HOW A VICTORIA CROSS HERO DIED.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9381, 22 March 1892, Page 3

HOW A VICTORIA CROSS HERO DIED.

Some little time ago we republished from a Home paper some particulars of the manner in which Timothy O'Hea, of the Ist Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, gained the Victoria Cross. His case is believed to be the only instance in which the cross was awarded otherwise than for bravery in battle. Briefly stated, O'Hea entered a burning van containing 20001b of gunpowder, and hunted about until he found the locality of the lire, which he put out, thus in all probability saving the town of Danville (in Canada) and many lives. The publication of , the > details-has led Mr G.-8.--Bradford,—of-Kutneroa, Hawkp's Bay, to relate the story of O'Hea's death in a letter to the Woodvillo Examiner. Mr Bradford states that about 1873 he and his mate were • camped on a creek ' between Wilson and Cooper's creeks, in ' the Never Never country. They were Hume (the explorer), Thompson, and O'Hea, who ha/t been sent out to search for Glasson, one of the lost Leichardt expedition, seen in Northwestern Australia by Hume two years before. O'Hea was then a " new chum," a very rare article in those parts, and his queer sayings kept the party in rare good humour. It was from Hume that Mr Bradford learnt the story of how O'Hea had gained the V.C. Hume and his party left next day to strike N.W., according to instructions, and expected to be away about 18 months. On the third day, still not being able to find water, they turned back, but on the fifth day O'Hea went mad and wandered off to die, and was never seen again. Hume and Thompson came within four miles of the waterhole, when Hume told Thompson to push on ahead, and then evidently lost his reason, as he drank his horse's blood, turned short off, walked about a mile, curled himself round a Gydia tree, and died. His long beard was clotted with his horse's blood when found. Such was the end of an expedition which cost two brave men their lives.