New Zealand Exhibition Medal, 1865.

This New Zealand Exhibition Medal is struck in bronze and is not inscribed with the name of the recipient. It is probably a sample sent to James Hector, who was one of the two Exhibition Commissioners who recommended that the medal be designed and struck in England. It was given to the Dominion Museum (Te Papa's predecessor) by members of Hector's family in 1937.

The New Zealand Exhibition Medal
The New Zealand Exhibition Medal, 1865, was designed by Joseph Wyon, the Queen's medallist; the dies were the work of a famous engraver, Joseph Moore; and the medal was struck at the Royal Mint. One example was struck in gold, seventy-five in silver, and eighty-seven in bronze. The gold medal was given to the Secretary of the Exhibition (Alfred Eccles), and the others to exhibitors. The Commissioners awarded themselves silver medals.

Design
The Commissioners wanted the medal's design motifs to make explicit reference to the flora, fauna, people, and resources of New Zealand. This they do. The Otago Daily Times of 8 February 1867 described them thus: 'The obverse of the medal has within a beaded rim the inscription 'New Zealand Exhibition 1865 Honorary.' Within this, there is a deep border, geometrical in its tracing; and the central space is divided into five compartments by sprigs of fern. A kauri cone, a flax bloom, and heads of barley, maize, and wheat, occupy the several inter-spaces. The reverse has as its central figure a draped Maori, made poetically heroic and picturesque. In his right hand he holds a spear, the end of which rests on the ground; where lies his war-club, with his right foot thrown slightly back, so as to rest on his handle. To the right of the figure is a kiwi, to his left, a plough; behind him is a stand, on which is an embroidered cover, and a roll of cloth slightly opened. Behind this stand rises a tree-fern … .'

Not only was the design praised at the time but the New Zealand Exhibition Medal, 1865, is regarded nowadays as one of the finest medals ever issued in New Zealand.

The New Zealand Exhibition
Prosperity and commercial optimism generated by the Otago gold rushes were behind the New Zealand Exhibition held in Dunedin in 1865. The Exhibition was New Zealand's first large-scale showcase of the colony's natural resources and manufactured products.

James Hector
James Hector was one of fourteen Commissioners appointed to take charge of the project. One of their tasks was to ensure that suitable recognition be given for meritorious exhibits or services to the Exhibition. A medal was ordered from England for the purpose.