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 Australiaportal |
There were two British army regiments in the colony of Victoria during the 1851-1854 Eureka Rebellion. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade that took place on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia.
The 12th Regiment traces its lineage back to the Duke of Norfolk's Regiment of Foot in 1685. In 1686, it became the Earl of Lichfield's Regiment of Foot. There was a reorganisation in 1751 following the War of the Austrian Succession, where it became the 12th Foot. The regiment took part in the Battle of Minden, where an allied army of British, Hanoverian, Hessian, and Prussians under Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated the French commander Marshal Contades. This engagement took place in what became known as the "year of victories" and is commemorated in the regiment's battle honour. The regimental arms commemorate the defence of Gibraltar in 1779–1783. In 1782, it became the 12th (East Suffolk) Regiment. During the British conquest of Mysore in southern India, they were in action at the Battle of Seringapatam. Shortly before the Eureka Rebellion, the regiment was deployed to South Africa in the Kaffir War of 1851–1852. Other units within the regiment had served in Ireland. [1]
During the Eureka Rebellion, there was a skirmish involving the 12th Regiment and a mob of rebellious miners. Foot police reinforcements had already reached the Ballarat government outpost on 19 October 1854. A further detachment of the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot arrived a few days behind. On 28 November, the 12th Regiment arrived to reinforce the local government camp. As they moved near where the rebels ultimately made their last stand, there was a clash, where a drummer boy, John Egan and several other members of the convoy were attacked by a mob looking to loot the wagons. [2]
Tradition variously had it that Egan either was killed there and then or was the first casualty of the fighting on the day of the battle. However, his grave in Old Ballarat Cemetery was removed in 2001 after research carried out by Dorothy Wickham showed that Egan had survived and died in Sydney in 1860. [3]
After the tour in Australia, the 12th Regiment was sent to New Zealand during the Second Maori War. In 1881, it became known as The Suffolk Regiment. There were postings throughout the British Empire, including in the First World War on the Western Front, Macedonia, Gallipoli, and in Palestine. In the Second World War, the regiment took part in the 1940 Battle for France and served in Malaya and Singapore from 1941 to 1942. It was in action during the Battle of Imphal during the Burma campaign. The regiment was amalgamated with The Royal Norfolk Regiment to form The East Anglian Regiment (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) in 1959. In 1964, it became the 1st (Royal Norfolk and Suffolk) Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment, and then four years later the 1st Battalion. Records related to the 12th regiment during the Eureka Rebellion are held at the Suffolk Record Office. [1]
The 40th Regiment traces its lineage back to 1717 when it was the Phillip's Regiment of Foot. It became the 40th Foot in 1782, and then in 1751, it was renamed the 40th (2nd Somersetshire) Foot. Its first battle honour was the capture along with other units of Montevideo, now the capital of Uraguay. During the war in Peninsular War, the regiment saw action at Roleia, Vimera, Talavera, Badajoz, Salamanca, and Vittoria. During the invasion of Napoleonic France, further honours were won at the Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes, and Toulouse. Later, the regiment saw action at the Battle of Waterloo. During the First Afghan War, the regiment was at Candahar, Ghuznee, and Cabool in 1842, and then at Maharajapore, India. [4]
The 40th Regiment arrived in Victoria from England in October 1852 at the request of Lieutenant Governor Charles LaTrobe.[ citation needed ]
After the Eureka Rebellion, some members of the 40th Regiment were posted to New Zealand. In 1881, it was amalgamated with the 82nd (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers) to form The South Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers). During the First World War, the regiment saw action on the Western Front and in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia before being posted to Afghanistan in 1919. It took part in the Battle of France in 1940 during the Second World War. The regiment was then sent to the Far East for the Burma campaign and participated in the Normandy D-Day landings in 1944. In 1958, it combined with The East Lancashire Regiment to form The Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers). It amalgamated with The Loyal Regiment to become The Queen's Lancashire Regiment in 1970. [4]
The colour sergeant for the 40th Regiment at the time of the battle was John Macoboy. [5]
Captain John Thomas led the attack on the Eureka Stockade, with Captain Charles Pasley as his second in command. The government forces at the Ballarat camp were under the immediate command of resident gold commissioner Robert Rede. Overall command was exercised by the executive lieutenant governor Charles Hotham and the high commander of the British colonial forces in Australia, Major General Sir Robert Nickle.
| Name | Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service | Commentary | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Charles Hotham | Hotham served as lieutenant governor and, later, governor of Victoria, Australia, from 22 June 1854 to 31 December 1855. [6] | He feared that the "network of rabbit burrows" on the goldfields would prove readily defensible as his forces "on the rough pot-holed ground would be unable to advance in regular formation and would be picked off easily by snipers," which led to the decision to move into position in the early morning for a surprise attack on the Eureka Stockade. [7] |
| Name | Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service | Commentary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Nickle | Nickle was a major general and the commander-in-chief of the colonial forces of Australia at the time of the attack on the Eureka Stockade. Nickle had previously seen action during the 1798 Irish rebellion. [8] | He had dispatched additional soldiers to Ballarat in the lead-up to the armed uprising. Nickle sent out from Melbourne with a force of 800 men, which included "two field pieces and two howitzers" that arrived after the rebels had made their last stand. [9] [10] [8] | |
| Name | Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service | Commentary | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Robert William Rede | Rede was appointed to the Victorian Goldfields Commission in October 1852. From June 1854 to January 1855, he was posted to Ballarat and had responsibility for the government camp during the Battle of the Eureka Stockade. [11] | Following the armed uprising, Rede was recalled from Ballarat and kept on full pay until 1855. Rede served as the sheriff at Geelong (1857), Ballarat (1868), and Melbourne (1877) and was the Commandant of the Volunteer Rifles, being the second-in-command at Port Phillip. In 1880, he was sheriff at the trial of Ned Kelly and an official witness to his execution. [12] |
40th Regiment
| Name | Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service | Commentary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas James Valiant | Valiant was at the Eureka Stockade as lieutenant colonel of the 40th regiment. [13] | Technically, the highest-ranking officer of the colonial forces in the battle. [14] | |
40th Regiment
| Name | Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service | Commentary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Martin Bladin Neil | Neil was a major in the 40th regiment at the Eureka Stockade. [15] | — | |
40th regiment
| Name | Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service | Commentary | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | John Wellesley Thomas | Thomas was a captain with the 40th regiment and commanded the colonial forces at the Eureka Stockade. He was a top adviser to Robert Rede. Thomas received his commission in 1839 and had seen action in Afghanistan and China. In 1862, he was promoted to colonel and in 1877, he became a major general. Thomas was an honorary lieutenant general when he retired in 1881. In 1882, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the Hampshire Regiment, and in 1904 was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. [16] | Thomas was wounded in the battle but did not withdraw and relinquish command to Inspector Carter until after the stockade had fallen. He ordered Carter to burn down the stockade while he escorted the detainees to Melbourne. Later described the battle as "a trifling affair". The Maharajpoor Star, which he was awarded in 1843 and may have worn on the day, is held by the Ballarat Gold Museum, and his British Pattern 1845 infantry sword is at the Australian War Memorial. [17] |
| Henry Wise | Wise was a captain with the 40th regiment at the Eureka Stockade. He became a captain in the British army and arrived in Victoria with the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot in 1852. [18] | The highest ranking member of the colonial forces killed as a result of the battle, Wise was the son of Henry Christopher Wise, an English Conservative politician, and his first wife, Harriett Skipwith. [18] | |
| Name | Period of service in the rank, promotions and previous military experience. Termination of service | Commentary | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Pasley | Captain Charles Pasley was the colonial engineer and offered his services to Hotham as the rebellion was heading for an armed uprising. He served as aide-de-camp to Captain John Thomas, arriving in Ballarat on 28 November 1854. Pasley commanded the centre during the government assault on the Eureka Stockade. [19] | Eyewitness accounts of the battle tell how women ran forward and threw themselves over the injured to prevent indiscriminate killing. As second in command, Captain Pasley gave the order to withdraw and threatened to shoot anyone involved in murdering prisoners. [19] | |
The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British colonial government in Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which took place on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat between the rebels and the colonial forces of Australia.
The Eureka Flag was flown at the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which took place on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. It was the culmination of the 1851–1854 Eureka Rebellion on the Victorian goldfields. Gold miners protested the cost of mining permits, the officious way the colonial authorities enforced the system, and other grievances. An estimated crowd of over 10,000 demonstrators swore allegiance to the flag as a symbol of defiance at Bakery Hill on 29 November 1854. It was then flown over the Eureka Stockade during the battle that resulted in at least 27 deaths. Around 120 miners were arrested, and many others were badly wounded, including five soldiers.
John Basson Humffray was a leading advocate in the movement of miner reform process in the British colony of Victoria, and later a member of parliament.
The Suffolk Regiment was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army with a history dating back to 1685. It saw service for three centuries, participating in many wars and conflicts, including the First and Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the Royal Norfolk Regiment to form the 1st East Anglian Regiment in 1959 which, in 1964, was further amalgamated with the 2nd East Anglian Regiment, the 3rd East Anglian Regiment and the Royal Leicestershire Regiment to create the present Royal Anglian Regiment.
John King (1830-1881) was a police constable at the Battle of the Eureka Stockade who was responsible for seizing the rebel war flag.
The Battle of the Eureka Stockade was fought in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia on 3 December 1854, between gold miners and the colonial forces of Australia. It was the culmination of the 1851–1854 Eureka Rebellion during the Victorian gold rush. The fighting resulted in at least 27 deaths and many injuries, the majority of casualties being rebels. The miners had various grievances, chiefly the cost of mining permits and the officious way the system was enforced.
Ellen Francis Young was an English-born Australian early proto feminist poet living in the time of the Australian Gold Rush.
Since 2009, various theories have emerged, based on the Argus account of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade and an affidavit sworn by Private Hugh King three days later as to a flag being seized from a prisoner detained at the stockade, concerning whether a Union Jack, known as the Eureka Jack was also flown by the rebel garrison. Readers of the Argus were told that:
The flag of the diggers, "The Southern Cross," as well as the "Union Jack," which they had to hoist underneath, were captured by the foot police.
The following bibliography includes notable sources concerning the Eureka Rebellion. This article is currently being expanded and revised.
The Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 gold miner's revolt in Victoria, Australia, has been the inspiration for numerous novels, poems, films, songs, plays and artworks. Much of Eureka folklore relies heavily on Raffaello Carboni's 1855 book, The Eureka Stockade, which is the first and only comprehensive eyewitness account of the uprising. The poet Henry Lawson wrote about Eureka, as have many novelists.
The following is a comprehensive timeline of the Eureka Rebellion.
The Eureka Stockade Memorial Park is believed to encompass the site of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade that was fought in Ballarat, Victoria on 3 December 1854. Records of "Eureka Day" ceremonies at the site of the battle go back to 1855. In addition to the Eureka Stockade Monument, there are other points of interest in the reserve, including the Eureka Stockade Gardens and an interpretative centre. There was formerly a swimming pool and other structures. There has been a nearby caravan park since the 1950s. The present Eureka Stockade Memorial Park Committee has undergone several name changes since 1922.
The 1855 Victorian high treason trials took place between 22 February – 27 March in the aftermath of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade. The Goldfields Commission recommended a general amnesty for all on the runs from the fallen Eureka Stockade. Instead, thirteen of the rebels detained were eventually indicted for high treason. The juries all returned a verdict of not guilty by a jury, and the indictment against Thomas Dignum was withdrawn. On 23 January, the trial of Ballarat Times editor Henry Seekamp resulted in a finding of guilt for seditious libel, and a month later, he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of six months. The trials have been described as farcical, and the colonial secretary would rebuke Governor Sir Charles Hotham over prosecuting the Eureka rebels for the lofty offence of high treason.
The Eureka Stockade was a crude battlement built in 1854 by rebel gold miners at Ballarat, Australia during the Eureka Rebellion. It stood from 30 November until the Battle of the Eureka Stockade on 3 December. The exact dimensions and location of the stockade are a matter of debate among scholars. There are various contemporary representations of the Eureka Stockade, including the 1855 Victorian high treason trials map and Eureka Slaughter by Charles Doudiet.
The Eureka Stockade Monument is situated at the presumed site of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade. It is located on the Eureka Stockade Memorial Park in Ballarat, Victoria. A public meeting was held on 16 April 1884 to discuss the construction of a permanent monument in honour of the event. A. T. Morrison was the founding honorary secretary and treasurer. It was reported on 31 May that 200 pounds had been raised and four 64-pounder cannons were supplied by the defence minister, Sir Fredrick Sargood.
The Eureka Stockade is an 1855 novel by Raffaello Carboni, who was present in Ballarat during the Eureka Rebellion. He lived near the Eureka Stockade and witnessed the battle on 3 December 1854 when the government forces defeated the rebel garrison. The Eureka folklore is deeply indebted to Carboni's novel, the first and only comprehensive eyewitness account of the Eureka Rebellion.
Captain Henry Christopher Wise was the highest-ranking British soldier who died in the Eureka rebellion.
William Edward Atherden was the last survivor of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade. He was originally from Dover in Kent, England. At the age of 15, he sailed to Melbourne. and along with other sailors, deserted to head for the Victorian gold fields, walking some of the journey with bare feet. After the fall of the Eureka Stockade, Atherden was one of 114 men taken prisoner. After he was released, Atherden went back to prospecting and made a small fortune. Returning to England in 1856 he was married to Mary Martin the following year and had six children. Atherden returned to Australia with his family, buying an orchard in York, Western Australia. He was present in Ballarat for the 50th anniversary commemorations of the battle in 1904. Atherden retired to Osbourne Park in Perth, where he died on 14 May 1934. He is buried in Karrakatta Cemetery.
During the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, there was a dog that remained at the side of one of the pikemen and even followed his dead body to the cemetery. Christopher Crook, who was a correspondent for the Geelong Advertiser, is quoted in Wiliam Wither's A History of Ballarat as saying:
A little terrier sat on the breast of the man I spoke of, and kept a continuous howl; it was removed, but always returned to the same spot, and when the miner's body was huddled, with the other corpses, into the cart, the little dog jumped in after him, and lying on his dead master's breast, began howling again.