English School, c.1840
English School, c.1840

Major James Winniett Nunn, 80th Regiment, Commandant of the New South Wales Police

Details
English School, c.1840
Major James Winniett Nunn, 80th Regiment, Commandant of the New South Wales Police
oil on canvas
24 x 17¼in. (60.9 x 43.8cm)

Brought to you by

Amanda Fuller
Amanda Fuller

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

Sign in
View condition report

Lot Essay

A career officer and veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, Nunn (and his 80th Regiment) was garrisoned in New South Wales from 1837 to 1844. In the colony Brevet-Major James Nunn (1789-1847) was seconded to command the NSW Mounted Police and took charge of operations to protect squatters on the colony's frontier from attacks by Aboriginals and bushrangers. He gained notoriety for his offensive with just twenty-two troopers against an Aboriginal encampment on 26 January 1838 at Snodgrass Lagoon on Waterloo Plains which left at least 200 dead -- the operation variously known as "the Battle of Vinegar Hill", the "Liverpool Massacre" and "Major Nunn's Campaign".

There is a variant of this portrait, by the same unidentified hand, also depicting Nunn in a New South Wales landscape, encamped and with a mounted dragoon and trooper beyond, in the National Library of Australia (nla.pic-an9900674).

More from Australian Art

View All
View All