heroic view of the aftermath of battle. Instead, he conveys the confusion and aimlessness of the situation as Māori lie dead in the trenches and bodies are carried off by stretcher-bearers while sentries stand guard.

Robley remained in New Zealand for nineteen months and made a remarkable number of pictures during that time. As well as representations of battle scenes and episodes relating to the New Zealand Wars, Robley produced studies of Māori life and art. His first major project based on his New Zealand travels and interests was Moko; or Maori tattooing, published in 1896. This book established his reputation as an authority on moko and toi moko.

The first significant display of works from the Robley collection was held in the Dominion Museum lecture hall and library in July 1914. The acting director, James McDonald, organised the exhibition to coincide with the jubilee of the events depicted. The Evening Post reported that many army veterans were attracted to the exhibition, which was ‘a valuable one, both historically and artistically’.1

Rebecca Rice