Frederick Irwin

Lieutenant-Colonel Frederick Chidley Irwin, KH (1788 – 31 March 1860) was acting Governor of Western Australia from 1847 to 1848. Born in 1788 in Enniskillen, Ireland, Frederick Chidley Irwin was the son of Reverend James Irwin. In 1808, he was commissioned into the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot. He saw service in Spain and Portugal, and took part in several major battles of the Peninsula War, for which he was awarded a number of medals. In 1817 he was stationed in Canada, and later in Ceylon. In 1828, the British government decided to establish a colony on the western coast of Australia, and a cousin of Irwin's, James Stirling, was appointed its first Lieutenant-Governor. Irwin was subsequently sent to the colony as a major in command of a detachment of the 63rd Regiment of Foot, whose mission was to protect and help establish the colony. He arrived with his men on board HMS Sulphur in June 1829, six days after the arrival of the first settlers and Stirling on the Parmelia.Irwin's position as officer commanding the troops afforded him the further position of vice chairman of the Legislative Council appointed by Stirling in January 1831. From September 1832 until September 1833, Irwin was temporarily appointed to act as administrator of the colony while Stirling was in England.During Irwin's period in charge the colony experienced difficulty in its relations with the Aboriginal people, and both colonists and Aboriginals were killed in different encounters such as the Pinjarra Massacre. After the killing of several settlers Irwin placed a bounty on the heads of the most aggressive Noongar warriors, including Yagan and Midgegooroo. This was to be among the most controversial of Irwin's initiatives during his tenure in the Swan River Colony. According to his account, immediately after a series of skirmishes Irwin conferred with his Executive Council ‘to take such steps for a prompt and summary retaliation, as the means at my disposal admitted.’ A proclamatio