Eureka Stockade (miniseries)

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Eureka Stockade
EurekaStockade1984.jpg
Genrehistorical
Written byTom Hegarty
Directed by Rod Hardy
Starring Bryan Brown
Bill Hunter
Carol Burns
Amy Madigan
Tom Burlinson
Country of originAustralia
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes3
Production
Producer Hector Crawford
Running time2 hours each episode
Production companyCrawfords
Budget$2.5 million [1] [2] [3]
Original release
NetworkChannel Seven
Release27 March 1984 (1984-03-27)

Eureka Stockade is a 1984 Australian miniseries based on the battle of Eureka Stockade. [1] It reunited the producer, writer and star of A Town Like Alice .

Contents

Cast

Production

The series was researched over two years and filmed over four months. [2] It was shot on location near Ballarat and Bendigo. [4] It was a difficult shoot as it took place during a heatwave. A $250,000 set of the British camp was almost destroyed during the Ash Wednesday bushfires. [2] A Eureka flag was stolen during filming. [5]

Reception

The series was a ratings disappointment compared to A Town Like Alice. However it sold widely overseas and screened in the US. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

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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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nationalities at the Eureka Stockade</span>

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Ed. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p192
  2. 1 2 3 "'Eureka: months of filming cost $2.5m". The Canberra Times . Vol. 58, no. 17, 781. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 June 1984. p. 21. Retrieved 9 October 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  3. Lewes, Jacqueline Lee (5 June 1983). "Million$ of Viewing". Sydney Sun Herald. p. 47.
  4. "Historic flag to survive in Ballarat". The Canberra Times . Vol. 58, no. 17, 788. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 June 1984. p. 25. Retrieved 9 October 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Eureka flag theft halts film". The Canberra Times . Vol. 57, no. 17, 295. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 4 February 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 9 October 2019 via National Library of Australia.
  6. Review from New York Times accessed 3 August 2013
  7. Albert Moran, Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series, AFTRS 1993 p 166