IDENTIFIERS ----------- id: 141488 accession number: CM.1394-2009 DATE AUDIT ---------- created: Saturday 6 August 2011 updated: Monday 15 January 2024 DESCRIPTIVE DATA ---------------- object type: The institution of the Victoria Cross in 1856 as the supreme award of the British Empire for gallantry left members of the Colonial possession's armed forces at something of a disadvantage, as the new Cross was only issued to members of the Imperial services. In New Zealand, where the New Zealand Wars had been raging since 1840 as the Maori tribes of the islands resisted the take-over of their communal lands, this inequality provoked action on the part of the Governor-General, Sir George Bowen, who determined to issue a local equivalent to the VC. This was the New Zealand Cross, which was instituted in 1869, and in appearance is perhaps even more splendid than its British rival. Perhaps as much because of this aesthetic one-up-manship as any other reason, Bowen was criticised in the UK for usurping a royal prerogative, but Queen Victoria eventually ratified the award, and 23 awards were made in the period between 1869 and 1881. It was officially discontinued in 1910, when Colonial recipients were made eligible for the Victoria Cross. A new issue was instituted in 1999, but the original New Zealand Cross is thus an extremely rare medal which holds very high value for collectors. This example was awarded to Trooper Antonio Rodríguez de Sardinha, of the Taranaki Mounted Volunteers. Rodriguez was Portuguese, and went out to New Zealand on SS St Michael in 1851 with his sister Rita Mary and her husband Emmanuel de Castro. He died in spring 1905. His Cross was awarded, in the words of its citation, 'for noble and daring conduct assisting and carrying wounded men from the field under fire on several occasions, notably on the 2nd October 1863 at Poutoka and on 11th March 1864 at Kaitake, upon which latter occasion he was particularly mentioned in garrison orders after the engagement.' The Lester Watson Collection retains the original citation, and an MS note in the hand of Robert Day who purchased the Cross from Rodríguez's family soon after the Trooper's death. It came to form part of the Hamilton Smith Collection, in the auction of which, at the London house of Glendining, 21 July 1927, Lester Watson bought it; it was lot 982. title: New Zealand Cross NOTES ----- type: history note value: Gift of L. Hoyt Watson; ex Lester Watson Collection, bt Hamilton Smith auction (Glendining, 20-21 July 1927, lot 982) for £96; ex coll. Robert Day, Sotheby's sale 18.iv.1910, bt family of recipient spring 1905. LICENSING --------- text license status: CC0 image license status: CC-BY-NC-SA OWNERSHIP --------- instutition: The Fitzwilliam Museum department: Coins and Medals collection: Lester Watson Collection creditline: Given by Lester Watson through Cambridge in America, 2009 STABLE URL ---------- url: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/141488 TECHNIQUES ---------- struck CATEGORIES ------ category: medal DATING ------ creation date: 1869 - 1869 creation date earliest: 1869 creation date latest: 1869 CREATORS -------- maker: New Zealand maker: Bowen, George, Sir maker: Victoria (1837-1901) DIMENSIONS ---------- dimension: Diameter units: mm value: 38 dimension: Weight units: g value: 39.66 EXHIBITIONS HISTORY ------------------- title: Imagery of War CITATIONS -------- Handbook of British and Foreign Orders, War Medals and Decorations Awarded to the Ar British and other Campaign and Gallantry Medals From the Collection of Lester Watson (d. 1959) --- IMAGES surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm53/large_CM_1394_2009_281_29.jpg height: 2587 pixels width: 1024 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm53/mid_CM_1394_2009_281_29.jpg height: 1263 pixels width: 500 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm53/CM_1394_2009_281_29.jpg height: 4806 pixels width: 1902 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm53/preview_CM_1394_2009_281_29.jpg height: 632 pixels width: 250 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm53/large_CM_1394_2009_282_29.jpg height: 2510 pixels width: 1024 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm53/mid_CM_1394_2009_282_29.jpg height: 1225 pixels width: 500 pixels surrogate: original format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm53/CM_1394_2009_282_29.jpg height: 4794 pixels width: 1956 pixels surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/cm/cm53/preview_CM_1394_2009_282_29.jpg height: 613 pixels width: 250 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/563/196/large_CM_1394_2009_1_201007_adn21_mas.jpg height: 1297 pixels width: 1024 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/563/196/mid_CM_1394_2009_1_201007_adn21_mas.jpg height: 633 pixels width: 500 pixels surrogate: original location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/CM.1394-2009_1_201007_adn21_mas.tif surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/563/196/preview_CM_1394_2009_1_201007_adn21_mas.jpg height: 317 pixels width: 250 pixels surrogate: zoom format: pyramid tiff location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/563/196/CM_1394_2009_1_201007_adn21_mas.ptif height: 5992 pixels width: 4730 pixels surrogate: large format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/563/204/large_CM_1394_2009_2_201007_adn21_mas.jpg height: 1300 pixels width: 1024 pixels surrogate: mid format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/563/204/mid_CM_1394_2009_2_201007_adn21_mas.jpg height: 635 pixels width: 500 pixels surrogate: original location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/CM.1394-2009_2_201007_adn21_mas.tif surrogate: preview format: jpeg location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/563/204/preview_CM_1394_2009_2_201007_adn21_mas.jpg height: 317 pixels width: 250 pixels surrogate: zoom format: pyramid tiff location: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/portfolio/F25982D9_7CB9_CFFF_028E_8BBFC531887C/563/204/CM_1394_2009_2_201007_adn21_mas.ptif height: 5949 pixels width: 4686 pixels