The Defence of Rorke's Drift having fought in the battle from Lady Butler's sketch of him taken at Portsmouth among the other survivors; his name has subsequently been added to the roll of those who fought at Rorke's Drift. The Defence of Rorke's Drift The Defence of Rorke's Drift is an 1880 painting by Elizabeth Thompson, Lady Butler depicting the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift which took place during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1877 to 1879. The battle and the men who fought in it were made famous in the 1964 film "Zulu". The Battle of Rorke's Drift caused a wave of patriotic fever in
John Rorke remain as heritage structures in Carbonear. Rorke served as a member of the Executive Council from 1879-82. He died in Carbonear at the age of 89. John Rorke John Rorke (June 9, 1807 – August 13, 1896) was an Irish-born merchant and political figure in Newfoundland. He represented Carbonear in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly from 1863-82 as a Conservative and Confederate. He was born in Athlone and came to Newfoundland in 1824, working as a clerk for Bennett and Ridley, a fishery supply firm. In 1830, he established his own firm in Carbonear. He married Mary Toque.