Eureka Rebellion

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Lore & Background

Tensions began in 1851 with the introduction of a tax on gold mines. Miners began to organise and protest the taxes; miners stopped paying the taxes en masse. The October 1854 murder of a gold miner, and the burning of a local hotel (which miners blamed on the government), ended the previously peaceful nature of the miners' dispute. Open rebellion broke out on 29 November 1854, as a crowd of some 10,000 swore allegiance to the Eureka Flag. Gold miner Peter Lalor became the rebellion's de facto leader, as he had initiated the swearing of allegiance. The Battle of Eureka Stockade ended the short-lived rebellion on 3 December. A group of 13 captured rebels (not including Lalor, who was in hiding) was put on trial for high treason in Melbourne, but mass public support led to their acquittal.

Reader's Guide

The legacy of the Rebellion is contested. Rebel leader Peter Lalor was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1856, though he proved to be less of an ally to the common man than expected. Several reforms sought by the rebels were subsequently implemented, including legislation providing for universal adult male suffrage for Assembly elections and the removal of property qualifications for Legislative Assembly members. The Eureka Rebellion is controversially identified with the birth of democracy in Australia and interpreted by many as a political revolt. The miners had various grievances, chiefly the cost of mining permits and the officious way the system was enforced.

Did You Know?

• The Eureka Rebellion culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat.
• An official total of 27 deaths and many injuries resulted from the battle, with the majority of casualties being rebels.
• Gold miner Peter Lalor became the rebellion's de facto leader after initiating the swearing of allegiance to the Eureka Flag on 29 November 1854.
• Thirteen captured rebels were put on trial for high treason in Melbourne, but mass public support led to their acquittal.
• The Forest Creek Monster Meeting on 15 December 1851 drew up to 20,000 miners in a mass demonstration against the mining tax.

The Gold Rush That Made a Colony

The Eureka Rebellion had its origins in the Australian gold rush that began in 1851. Following the separation of Victoria from New South Wales on 1 July 1851, gold prospectors were offered 200 guineas for making discoveries within 320 kilometres (200 mi) of Melbourne. In August 1851, the news was received around the world that, on top of several earlier finds, Thomas Hiscock had found still more deposits 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Buninyong. This led to gold fever taking hold as the colony's population increased from 77,000 in 1851 to 198,496 in 1853. In three years, the total number of people living in and around the Victorian goldfields stood at a 12-month average of 100,351. Among this number was 'a heavy sprinkling of ex-convicts, gamblers, thieves, rogues and vagabonds of all kinds'. The local authorities soon found themselves with fewer police and lacked the infrastructure needed to support the expansion of the mining industry. The number of public servants, factory and farm workers leaving for the goldfields to seek their fortune made for chronic labour shortages that needed to be resolved.

From Licence Fees to Mass Defiance

On 16 August 1851, just days after Hiscock's lucky strike, Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe issued two proclamations that reserved to the crown all land rights to the goldfields and introduced a mining licence (tax) of 30 shillings per month, effective 1 September. The universal mining tax was based on time stayed rather than what was seen as the more equitable option, an export duty levied only on gold found, meaning it was always designed to make life unprofitable for most prospectors. The earliest rally was held on 26 August 1851 at Hiscock's Gully in Buninyong and attracted 40–50 miners protesting the new mining regulations. From the outset, there was a division between the 'moral force' activists who favoured lawful, peaceful and democratic means and those who advocated 'physical force', with some in attendance suggesting that the miners take up arms against the lieutenant governor. At the beginning of December 1851, there was discontent when it was announced that the licence fee would be raised to 3 pounds a month, a 200 per cent increase, effective 1 January 1852. In Ballarat, some miners became so agitated that they began to gather arms. After remonstrations, particularly in Melbourne and Geelong, on 13 December 1851, the previous increase was rescinded. The Forest Creek Monster Meeting took place at Mount Alexander on 15 December 1851. According to high-end estimates, up to 20,000 miners turned out in a massive display of support for repealing the mining tax.

The Stockade and the Treason Trial

The October 1854 murder of a gold miner, and the burning of a local hotel (which miners blamed on the government), ended the previously peaceful nature of the miners' dispute. Open rebellion broke out on 29 November 1854, as a crowd of some 10,000 swore allegiance to the Eureka Flag. Gold miner Peter Lalor became the rebellion's de facto leader, as he had initiated the swearing of allegiance. The Battle of Eureka Stockade ended the short-lived rebellion on 3 December. The fighting resulted in an official total of 27 deaths and many injuries, the majority of casualties being rebels. A group of 13 captured rebels (not including Lalor, who was in hiding) was put on trial for high treason in Melbourne, but mass public support led to their acquittal.

A Contested Inheritance

The legacy of the Rebellion is contested. Rebel leader Peter Lalor was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1856, though he proved to be less of an ally to the common man than expected. Several reforms sought by the rebels were subsequently implemented, including legislation providing for universal adult male suffrage for Assembly elections and the removal of property qualifications for Legislative Assembly members. The Eureka Rebellion is controversially identified with the birth of democracy in Australia and interpreted by many as a political revolt.

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