The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka

The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka

Author	Clare Wright
Language	English
Series	Democracy Trilogy #1
Subject	Women in the Eureka Stockade
Genre	Non-fiction
Publisher	Text Publishing
Publication date	23 October 2013
Publication place	Australia
Media type	Print
Pages	512 pp.
Awards	2014 Stella Prize
ISBN	9781922182548
Followed by	You Daughters of Freedom

The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is a 2013 non-fiction book by historian and author Clare Wright. The book describes the role of women in the Eureka Stockade, an 1854 revolt in Ballarat against the British administration during the Victorian gold rush. The book, which has been described as a work of feminist history, was the recipient of the 2014 Stella Prize. The book is the first installment of Wright's Democracy Trilogy, and was followed by You Daughters of Freedom in 2018 and Naku Dharuk: The Bark Petitions in 2024.

Publication history

The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka was first published by Text Publishing in October 2013 ( ISBN   9781922147370). A paperback edition was released in May 2014 ( ISBN   9781922182548). ^[1] The book is the first entry in Wright's Democracy Trilogy and was followed by You Daughters of Freedom, published in 2018, and Naku Dharuk: The Bark Petitions, published in 2024. ^{[2] [3]}

In 2018, La Trobe University invested $200,000 in a proposed TV series based on The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. ^{[4] [5]}

Reception

The book received generally positive reviews. In a review for The Conversation , Zora Simic called the book a "career-defining work of scholarship and storytelling" and praised the "power and flair of Wright’s narrative voice". Simic emphasised the importance of Wright's feminist retelling of Australian history, writing that "while Wright’s history offers one of the richest social histories of the goldfields yet, its lasting legacy will be as feminist history". ^[6] In a review for The Guardian , Alison Bartlett wrote that the book was "part of an ongoing genre of revisionist histories which seek not only to add gender, sexuality, race and class into existing national histories, but to reimagine such narratives as rich social dramas not unlike our own place and time". ^[7] A review in Australian Book Review called the work an "extraordinary new history", ^[8] while a review in ABC News wrote that the book "adds to our understanding of the men who were in Ballarat at the time as much as it contributes to our understanding of women's history". ^[9]

Robyn Annear, reviewing the book in The Monthly , praised Wright's attempt to disrupt one of Australia's founding stories, but criticised the book's tendency to "speculate and fulminate" without adequate historical evidence. ^[10] Anne Beggs-Sunter, reviewing the book for the journal Labour History , wrote that the book was "based on exemplary research, and enriched by some little-known illustrations", but that it "caters to the popular rather than the academic market". ^[11] Some reviewers criticised Wright's suggestion that her research was unique, pointing out that the role of women in the Ballarat goldfields had already been studied extensively by other historians. ^{[12] [13]}

Awards

Awards for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka

Year	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2014	New South Wales Premier's History Awards	Australian History	Shortlisted	[14]
	Prime Minister's Literary Awards	Australian History	Shortlisted	[15] [16]
	Queensland Literary Awards	History Book	Shortlisted	[17]
	Stella Prize	—	Won	[18] [19]
	Western Australian Premier's Book Awards	Non-Fiction	Shortlisted	[20]

References

1. "The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka". Text Publishing. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
2. "You Daughters of Freedom: The Australians Who Won the Vote and Inspired the World". Text Publishing. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
3. "Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy Clare Wright". Text Publishing. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
4. Webb, Carolyn (3 July 2018). "Eureka! La Trobe University turns its focus to entertainment business". The Age. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
5. Powell, Sian (4 July 2018). "Women to get TV Eureka moment". The Australian. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
6. Simic, Zora (28 August 2014). "Noted works: The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka". The Conversation. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
7. Bartlett, Alison (31 October 2013). "The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, by Clare Wright – book review". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
8. Bellanta, Melissa (February 2014). "Scotching the fantasy". Australian Book Review. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
9. Perkins, Yvonne (30 April 2014). "Review: the Forgotten Rebels of Eureka". ABC News. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
10. Annear, Robyn (1 November 2013). "Clare Wright's 'The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka'". The Monthly. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
11. Anne, Beggs-Sunter. "Eureka: The forgotten rebels of Eureka [Book Review]". Labour History. 109: 193–194.
12. Ellery, David (23 November 2013). "Digging into life in the goldfields". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
13. Beggs-Sunter, Anne (3 July 2014). "Eureka: The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka". Journal of Australian Studies. 38 (3): 361–363. doi:10.1080/14443058.2014.926790.
14. "NSW Premier's History Awards 2014 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
15. Wyndham, Susan (19 October 2014). "Prime Minister's Literary Awards shortlists announced". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
16. "Prime Minister's Literary Awards". Creative Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
17. "History of the awards". State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
18. Millman, Oliver (30 April 2014). "Clare Wright wins Stella prize for The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
19. "The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka – Clare Wright". Stella Prize. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
20. "2014 Winners". State Library of Western Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2025.