Tim Walker: Robley; Te Ropere | The Space Between
Thursday 12 November @ 5:30 am – 7:00 pm NZDT
H.Gordon Robley’s association with mokamokai (preserved Maori heads bearing moko mataora) has defined how he has been seen for over a century – by Britons, Pakeha and Maori. Unsurprisingly, this association has seen him vilified by many. Tim Walker has been studying Robley since 1979, initially for a MA thesis. The many letters and watercolours held by the Turnbull have been at the centre of his work, as have his close relationships with Robley’s Maori descendants. In this talk Tim will reflect on a series of ‘spaces between’:
- 1864 Tauranga; as a young British officer at Gate Pa and subsequently at the kainga of Matapihi, where he became the partner of the Ngati Tapu chieftaness Harete Mauao and father to their son Hamiora Te Ropere, and
- 1896 London; as the researcher, collector and author of MOKO; or Maori Tattooing in Longon, and
- 2026 Whangaui; the application of a moko mataora on his great-great grandson, by the kaita Rangitakuku Kaihoro, an advocate of Robley’s mahi.
Speaker
Tim Walker has worked as a curator, senior manager and director at the Waikato Museum of Art and History, National Art Gallery/Te Papa, Auckland Museum and Dowse Art Museum for over thirty years. He is a strategic consultant in the art and culture sector, working with cultural organisations, artists and arts groups, iwi and hapu, local and national government, businesses and community agencies.
He is currently working on a book centred on Robley.
In person and via Zoom.
Free. Koha from non-members appreciated.