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A Lasting Legacy: Horatio Gordon Robley with works by Bob Kerr and Elizabeth Kyle 

Henare Taratoa

This exhibition features work with a rich local element to it.

There are 15 watercolours in the exhibition from the Adams Collection, currently on loan to the Tauranga Heritage Collection.

Major General Horatio Gordon Robley (1840 - 1930) was a British soldier and amateur artist. He travelled to New Zealand in 1864, and immediately showed an interest in learning Maori customs and language.

In 1865 he brought his regiment to Tauranga to join forces attacking Gate Pa, and made detailed sketches of Maori defences, wounded, surrenders, and other scenes. Despite his high rank, he became known as 'the soldier with the pencil'.

 

Portrait of Heni Pore

Wellington-based painter Bob Kerr was commissioned by the Gallery to create a work to commemmorate 150 years since the Battle of Gate Pa in April, 1864.

His work shows how the geography of the area looks today.

"It is easy to drive into Tauranga along Cameron Road today and not realise that you are driving right through history," he says.

To add to this fascinating selection, Portrait of Heni Pore, by Elizabeth Kyle (nee Grainger), is a work from the Tauranga City Council Civic Collection. The subject, Heni Pore, was a wahine toa (woman warrior) and was active at the Battle of Pukehinahina (Gate Pa).

 

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