Richard Gross (sculptor)

Holland Monument at Bolton Street Memorial Park, a cemetery in Wellington, New Zealand

Richard Oliver Gross CMG (10 January 1882 – 27 December 1964) was a New Zealand farmer and sculptor. He was born in Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire, England, on 10 January 1882. He moved to New Zealand in 1914.[1]

Gross sculpted the following works:

  • The figure of Endeavour on the Auckland Grammar School war memorial, Auckland.
  • The figure of Sacrifice on the Cambridge war memorial.
  • The lion at the base of the Dunedin cenotaph.
  • The fountain at the National War Memorial carillon, Wellington.
  • The bronze frieze around the Havelock North memorial.
  • The stone frieze on the Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland.
  • Elements on the Wellington cenotaph including the two panels of a call-to-arms relief and the equestrian figure on top, the 'Will to Peace'. After the Second World War Gross added the bronze lions to the cenotaph.
  • The Athlete and The Swan on the Domain gates, Auckland.
  • The marble memorial to the Labour leader Harry Holland, in the Bolton Street cemetery, Wellington.
  • Davis memorial fountain at Mission Bay, Auckland.
  • The bronze Maori chief for the One Tree Hill memorial, Auckland.
  • The figure of love and justice for the memorial to Michael Joseph Savage at Bastion Point, Auckland.

In the 1938 King's Birthday Honours, Gross was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, in recognition of his services as a sculptor.[2] In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[3]

  1. ^ Phillips, Jock. "Richard Oliver Gross". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. ^ "No. 34518". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 June 1938. p. 3689.
  3. ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 413. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.