Chartism and the Eureka Rebellion

Last updated September 12, 2023

There were key people involved in the Eureka Rebellion who subscribed to the ideals of Chartism and saw the struggle on the Victorian goldfields as a continuation of the activism in Britain in the 1840s and "the centuries of heroic struggles in England which preceded the Australian Federation"^[1] such as the 1688 Glorious Revolution, that resulted in the enactment of the English Bill of Rights.^[2] From 1837 to 1848, 129,607 incomers to Australia arrived from the British mainland, with at least 80 "physical force" chartists sentenced to penal servitude in Van Diemens Land. Currey agrees that the population at the time would have been sufficiently politically awake such that: "it may be fairly assumed that the aims of the Anti-Corn-Law League and the Chartists were very familiar to many of the Victorian miners."^[3]

Ballarat Reform League

After five hours of debate, it was formally resolved on 11 November 1854 at a meeting attended by a crowd of 10,000 at Bakery Hill in Ballarat that the Ballarat Reform League be formed to aggregate and articulate the interests of the mining community and "on that day it became an organization supported by the whole of the mining community in Ballarat."^[7]^[8] It was reported by the Ballarat Times that at the appointed hour, the "Union Jack and the American ensign were hoisted as signals for the people to assemble."^[9]

The League's manifesto was dismissed by Raffaello Carboni as "worn out twaddle imported from old England."^[10] It calls for abolishing the goldfields commission and the mining and storekeepers tax. In terms of electoral reforms, it demands full and fair representation, universal white male suffrage, abolition of property qualifications for members of the Victorian Legislative Council, payment of parliamentarians, and regular elections. The League also aimed to "unlock the lands," which referred to the issue of individual free and leasehold over crown land.^[11]

The founding secretary, John Basson Humffray, who led the walkout by members of the "moral force" faction immediately before the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, was a Chartist and other several other Ballarat Reform League leaders, including George Black, Henry Holyoake, and Tom Kennedy, are also believed to have been Chartists.^[12]

Eureka Jack Mystery

The disputed first report of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade states 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."^[5] Gregory Blake has theorised that the Eureka rebels may have flown two battle flags as they were claiming to be defending their British rights.^[6] According to the eminent vexillologist, Dr Whitney Smith, the Union Jack became a true national flag when it was seen "inscribed with slogans as a protest flag of the Chartist movement in the nineteenth century."^[13]

Impact on the Eureka Rebellion

With regards to Chartism and the Eureka Rebellion, Geoffrey Serle has concluded that:

"By no stretch of the definition can Eureka be labelled a chartist-style outbreak; yet in the diggers’ movement as a whole the claim for political rights became stronger with each successive crisis ... Although few were 'politically conscious', most took it for granted that they had natural rights or rights as Britons to political privileges ... Eureka was also important in that it provided the occasion and the issues on which the latent popular democratic movement could build itself."^[14]

Related Research Articles

The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of 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 fighting left at least 27 dead and many injured, most of the casualties being rebels. There was a preceding period beginning in 1851 of peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience on the Victorian goldfields. The miners had various grievances, chiefly the cost of mining permits and the officious way the system was enforced.

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.

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.

Henry Erle Seekamp was a journalist, owner and editor of the Ballarat Times during the 1854 Eureka Rebellion in Victoria, Australia. The newspaper was fiercely pro-miner, and he was responsible for a series of articles and several editorials that supported the Ballarat Reform League while condemning the government and police harassment of the diggers. After the Rebellion was put down, he was charged, found guilty of seditious libel, and imprisoned, becoming the only participant to receive gaol time.

The Ballarat Reform League came into being in October 1853 and was officially constituted on 11 November 1854 at a mass meeting of miners in Ballarat, Victoria to protest against the Victorian government's mining policy and administration of the goldfields.

The Battle of the Eureka Stockade was fought in Ballarat, Victoria, 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.

Since 2012 various theories have emerged, based on the Argus account of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade dated 4 December 1854 and an affidavit sworn by Private Hugh King three days later as to a flag being seized from a prisoner detained at the stockade, that a Union Jack, known as the Eureka Jack may also have been flown by the rebels. 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 political significance of the Eureka Rebellion is contested ground. It may be seen simply as a rebellion by miners against burdensome taxation or, as some authors suggest, the first expression of republican sentiment in Australia. Some would suggest the importance of the event has been exaggerated because Australian history does not include a major armed rebellion equivalent to the French Revolution or the American War of Independence. Others maintain that Eureka was a seminal event that marked a major change in the course of Australian history.

Edward Thonen was a German emigrant to Australia, and one of the miners involved in the Eureka Rebellion in Ballarat, Victoria. He was captain of one of the miners' divisions. When soldiers stormed the Stockade on 3 December 1854, Thonen was one of the first to be killed in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade.

The 1854 mining revolt in Australia, Eureka Rebellion inspired numerous novels, poems, films, songs, plays and artworks. Much of Eureka folklore relies heavily on Raffaello Carboni's 1855 book, The Eureka Stockade, which was the first and only comprehensive eyewitness account of the Eureka rebellion. The poet Henry Lawson wrote about Eureka, as have many novelists.

The following is a 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 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.

Historians have noted various manifestations of loyalist sentiment throughout the 1851-1854 Eureka Rebellion on the Victorian gold fields. Among the examples that have been cited include a letter from the Mayor of Melbourne to the Lieutenant Governor concerning US Independence Day in 1853, the Bendigo Petition and Red Ribbon Movement protests, the inaugural meeting of the Ballarat Reform League, the Eureka Jack Mystery, and the public protest in Melbourne following the Battle of the Eureka Stockade.

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 facial, 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 and garrisoned by rebel gold miners at Ballarat in Australia during the Eureka Rebellion of 1854. 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 trial 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.

It is currently known that the Eureka rebels came from at least 23 different nations. Raffaello Carboni recalled that "We were of all nations and colours." During the 1855 Victorian High Treason trials The Argus court reporter observed that of "the first batch of prisoners brought up for examination, the four examined consisted of one Englishman, one Dane, one Italian, and one negro, and if that is not a foreign collection, we do not know what is." However, according to Professor Anne Beggs-Sunter's figures, in her sample of 44 rebels, only one hailed from a non-European country.

References

↑ Michael Kirby (13 August 1996). The Blessings of the Constitution (Speech). Constitutional Centenary Foundation, South Australian chapter. University of Adelaide.
↑ "An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown". Act of 1689. England.
↑ Currey 1954, p. 8.
↑ Weiss 2000, p. 34.
1 2 "By Express. Fatal Collision at Ballaarat". The Argus . Melbourne. 4 December 1854. p. 5. Retrieved 12 July 2023– via Trove.
1 2 Blake 2012, p. note 78.
↑ Vern 1855, p. 10.
↑ Gollan 1967, p. 28.
↑ Ballarat Times, 18 November 1854 as cited in Wickham, Gervasoni and D’Angri, 13, 20.
↑ Carboni 1855, p. 41.
↑ Ballarat Reform League Charter, 11 November 1854, VPRS 4066/P Unit 1, November no. 69, VA 466 Governor (including Lieutenant Governor 1851-1855 and Governor's Office), Public Record Office Victoria 1854/11/11.
↑ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 112.
↑ Smith 1975, p. 188.
↑ Serle 1963, pp. 183–184.

Bibliography

Blake, Gregory (2012). Eureka Stockade: A ferocious and bloody battle. Newport: Big Sky Publishing. ISBN 978-1-92-213204-8.
Carboni, Raffaello (1855). The Eureka Stockade: The Consequence of Some Pirates Wanting a Quarterdeck Rebellion. Melbourne: J. P. Atkinson and Co. – via Project Gutenberg.
Corfield, Justin; Wickham, Dorothy; Gervasoni, Clare (2004). The Eureka Encyclopedia. Ballarat: Ballarat Heritage Services. ISBN 978-1-87-647861-2.
Currey, C.H. (1954). The Irish at Eureka. Sydney: Angus and Robertson.
Gollan, Robin (1967). Radical and Working Class Politics: A Study of Eastern Australia 1850 - 1910. Carlton: Melbourne University Press.
Serle, Geoffrey (1963). The Golden Age: A History of the Colony of Victoria, 1851-1861. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. ISBN 978-0-52-284143-5.
Smith, Whitney (1975). Flags Through the Ages and Across the World. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 978-0-07-059093-9.
Vern, Fredrick (November 1855). "Narrative of the Ballarat Insurrection". Melbourne Monthly Magazine.
Weiss, Ruth (2000). Peace in Their Time: War and Peace in Ireland and Southern Africa. London: I.B. Tauris.
Wickham, Dorothy; Gervasoni, Clare; D'Angri, Val (2000). The Eureka Flag: Our Starry Banner. Ballarat: Ballarat Heritage Services. ISBN 978-1-87-647813-1.

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[1] Michael Kirby (13 August 1996). The Blessings of the Constitution (Speech). Constitutional Centenary Foundation, South Australian chapter. University of Adelaide.

[2] "An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown". Act of 1689. England.

[FOOTNOTECurrey19548-3] Currey 1954, p. 8.

[FOOTNOTEWeiss200034-4] Weiss 2000, p. 34.

[Argus-5] 1 2 "By Express. Fatal Collision at Ballaarat". The Argus . Melbourne. 4 December 1854. p. 5. Retrieved 12 July 2023– via Trove.

[FOOTNOTEBlake2012note_78-6] 1 2 Blake 2012, p. note 78.

[FOOTNOTEVern185510-7] Vern 1855, p. 10.

[FOOTNOTEGollan196728-8] Gollan 1967, p. 28.

[9] Ballarat Times, 18 November 1854 as cited in Wickham, Gervasoni and D’Angri, 13, 20.

[FOOTNOTECarboni185541-10] Carboni 1855, p. 41.

[11] Ballarat Reform League Charter, 11 November 1854, VPRS 4066/P Unit 1, November no. 69, VA 466 Governor (including Lieutenant Governor 1851-1855 and Governor's Office), Public Record Office Victoria 1854/11/11.

[FOOTNOTECorfieldWickhamGervasoni2004112-12] Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 112.

[FOOTNOTESmith1975188-13] Smith 1975, p. 188.

[FOOTNOTESerle1963183–184-14] Serle 1963, pp. 183–184.

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