The movie star on our Coat of Arms

Ever looked at our Coat of Arms? The woman in a white dress look familiar?
That’s because it's modelled after legendary actress Grace Kelly, all thanks to former Prime Minister John Marshall, who was Attorney General at the time.
But the man who originally designed our Coat of Arms was artist James Ingham McDonald.
McDonald was born in Tokomairiro in South Otago on June 11, 1865, to Donald McDonald and his wife Margaret.
He began painting early and took art classes as a young man in Dunedin. But he moved to Melbourne to further his art career and there he met Mary - called May - Brabin who he married.
They were back in New Zealand in 1901 where McDonald worked as a photographer for the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, travelling and taking pictures of scenery.
It was during these trips James became interested in Māori art. So much so that when he was appointed to the Colonial Museum as an assistant and draughtsman he made the model pā that remained on display for decades.
He went back to the Tourist Department to work on displays for the New Zealand International Exhibition in Christchurch and began making films, officially recording scenic attractions.
In 1908 a competition was announced to redesign the Coat of Arms - which was distinctly British - to a more New Zealand design.
There were 75 put forward and James’ won. It featured a pākehā woman holding a flag and a Maori warrior, with the British lion at the top.
It became the Coat of Arms in 1911.
In 1912, James returned to the museum as a photographer and art assistant and in 1918 he proposed an exhibition to go to the Hui Aroha to welcome home the Maori Battalion.
James decided to film and made the earliest known ethnographic film in New Zealand. He repeated it in 1920 for a gathering of the tribes to greet the Prince of Wales.
Over the years his films showed traditional activities like the plaiting and weaving of flax, the making the setting of eel pots and the cooking of food in a hangi.
A great many of his films have been restored and can now be viewed.
He also modelled decorative patterns for the Native Committee Room in Parliament buildings and was appointed to the Board of Maori Arts in 1926.
James moved to Tokaanu where he was one of the founders of Te Tuwharetoa School of Maori Art and Crafts with the aim of reviving and nurturing traditional arts.
With no financial support, he and his family suffered with financial loss until he died on April 13, 1935.
In 1956 the design of the Coat of Arms was reconsidered - with Marshall not liking the new proposed design for the woman who was thought to look too “Soviet” so Marshall said to make it look like Grace Kelly.
James McDonald is buried in Taupo Cemetery.