Countries

We are in the Contemplation Space at the Eureka Centre. The wall bears the names of all the countries where the diggers came from. The majority of them were British and Irish, Chinese but also American, French, Italian, German, Polish and Hungarian and a few others representing 16 countries in total on the goldfields as well as in the battle.

The battlefield

We are in the gardens just outside the Eureka Centre. This is where the battle is said to have taken place lasting only 15 minutes, killing 30 diggers and injuring at least 60. On the troopers' side, 5 were killed and 20 wounded. On a plaque nearby you can read the following:

At this place in the early hours of Sunday 3 December 1854, there was a defining moment in Australia’s history. Without warning, a superior government force attacked a makeshift stockade built by a few hundred angry men to defend themselves from further armed hunts to enforce the unpopular licence tax to dig for gold.

Reproduction of the attack on the stockade at the Eureka Centre

Bakery Hill

During November 1854 a number of large public meetings were held at Bakery Hill by diggers and supporters to protest against the actions of the administration and to demand reforms, including the removal of the Gold Licence. The authorities refused to meet these demands worsening the already tense situation and increasing the diggers' determination to fight for their cause.

On 30th november 1854, the Southern Cross flag was raised for the first time and the protesters, under the leadership of Peter Lalor an Irishman, swore allegiance to this flag (see Tuesday's post) before proceeding to the Eureka lead and construct the stockade.

Eureka Hotel

During 1853 and 1854 the tensions are rising around the goldfields of Ballarat. The miners are becoming increasingly frustrated at the harsh treatment they receive from the local authorities, especially at the high fees they must pay for the mining licences introduced in 1851. Many of those diggers live in poverty thus unable to pay those fees and get hassled by the authorities. No licence meant no digging and no chance to strike gold.

One of the events that will anger even more the diggers is the murder of a young Scottish digger, James Scobie, in a brawl outside the Eureka Hotel (Photo: reproduction of the facade at the Eureka Centre) in October 1854, and the inability of the authorities to sentence the culprit as quickly as the community would have liked. On 17 October 1854 the Eureka Hotel was burnt down, its owner James Bentley being the main suspect in Scobie's murder later to be found guilty of manslaughter.

The oath

Over the next few days I will touch upon one of the most significant events in Australian history called the Eureka Stockade, and it all hapened in Ballarat. In the meantime, I will let you ponder these words:

We swear by the Southern Cross
To stand truly by each other
And defend our rights and liberties

Peter Lalor, 1854