By Hannah & Dean

Eureka Stockade

Definition of EurekaEureka means 'I have found it!', and is used as an exclamation of triumph.

In 1853 there were about 60,000 diggers, plus their families, on the Gold-fields. In June 1853 an Anti-Gold Licence Association was formed at Bendigo to give voice to the diggers' many grievances about their conditions.

Anti-Gold Licence

A petition was drawn up articulating grievances and the need for an

improved law and order, such as the right to vote and the right to buy land.

The petition was signed by over 30,000 diggers and was brought to Melbourne and presented to Governor C.J. La Trobe on Aug 1853. After the failure to be heard through peaceful means, diggers elected a small group to lead them into a fight. An Irish Gold digger by the name of Peter Lalor was the leader.

Peter Lalor

The Eureka Flag is Flown!On 11th November 1854, about 10,000 diggers met to demand that miners be released, to demand the licence system be dropped and that all males should be allowed to vote.

In those days the right to vote was restricted: only licenced miners who had lived in that location for six months could vote. The Governor refused to release them, and the diggers' fury reached a peak.

It costed miners 30 shillings per month to buy a licence. It would never be free. The commissioner stationed that the goldfield would not make any money if the license was free. The commissioner usually gave less money than what the gold was worth. A license for three months costed £2.

How much licenses costed.

The Stockade was built! On Dec 2nd 1854, Lalor ordered a stockade to be built to serve as a fort for their defence, and called for muskets, pistols and any other weapons they could muster. Once the Stockade was completed, the rebel miners assembled inside.

The miners weren't trained for fighting. Many miners left to go to church. The English Government troops not only struck, but at 3am, taking the 120 remaining miners by surprise, killing 22 and wounding 12 others - including Peter Lalor. They took 100 prisoners and captured the stockade in 20min's.

Although Lalor's miners lost the battle, they eventually got the reforms they fought for. Miners were given licences for one pound a year. They were also given the right to vote, and finally miners who were in prison for treason were freed.

At a second mass meeting, on 29th November, they displayed their flag, the Eureka flag, blue with a white cross and 5 stars representing the Southern Cross. They publicly burned their licences and elected leaders.

The Southern Cross is the brightest constellation seen in the Southern Hemisphere. It is currently on the Australian, New Zealand, Papua New Guinean, Brazilian and other flags.

The Eureka Stockade was a major rebellion by miners in Ballarat against the government of Victoria, which suppressed the uprising with military force.

Resources

*http://users.netconnect.com.au/~ianmac/eureka.html

*http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/goldeureka.htm

*Google Images *http://sinclair.quarterman.org/history/mod/battleofeurekastockade.html

* http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/The-Eureka-Stockade-292758.html