Francis Joseph Mace (1837 – 7 August 1927) was a

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

settler whose exploits during the Taranaki Wars earned him much praise. Chief among his awards was the New Zealand Cross, the highest colonial gallantry award available in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Military career

Mace's military career began in the Taranaki Rifle Volunteers. At the

Battle of Waireka The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from Mar ...

on 28 March 1860 Mace's service as a dispatch rider drew a lot of attention. In July 1862 he was given a presentation revolver for his services during the battle. His bravery in numerous other engagements was widely acknowledged.

New Zealand Cross

Mace was presented with a New Zealand Cross on 23 January 1877. He eventually gifte
his cross
to

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

Museum (now

Puke Ariki Puke Ariki is a combined museum and library at New Plymouth, New Zealand which opened in June 2003. It is an amalgamation of the New Plymouth Public Library (founded in 1848) and the Taranaki Museum (founded in 1919). Its name, Māori for "hill ...

) in 1927.

Civilian life

After the war Mace took an active part in the community. He married, raised a family and farmed in the

Omata Omata is a locality in Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 45 just southwest of New Plymouth. Omata and Western New Plymouth are adjacent to the Tapuae Marine Reserve. The area was the site of ...

district and served on Taranaki's provincial council and then Oakura Roads Board among other positions. Mace died at Oakura on 7 August 1927, aged 90, and was lauded in a glowing obituary, which noted he was "a brave and gallant officer and gentleman."

Legacy

More recently, Mace's contribution was cast in a different context in Puke Ariki’
‘Taranaki War 1860–2010 – Our Legacy Our Challenge – Te Ahi Ka Roa, Te Ahi Katoro’
A panel in the 2010 exhibition observed that ‘by admiring and glorifying his actions, settlers and their descendants could celebrate their victories over Māori, and see them as right and good’.

References

Wellington Independent,National Library of New Zealand
' * ttps://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc06Cycl-t1-body1-d1-d27-d60.html New Zealand Electronic Text Centre'
Mace's New Zealand Cross
at Puke Ariki, New Plymouth, New Zealand. *Gudgeon, T. W.
The Defenders of New Zealand
' (1887) *''Daily News'' 8 August 1927, p. 9.

External links

Portrait of Mace wearing his New Zealand Cross
Puke Ariki, New Plymouth, New Zealand.
Mace's New Zealand Cross
Puke Ariki, New Plymouth, New Zealand. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mace, Frank 1837 births 1927 deaths People of the New Zealand Wars Taranaki wars Recipients of the New Zealand Cross (1869) People from Madeira