Military History Talk–Colonial Australia: Arrival of Frederick Whirlpool VC

Hear eminent military historian Lieutenant-Colonel Rowan Tracey (Rtd), discuss Frederick Whirlpool’s life; the tragic circumstances that lead to his Victoria Cross; and the role ex-British soldiers, such as Whirlpool, played in the settlement of colonial Australia.

On the 20 June 1861, the Victorian Governor’s wife, Lady Anne Maria Barkly presented the Victoria Cross to Irish-born, Australian resident, Frederick Whirlpool for extreme gallantry and saving the lives of colleagues, in the face of enemy fire at the Battle of Jhansi, India (1858).

Whirlpool was invalided out of the British East India Company Army with serious wounds, and what would today be called post-traumatic stress disorder. Whirlpool migrated to Australia after the India campaign in 1859 and tried to keep his experiences secret, before being identified and awarded his VC.

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