Samuel Mitchell VC 1864, Ross.

About this image

DescriptionSamuel Mitchell a young seaman with the British Navy was the youngest recipient of the Victoria Cross at the age of 22 years in 1864 for his bravery under attack while retrieving the body of his badly wounded Commander at the Hauhau Uprising in the Waikato.
He left the navy in May 1865 and prompted by the news of the discovery of gold on the West Coast made his home in Ross. In 1870 he married Agnes Ross and together they purchased farmland near the coast on the south side of the Mikonui River. In 1894 the river claimed his life while trying to cross it during a flood. He was 52 and laid to rest on the hill in Ross. It was reported to be one of the biggest funerals held in Ross as the family was highly respected.
Agnes was left to struggle on and care for their 11 children at 'Mitchells Farm' until she passed away in 1918 age 71. She was buried on the hill alongside Samuel.
Excerpt from a story by Mike Whitall- Ross A Story Not to be Forgotten. NZ Memories issue 118 Feb/March 2016.Date of Photo1864Map^[1]External LinkRoss Goldtown

Shown in this image

Location (city or town)RossPersonSamuel Mitchell

From Facebook

CommentsPeter Mitchell
My Great Grandad. A lot of history here. I have been to Gate Pa (where he won the VC) twice, and last time got a tad emotional trying to understand the enormity of that battle. Mitchell Street Tauranga is named for him. There are several story boards at Gate Pa outlining the battle, and it was disappointing to see that the only damaged one was about Samulel. The VC did get lost and Eadie Mitchell put in a lot of effort to have it returned, and I believe King George was involved in it'sreturn. It is now kept in trust by the West Coast Historical Museum on behalf of the entire Mitchell family.

Jennie Scott
Peter Mitchell I wondered if a relative of Aunty Frances, so must be as well

Peter Mitchell
Jennie Scott same grand parent as me

Alan Mitchell
The VC and medal that he is wearing is a card board cut out on account of them being lost at the time of this photo taken.

Dea Minehan
Viv Watson please fwd to your mum, apparently we aren't friends!!

Jim Staton
Samuel Mitchell's grave site is in the current Ross cemetery, not "on the hill" (behind Ross. That cemetery was officially closed in 1885, only married partners were buried there after being closed, with a couple of exceptions).

Glenn Johnston
I think his medals were once and perhaps still are at the Hokitika (West Coast Historical) Museum. About 1970 they were in a display case there. A book about Samuel Mitchell was produced some years back by one of his descendants. It may have been Peter Mitchell that wrote it.

OCR Text Transcription Edit Edit +-Close

Editing is temporarily disabled

Cancel Edit

Start typing here to find a location	Latitude	Longitude	Zoom	Actions

loading google map....

Save Cancel

Menu

Samuel Mitchell VC 1864, Ross.

Editing is temporarily disabled