William Henry Feldon
English sculptor
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William Henry Feldon (1871–1945) was an English sculptor active in New Zealand. Feldon studied at Oxford University and worked for Farmer & Brindley in London before travelling to the United States for work. Feldon started his own practice in Sussex and later moved to New Zealand. Most of Feldon's later work were memorials for soldiers of the First World War.
Early life
William Henry Feldon was born 16 June 1871 in Oxford, England. Feldon studied at Oxford University at Exeter College.[1]
Career
England
Feldon took an apprenticeship under H.J. Arnott in 1884 until he moved to London in 1889 to work for Farmer & Brindley. During his employment with Farmer & Brindley Feldon travelled to Albany, New York before returning to London in 1894. In the late 1890s Feldon moved to Sussex and started his own sculpting practice. Whilst in Sussex Feldon worked on a number of commissions, did military service and was Master of Eastbourne College. Feldon moved back to Oxford before immigrating to New Zealand in 1910 with his wife and children.[1][2]
New Zealand
Feldon lived in Wellington and one of his first works was carving and modelling the panels for the Government House. Feldon moved to Auckland and worked on the carvings for numerous buildings, especially on Queen Street, notably the Auckland Town Hall, Auckland Ferry Building, St Paul's Church, Symonds Street.[1] Feldon's military service saw him serve as brigade major in the Auckland Mounted Rifles and quartermaster domestically during the First World War.[1][3] Following the end of the war Feldon moved to Victoria Street, Auckland and offered his services for crafting war memorials to mayors and county chairmen across the country. Despite a belief that craftsmen from Europe should create these memorials Feldon managed to secure contracts for several war memorials such as a statute of Edith Cavell for the Auckland Children's Hospital, a statute of King George V for the Matakana War Memorial, the Bombay Domain Memorial Gates, the Arawa Memorial in Rotorua, and the Papakura-Karaka Memorial. Feldon continued to work as a sculptor until c.1939.[1] Feldon preferred to work with New Zealand materials such as Oamaru stone; Feldon believed New Zealand granite was superior to other granite, stating that the weight and colours were better.[4]
Kemp Monument
In 1911, Feldon was hired to sculpt a monument of Major Kemp. This turned out to be quite a controversial work due to the liquidation of the firm that was contracted for the monument and a refusal to pay from Kemp's sister due to her belief the statue did not resemble her father's likeness. The case went to court the judge ruled against Kemp's sister; however, this judgement was set aside and Justice Chapman ruled in favour of Kemp's sister. This decision was appealed and a new trial was granted.[4]
Personal life
In 1894, after returning to London, Feldon married. Feldon was a Freemason. In 1945 Feldon died, he was buried in Purewa Cemetery alongside his wife.[1]
Works
| Name | Date | Image | Note | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government House, Wellington | 1910 |  | Worked on panels for the residence | [1] |
| Auckland Town Hall | 1911 |  | [1] | |
| Kemp Monument | 1911 |  | Feldon sculpted the head and body but not the limbs and base. Registered as a category 1 monument with Heritage New Zealand and Category A with the Whanganui District Council. | [4] |
| Auckland Ferry Building | 1912 |  | [1] | |
| St Paul's Church, Symonds Street | c.1911 | [1] | ||
| Bust of Richard Seddon | 1911 |  | Created for the Seddon Memorial Technical College | [5] |
| Statute of Edith Cavell in the Auckland children's hospital | 1918 |  | [1] | |
| Matakana War Memorial | 1919 |  | Registered as a category 2 structure with Heritage New Zealand and scheduled with Auckland Council as category B | [1] |
| Bombay Domain Memorial Gates | 1919 | Scheduled with Auckland Council | [1] | |
| Arawa memorial | 1919 |  | [1] | |
| Papakura-Karaka War Memorial | 1920 |  | Feldon's work was the lion statue at the base, and he supervised the other work. In 1932 Feldon was hired by the Papakura Town Board to assess the condition of the memorial and carry out remediation if required. Scheduled with Auckland Council as category B. | [1] |
| Pokeno War Memorial | 1921 |  | Scheduled with Waikato District Council as category B | [1] |
| Helensville War Memorial | 1921 |  | Scheduled with Auckland Council as category B | [1] |
| St Matthew-in-the-City War Memorial | 1921 |  | [1][6] | |
| Mercer War Memorial | 1922 |  | Registered as a category 1 structure with Heritage New Zealand and scheduled with the Waikato District Council as category B | [1] |
| Hikurangi Bridge War Memorial | 1922 | Destroyed in 1925 | [1][7] | |
| Otahuhu War Memorial | 1927 | .jpg) | Feldon did some work on the bronze statue, but it came from London. Scheduled with Auckland Council as category A and registered as a category 1 structure by Heritage New Zealand | [1] |
| Lord Jellicoe Cenotaph Reserve, Invercargill | 1928 | [8] | ||
| In memoriam pioneer women, Garden of Memories, Howick | 1939 |  |
Statue erected in honour of pioneer women in Emilia Maud Nixon's Garden of Memories, Uxbridge Road, Howick | [9] |