Eureka Stockade

Eureka Stockade was the best-known incident in the quarrel in Australia between the colonial government of Victoria and the gold miners of Ballarat. Gold was first discovered in Victoria in 1851, and a gold rush soon followed. In 1854, the miners became increasingly restless. They resented having to pay 30 shillings a month for permits to search for gold. They also resented having no political representation. In October 1854, after several incidents, the miners burned down the Eureka Hotel. They began holding protest meetings on Bakery Hill, in Ballarat. They burned their mining permits on November 29.

Governor Sir Charles Hotham sent troops to quell the disturbances. Under the direction of fellow miner Peter Lalor, the miners took up arms and built a stockade on Bakery Hill. They hoisted a blue flag with the Southern Cross embroidered on it, taking an oath “to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.”

On Saturday afternoon, Dec. 2, 1854, more than 1,000 miners were in the stockade. But most of them left to sleep in their own tents. Only about 150 men were in the stockade when government troops attacked it at dawn on the morning of December 3. In the short fight that followed, about 30 miners and 6 soldiers were killed.

The government brought 13 of the leaders to trial, but a jury acquitted all except one of them. In 1855, the government abolished the license fee and introduced a miner’s right fee of one pound a year. It also allowed anyone holding a miner’s right to vote.

See also Gold rushes in Australia ; Lalor, Peter ; Victoria (History) .