Maori Wars Medals

Lot 2089    Session 7 (11.30am Wednesday)    Maori Wars Medals

Estimate $1,700
Bid at live.noble.com.au

NEW ZEALAND MEDAL, undated. Capt G O'Connel AC. Engraved. Very fine.

Ex Horne Collection (Christchurch) 2000. Sold with research. Rank officially and contemporarily corrected. George O'Connell was born in Limerick in 1838. He served as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy before coming to New Zealand although it is not known whether he was in the Baltic, Crimea or China campaigns whilst in the service of the Navy or whether he had no previous campaign service prior to New Zealand. He arrived in New Zealand aboard the ship Star of India, which arrived at Auckland ex Melbourne in September 1863. He was commissioned as an Ensign in the 1st Regiment Waikato Militia, with whom he served from 19 February 1864 to 12 April 1864. It is not known if he saw action with this unit as the regiment was in action at Orakau during the period and it is possible he was too. O'Connell settled in the New Plymouth area following discharge and enlisted as a Sergeant in the Armed Constabulary on 10 December 1868 and served with the 7th Division until 25 February 1869. In his application papers for his New Zealand Medal he states that he served for a year, so it is possible that he was transferred to another Division. While serving as a Sergeant in the 7th Division of the Armed Constabulary he saw action at Nukumaru (Tauranga Ika) on 2 February 1869. The New Zealand Medal claimed by O'Connell was gazetted in 1871 and receipted by him on 13 December 1873. The medal is named to O'Connell as Captain in the Armed Constabulary, which is puzzling. The rank on the medal has, under very close examinations, indications of being corrected from that of Sergeant. His name appears on the New Zealand Medal roll as being entitled to the medal named as a Sergeant yet the rank of Captain is in the correct style and has been engraved by the same hand that named the rest of the medal. The rank of Captain was a Militia rank and not one used by the Armed Constabulary. This medal surfaced via the descendants of the recipient in the Christchurch area. It appears the rank on the medal has been officially corrected from Sergeant to Captain, however it has not been established in which regiment O'Connell attained the rank of Captain.