Australians who went to Zululand and fought in the 1879 war.

In 1896, a distant ancestral cousin of mine, Pat Farrell of Braidwood NSW, claimed that he had " served with distinction in the English Army, took part in a Zulu campaign and was severely wounded in a battle that took place around the same time that ‘Napoleon, the Prince Imperial’ died in a separate skirmish with Zulus”. He would have been about 16 years old at the time.
Having returned home between 1880-82 and spent some time in Port Douglas, Queensland, he signed up for the Suakin expedition, leaving Sydney on 3rd March 1885. Having returned from Sudan after only 3 months, Pat, who apparently had received a significant cut above an eye, seemingly spent the next 18 months at Sydney's Liverpool Hospital, possibly working there.
There is no evidence to suggest that any Australians went to Zululand officially, but it seems possible that a few made there own ways there. So before we dismiss my late cousin's claim as pure "Walter Mitty", I'd be interested to know if it was at all possible for a then 15 year old Aussie to find his way from Sydney to Durban, sign up with the "English" Army, be trained, and take part in a battle, all within a few weeks or months! Any comments?
The fact that he went to the Sudan could support his Zulu story, but of course he might have heard about it all from other members of the Suakin force (who did serve in Natal) and simply used the information to create his own "yarn".

Peter
One of the driving forces behind the NSW intervention at Suakin was an officer who had served in the AZW. There'll be more about this in an article in Studies in the Zulu War vol. VI later this year.
It's not impossible that Farrell became involved in the expedition via connexions made during the AZW.

Don't forget: Lt Edgar Anstey, died in probable last stand at Isandlwana, born in Adelaide.
The first South Australian to die in battle.
Quite a few posts about him on this site.

There'll be more about him in the same article mentioned above.

Peter Farrell. my current project is researching those with Australian connections who served in the Zulu War. At this stage almost 200 have been researched. There were at least 4 who were born in Australia.
Many made claims they served and often Zulu war was interpreted in different contexts. Serving in the Zulu war and serving through the Zulu war, were common, especially with Naval men.

However by his own hand, Patrick stated he arrived in the US in 1888 from Queensland. He did not serve in the Soudan War with the NSW contingent, although a Captain Farrell did. Patrick has no record at our Military archives.

There is no doubt he was a brilliant man, served his country very well, and it is easy to see how a mistake could be made of his service, as in 1899, a newspaper report was printed from the Chicago Tribune, discussing Captain Farrell's orderly, Leonard Hayes, who had under a different alias served with Gordon in Kartoum, and previously in the Zulu war. It is unknown what name he used on those occasions. The local newspaper archives reported many of Patrick's letters to his family, and give an insight into his life. If you pm me your email address I will send them to you.
Kris

Taking this another way, I can find a Corporal J. Farrell, of the Natal Light Horse, who was severely wounded at the Battle of Ulundi, 4th July, 1879.

Obviously, the initials do not match, and Corporal Farrell is a colonial volunteer, rather than a regular soldier, but he is the only one with that surname who was obviously wounded.

https://www.angloboerwar.com/name-search. This site also covers the "Frontier Wars" of 18777-78-79 which includes the A-Z War. It lists 7 names P. Farrell, all from British regiments.

Pte. P. Farrell, 2nd Battalion, 21st (Royal Scots Fusiliers) Regiment received a minor wound on 29th November, 1879, during the assault on the stronghold of Sekhukhune of the BaPedi, in the northern Transvaal. So therefore does not correlate with a wound sustained in the Zulu War.

JY