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Sir Neville Howse V.C.Print Page Print this page

Memorial 3 : 06-March-2015
Memorial 3 : 06-March-2015

Photographs supplied by Stephen Woods / Peter Williams

The monument celebrates the life of Sir Neville Howse (1863 -1930), a doctor, soldier, Member of Parliament, and first member of the Australian Defence Forces to win a Victoria Cross on 14th June 1901.

On 17 January 1900, Howse was commissioned as a lieutenant in the New South Wales Medical Corps and went to South Africa with the 2nd Contingent. During an action involving Major J. G. Legge`s New South Wales Mounted Infantry and Western Australian Bushmen near Vredfort on 24 July 1900, Seeing a trumpeter struck by a bullet, Howse rode through a hail of bullets to get to him.

He dismounted to collect the man but as he did so his horse was shot dead. He dressed the man`s wound and then hoisted the man onto his shoulders and carried him to safety, where he successfully treated the casualty for a perforated bladder. The man survived. For this action, Howse was awarded the Victoria Cross, the first ever awarded to someone in an Australian unit, and the only one ever awarded to an Australian medical officer.

Location

Address:Byng Street, Robertson Park, Orange, 2800
State:NSW
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -33.282105
Long: 149.102273
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:People
Sub-Theme:Military
Actual Event Start Date:14-June-1901
Actual Event End Date:14-June-1901
Designer:Les Quick
Monument Manufacturer:McMurtrie Stonemasons
Link:http://www.warmemorialsregister.nsw…

Dedication

Actual Monument Dedication Date:Saturday 22nd July, 2000
Front Inscription

Soldier

Major General Sir Neville Howse VC KCB KCMG FRCS
Australia's first Victoria Cross winner 1901 
Director of Medical Services AIF 1916  1919 

Plaque :

Sir Neville Howse VC,  KCB,  KCMG, FRCS   
Memorial Monument 

Unveiled on 22 July 2000 by Major-General John Pearn AM RFO  Surgeon General Australian Defence Forces on the Centenary of the winning of the Victoria Cross by Lt Neville Howse in South Africa on 24 July 1900

Cr Richard Niven    Allen Dwyer
Mayor                     General Manager 

Left Side Inscription

Surgeon

Dr. Sir Neville Howse FRCS 1863- 1930
A kind and caring doctor. 
Pioneer of surgery in Western New South Wales.
A founder of the Australasian College of Surgeons. 
 

Right Side Inscription

Statesman 

The Hon Sir Neville Howse MP
Mayor of Orange, Member for Calare 
Minister for Health, Defence and Repatriation 

He served his city, his region, his country. 
 

Inscription in Proximity

Sir Neville Howse
VC,  KCB,  KCMG, FRCS
Orange Mayor - 1914, 1921
Federal Member for Calare 1922-1929

This monument celebrates the life of Sir Neville Howse who was a doctor, soldier, Member of Parliament, and first member of the Australian Defence Forces to win a Victoria Cross on 14th June 1901. Capatin Howse was awarded the Victoria Cross on 14 June 1901. 

The Victoria Cross citation reads:
During the action at Vredefort , on the 24th July 1900 Lt Howse went out under a very heavy crossfire and picked up a wounded man and carried him to a place of shelter.

Major General John Pearn AM, RFD, Surgeon Australian Defence Forces, unveiled the memorial on Saturday, 22 July 2000, on the centenary of the first VC by a member of the Australian Defence Forces.

This monument to N H Howse VC, by artist Les Quick, was an initiative of  (List of contributors

Source: NRWM, MA,ADB
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au