Meet the Memorial staff, Paul Riley and Timothy Hurd QSM.
Paul Riley, Curator
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Image of Paul Riley.
Paul Riley is the Curator of the National War Memorial (NWM). His job is incredibly varied. One day he's giving presentations to visiting school groups, the next he's preparing protocols and procedures for wreath laying ceremonies and hosting international dignitaries, and on another day he might be curating exhibitions and displays. Paul has been with the NWM since 1993, and still loves it, the building itself is a tranquil work environment, ”A lot of people come here from all around the world and say ‘it’s very understated’ and I think that’s quite right . . . it’s rather beautiful”.
The memorial was built in two stages, the first was the tower or Carillon (the first part of the memorial) was built in 1932, plans for the Hall of Remembrance were put on hold due to financial constraints, and it was finally completed in 1964 by the same original architects, Gummer and Ford (it was Gummer’s last job before he retired). Neutral pastels and clean lines define the style of the hall, and stained glass windows bring vibrant light into the hall, “We have beautiful purple colours thrown on the walls from the stained glass windows”.
Within the hall are military shields, plaques and a roll of honour. Fleur de Lys and doves are inset within the stone walls, and the central focus of the hall is a sculpture by Linden Smith. The sculpture depicts a mother standing with her young daughter and son; it’s an unusual and different approach to a war memorial, focusing on the families that are affected by war, rather than “a guy with a gun” says Paul. He also has had famous visitors comment of the statue, “Hilary Clinton said to me ‘that’s one of the most beautiful statues I’ve seen in any memorial’”.
Paul deals with guests of distinction and day to day visitors with ease and enthusiasm, if you're visiting the NWM he's happy to give you a tour.
Image of Timothy Hurd QSM
Timothy Hurd QSM, National Carillonist
Timothy Hurd QSM received his MusM degree from Yale University (1977), studying composition with Krzysztof Penderecki and Jacob Druckman, and the Artist's Diploma in performance from the Netherlands Carillon School (1980) under Peter Bakker. As a Fellow of the Belgian-American Educational Foundation, Hurd studied 18th c. musicology at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven [KUL] and Royal Flemish Carillon School, Mechelen. In 1981, he was awarded the Prix d'Excellence for carillon by the Dutch Government. His compositions in various genres have been regularly commissioned and performed throughout the Europe, North America & Australasia.
Timothy was appointed National Carillonist of NZ in 1984, as titular of the 74-bell National War Memorial Carillon,the world’s 3rd largest. He was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for services to music in 1994. In 2001 became first Musical Director of the National Carillon in Canberra, Australia and served as Vice-President of the Australian Carillon Society 2007-12.
Professional organ studies were with Leonard Raver (USA), Michael Radulescu (Austria) and Leo van Doeselaar (Holland), with a focus on pre-Bach repertoire. Hurd also researches and builds historical woodwind and keyboard instruments & sings with The Tudor Consort and the Choir of Wellington Cathedral. He continues work as a consulting acoustician in Europe.
