Thread by @WimRay

In the blacked out background of this image are 35 preserved Māori heads (mokomokai). It’s a collection put together by this man, Horatio Gordon Robley - a fascinating and sometimes disturbing person who I’ve spent the last few months researching. A thread 1/

It’s hard to look at a photo of a white dude holding a Māori club, sitting in front of a wall of Māori heads and see anything other than a monster...

But there’s a twist in this story. “He really became a friend of the Māori” says Haami Piripi, a mokomokai expert. 2/

Horatio Robley was a retired British Army officer who became obsessed with Tā Moko, traditional Māori tattoo - particularly with facial moko. You can see an example in this photo of Kingi Tāwhiao. 3/

(cred: Alexander Turnbull Library)

Robley collected as many Māori heads as he could get his hands on. Hundreds of mokomokai were available for sale in Europe thanks to a horrific period in the 1830s when the heads were traded for muskets. More info here: nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/t… 4/

Robley’s collection filled his whole lounge. A visitor wrote this in his diary after going to see him: “...around the somewhat small room were displayed 38 preserved heads with tattooed faces — they were on tables, sideboards, mantlepiece — everywhere!” 5/

Robley was a talented artist and sketched the moko of his collection in extreme detail. He published a book in 1896 full of drawings of moko patterns (e.g. below). He also wrote detailed explanations of how the patterns were created 6/

Sadly, just as Robley was writing his book the art of moko was vanishing. Over the next hundred years it was very nearly annihilated thanks to the forces of colonisation. 7/

In the 1970s Māori rediscovered Robley’s book. Haami Piripi says the art of moko could have been lost without it: “in some isolated communities it might have been preserved by specific tohunga but as a generic source of knowledge … [Robley] is foremost in that field.” 8/

P.S. Robley is not the sole historical resource for information on moko. Modern practitioners also use old photos, paintings, carvings and oral traditions. There is ongoing debate about which sources should be emphasised. 9/

But Robley's story isn't just about moko and mokomokai: I spoke to one historian who thinks he may have helped end British involvement in the New Zealand Wars. 10/

In 1864 Robley was a 25 y/o Lieutenant in the British Army at the battle of Gate Pā. He watched as Māori gunned down dozens of British troops who rushed the Pā headlong, wrongly assuming it’s defenders had all been killed by an artillery bombardment. 11/

The aftermath of the battle was horrific. Robley (again, a talented artist) captured these scenes first hand with pencil and paintbrush. They are among the most powerful images of the NZ Wars. (credit: Alexander Turnbull Library) 12/

Robley sent his artwork to the London Illustrated News which printed them alongside an editorial slamming the war in NZ saying “It is impossible to talk away the fact that the real cause of war is to be found in the coveting of their neighbours land by the English settlers.” 13/

The Brits were already unhappy because the war in NZ was costing lots of lives and money without benefiting anyone aside from rich land speculators in Auckland. More on that here: radionz.co.nz/programmes/bla… 14/

Historian Patricia Brooks thinks Robley’s images galvanised opposition to the war: “A picture paints a thousand words… I think the pictures were painting the terrible cost of the war for the Māori in the New Zealand and I think British people just thought it wasn’t fair.” 15/

A British official wrote to the NZ Governor demanding he end the war as soon as possible saying “you will not continue the expenditure of blood and treasure longer than is absolutely necessary for the establishment of a just and enduring peace.” 16/

Of course a “just and enduring peace” is not what happened. The NZ Wars dragged on for many years albeit with less direct support from Britain. 17/

In the meantime, after the war in Tauranga ended with the Māori defeat at Te Ranga, Horatio Robley became very close to the local Māori community. He painted several spectacular watercolours of Māori life in the Bay of Plenty. (credit: Alexander Turnbull Library) 18/

Māori in Tauranga seem to have liked and respected Robley. He ends up in a relationship with a Māori woman, Herete Mauao, daughter of one of the most powerful chiefs in the region. The exact nature of this relationship is unclear but it got serious very quickly... 19/

Herete and Horatio had a child together. Their descendants still live in the Bay of Plenty today. This is Googie Tapsell, Robley and Herete's great grand-daughter. Today she uses some of Robley’s drawings in her own work creating tāniko patterned belts and other Māori craft. 20/

Googie says Horatio Robley’s infamous collection of Maori heads split her family. Her uncle “hated him, didn’t want to have anything to do with him.” But Googie says her mother loved him. Robley seems to have loved his grandchildren too, but he never met them 21/

Thanks to his career in the Army Robley was forced to leave NZ shortly after his child was born. In his retirement he wrote frequently about wanting to come back to meet his grandchildren but a combination of illness and financial problems made the trip impossible. 22/

Robley died in 1930. He was dirt poor and today he’s buried in an unmarked grave. As for his collection of mokomokai? Well, in 2014 most of them were returned to New Zealand. Today they sit in a special room at @Te_Papa. One day soon Googie is hoping to visit them 23/

For MUCH more on Horatio Robley listen to the Black Sheep podcast for @radionz
Here’s part 1: radionz.co.nz/programmes/bla…
And here’s part 2: radionz.co.nz/programmes/bla…

P.P.S I spoke to an old school mate, Mokonui-a-rangi Smith about this. He's a modern moko practicioner and he's such a nice guy that he only laughed a little bit when I mispronounced the word "chisel" as "penis" in Te Reo. instagram.com/uhi_tapu/