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 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, many of whom such as Raffaello Carboni came from Europe and were veterans of the Revolutions of 1848, 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, including 5 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.
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.
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 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 Victorian gold rush led to an influx of foreign nationals, increasing the colony's population from 77,000 in 1851 to 198,496 in 1853. Many such as Raffaello Carboni had experienced the Revolutions of 1848. They supported the protest movement that formed on the goldfields in opposition to the mining tax system, ultimately leading to an armed uprising at Ballarat. It is currently known that the participants in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854 came from at least 23 different nations, including Australia, Canada, the United States of America, Jamaica, Mauritius, Russia, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, The Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, Germany, France, Portugal and Spain. 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, despite being present on the Ballarat gold fields, there is no record of any Chinese involvement at the Eureka Stockade. According to figures published by Professor Anne Beggs-Sunter, in her sample of 44 rebels, only one hailed from a non-European country.
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.
The vexillological aspects of the Eureka Rebellion include the Eureka Flag and others used in protest on the goldfields and those of the British Army units at the Battle of the Eureka Stockade. The disputed first report of the attack on the Eureka Stockade also refers to a Union Jack, known as the Eureka Jack, being flown during the battle that was captured, along with the Eureka Flag, by the foot police.
The Victorian colonial police force of the 1850s operated as an armed paramilitary gendarmerie where troopers and police were garrisoned at central locations, such as the government camp in Ballarat, and there was no interaction with the civilian population. To cope with the expansion of the mining industry, the Victorian government resorted to recruiting at least 130 former convicts from Tasmania who were prone to brutal means. They would get a fifty per cent commission from all fines imposed on unlicensed miners and sly grog sellers. Plainclothes officers enforced prohibition, and those involved in the illegal sale of alcohol were initially handed 50-pound fines. There was no profit for police from subsequent offences, that were instead punishable by months of hard labour. This led to the corrupt practice of police demanding blackmail of 5 pounds from repeat offenders. By January 1853, there were 230 mounted police throughout Victoria. By 1855, the number had risen to 485, including nine mounted detectives.
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