Reflection #011: Oaks Grow from Acorns
The oak statue at Riccarton House in Christchurch is located on the landing upstairs. It has a very simple plaque at the base stating its title, “The Eeler.” Nothing else visibly marks its history, including who sculptured it. It is quite likely that these days only my family know the name of the young man who was its model… although this is about to change as you read on.
“The Eeler” by Roland Frederick Martin
Firstly, let’s give credit to the carver, Roland Frederick Martin, born on 29 February 1888, and died 30 September 1961 (from his headstone at Linwood Cemetery).
My grandparents, Ivan and Clarice Donnell, and my father, Richard Donnell, knew him as Roly. Roly was actually a manufacturing jeweller who worked from rooms in Manchester Street.
My father remembers Roly’s workshop was in the 7-storey brick sky scraper on the corner of Manchester and Hereford Streets. His older brother, Leonard, was a watchmaker, and also had rooms on the same floor, with a corner outlook.
Brothers Roly Martin, Manufacturing Jeweller, and Leonard Martin, Watchmaker, rented rooms for their workshops, offices and storerooms in the Manchester Courts building on the corner of Manchester and Hereford Streets. Photos by Deb Donnell, taken 16 September 2010. The 7-storey unreinforced brick building was damaged by the Darfield Earthquake two weeks earlier. This major Christchurch central city intersection was blocked for four months while the building was demolished, which badly impacted businesses across the city.
Early Settler Acorns Grew into Mighty Oaks
The oak tree the statue has been carved from was one of the first oaks planted in Christchurch by the Deans’ brothers on their block of land (circa mid 1840s). The rough notes about the oak statue at Riccarton House and its history I am referring from were written by my Nana, Clarice Donnell, who stated that:
“Mr Roland Martin brought [the oak] from The Deans’ Estate, where it had fallen.”
My Nana’s notes are on the back of a photo (see below) taken by Brett Phibbs for an article published by The Christchurch Star on 10 October 1992. I also have a copy of the article about the oak statue at Riccarton House. It’s titled “Boyhood legacy” and written by Mike Crean. My Poppa was 83 years old at this stage. The article states:
The wood for the statue came from one of the original Christchurch oak trees planted by the Deans at Riccarton. The tree had fallen and Mr Martin had fished the bough he later worked on out of the Avon.
In my Nana’s notes, she also mentions that the statue was listed and had been in a show at The Art Gallery.
The Model for the Oak Statue at Riccarton House
Roly had a holiday house in New Brighton, and as I have already mentioned, worked in jewellery workshop rooms in the central city.
Ivan was born and lived on the family dairy farm on New Brighton Road (which later became part of Dunair Estate in 1976, and is now part of the Residential Red Zone). The farm had been in the family for over 70 years when it was sold. In fact, he lived his entire life on New Brighton Road, moving to a separate property when he got married in 1932.
Young Ivan was a student at Christchurch West High School (now Hagley College) when Roly asked him to be his model. If you look closely at the statue you can see the young eeler is wearing his school cap.
The two first met one morning when Ivan walking from home to catch the trolly bus to school (Richard think the closest stop would have been near the Avondale Road bridge). Roly was riding a horse and leading another into town, so when he saw Ivan, he offered him a ride on his spare horse.
This was the beginning of a lasting friendship. They would often exercise Roly’s horses on the beach. On a Monday morning they’d ride the horses to a paddock in St Albans where they’d leave them to graze. From there, they’d ride bicycles—Ivan to school, and Roly to work.
It is possible that Ivan used to cross the road from the dairy farm to the Avon River and go eeling as a boy, and this was Roly’s inspiration. In any case, my Poppa became immortalised as “The Eeler”.
In order for this to happen, he had to (according to my Nana’s notes) pose for several sessions holding a torch and eeling fork so Roland could carve the statue. In the Christchurch Star 1992 article, it states,
“Mr Donnell clearly remembers standing for two hours as model for the statue in the jewellery workroom, while photographs were taken for the project”.
The photographs allowed Roly to work when his young friend wasn’t there. He also took measurements of Ivan’s muscles, limbs, head, body, etc. using calipers. His goal was to create an accurate life-size replica of his model.
A Lifelong Friendship and Mentor for Ivan’s Son
I’m pleased to report that the friendship between the two men lasted right up until Roly’s death in 1961. Roly also became a mentor to Ivan’s son, Richard.
Richard, at the age of 15, wanted to be a watchmaker. However, someone that his mother knew (not Leonard) who was also a watchmaker, told her that there was no money in watchmaking. So Richard decided to become a manufacturing jewellery instead.
His mother saw a newspaper advertisement from Kennedy (Ken) Blair, who was looking for an apprentice. So Richard applied. As there were not many apprenticeship jobs available in the early 1950s, he was very pleased to get the job.
Kennedy’s workshop was on the first floor of Bonnington House in High Street, near Manchester Street. During his apprenticeship he would visit Roly at his workshop, and find out how to do something if Ken didn’t know how to do it. One thing he learned from Roly was how to guild metal (layer of gold leaf).
He recalls his mentor, Roly being a skillful jewellery and artist. He had the biggest set of metal rollers he’d ever seen. They were hand operated, with a big fly wheel. Leonard sold watch glasses and watch parts from his corner rooms.
The Oak Statue at Riccarton House was Donated to the Deans Bush Trust* in 1973
The first time Richard learned of the statue, and that his father had been the model for it, was after Roly’s death in 1961. Leonard had invited Richard and his boss, Ken Blair, to Roly’s house to see if there was anything they wanted from Roly’s gemstones. The Eeler statue was in the house.
Talking with his father, Ivan told him that Roly wanted the statue to be left to Ivan after his passing. However, our family had nowhere to display it, which is how it ended up being donated to Riccarton House by Leonard.
My Nana’s notes state:
“After Mr R Martin died the statue went to his brother, Mr L [Leonard] Martin who in 1973 donated it to the Deans Bush Trust.”
Leonard passed away at the age of 91 years in 1977. So he would have been 87 at the time he donated “The Eeler” to the Deans Bush Trust (which is *now the Riccarton House and Bush Trust).
Roland Frederick Martin’s Other Sculptures
The Christchurch Art Gallery holds two additional Roland Martin sculptures which were presented by his older brother Leonard Martin in 1973:
- The Drummer Boy, bronze, 73 x 102 mm, and
- Boy on a donkey (1951), also bronze, 65 x 170 x 325 mm.
The Oak Statue is a Beautiful Work of Art
My Nana’s notes about the oak statue at Riccarton House state “it is a beautiful work of art”. Poppa is quoted in the 1992 article as stating:
It is a magnificent work, and its sculptor deserves recognition.
Clearly I agree with both my grandparents, which is why I am writing this article. Because it is a piece of history that needs to be remembered and recognised.
Last year, for Mother’s Day, my mother, two of my sisters and I went to Riccarton House for High Tea. After we’d finished, we asked to go upstairs to see “our Poppa” and take some photos with it. I can’t remember when I last saw the statue; possibly not since my teens.
Unfortunately the late afternoon light was coming in the window, so our photos don’t really do the statue justice. However, the warm colours and the smooth timber are evident of the skill of the “hobbyist” carver and love he had for his work.
We were grateful to the team at Riccarton House for letting us spend some time with the statue, and take a few photos. Thanks also to my sisters for giving me permission to share one, and my mother for taking it.
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