Eureka Overview
In the early 1850's, the lure of gold was a magnet, drawing people from all over the world to the Victorian goldfields.
Ballarat became the new frontier, where tens of thousands of diggers worked their claims. All age groups, cultural backgrounds and some 20 nationalities were represented, turning the diggings into Australia's first multicultural community.
Within a few years, however, anger over unjust mining licence fees and the brutal administration which collected them had reached boiling point.
Simmering tensions exploded with the murder of a young Scottish digger, James Scobie, in a brawl outside Bentley's Eureka Hotel. Police corruption was suspected of letting the culprit go free, triggering a violent protest in which the pub was burnt to the ground.
Anti-government sentiment found a voice on November 11, 1854, when diggers formed the Ballarat Reform League. A charter, spelling out their political demands, called for the abolition of the dreaded licences, beginning with a simple but vital principle;
'That is it the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws that he is called on to obey, that taxation without representation is tyranny.' The diggers' fury was further ignited when three men were arrested and sentenced to prison for burning down Bentley's Eureka Hotel. Confrontation was inevitable.
On November 29, 12,000 people were present when the Southern Cross flag, was unfurled for the first time, becoming the symbol of their struggle. In an atmosphere of defiance and triumph, the diggers burned their licences and fired shots into the air. The following day, under the leadership of a young Irishman, Peter Lalor, a smaller but determined group swore the Eureka Oath;
'We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defendour rights and liberties'.
Taking up arms, they marched to their camp, erecting barricades to form what would become the Eureka Stockade.
Sensing the air of rebellion, authorities ordered a crackdown, calling in reinforcements from Melbourne to help put down an increasingly angry mob. After a two day stand-off, heavily armed troopers and police attacked the camp before dawn on Sunday, December 3, catching the diggers unprepared.
Some 120 men were inside the stockade; outnumbered and outgunned, they were quickly overwhelmed. The fighting lasted less than a hour; over 30 people were killed. But this short-lived revolution became a lasting symbol of the struggle against injustice and oppression and a defining moment in the creation of the Australian spirit.
Like the storming of the Bastille and the Boston Tea Party before it, the Eureka Rebellion demonstrated the refusal of citizens to be dominated by unfair government and laws.
It was an important step in the establishment of democratic principles including 'taxation with representation' and the right of each person to have a say in how they are governed, along with the Australian notion of 'a fair go for all'.
The themes underlying the discontent on the Ballarat Goldfields still carry potent meaning in contemporary Australia; issues of freedom, human rights, democracy and national identity.
In 2011 Australia commemorates and celebrates the 157th anniversary of Eureka and its legacy the Australian spirit.
Telling the Eureka Story in entertainment
The Eureka Rebellion remains Australia's only organised civil insurrection and has grown in legend, through painting, writing, music, poetry, theatre film and television.
From the first hand accounts, including miner Raffaello Carboni's 1855 book, 'The Eureka Stockade' and the artworks of artists who were on the diggings, the uprising has gripped the imagination of Australians for generations.
It has been re-told through a series of plays; 'The Democrat' or 'Under the Southern Cross'; 'The Eureka Riot'; 'The Eureka Stockade' or 'The Fight for the Standard', 'The Eureka Stockade', 'The Southern Cross', 'Blood on the Wattle', 'Stockade' and 'Carboni'.
The first of four films on Eureka was a Victorian production 'The Eureka Stockade' which opened in 1907, followed by 'The Loyal Rebel' in 1915.
International interest was aroused by the 1949 British-produced movie 'Eureka Stockade' starring Chips Rafferty and Peter Finch and 'Another Stockade' was released in 1971. Adding to the list, 'Eureka Fire & Fury' is currently in pre-production and is planned for international release.
Eureka was brought to life on the small screen through the Henry Crawford television mini-series starring Bryan Brown, which went to air on the Seven Network in 1984. In November 2004 ABC Television presented a documentary on Eureka.
And setting the sounds of rebellion to music: 'Eureka Stockade', the opera, was part of Victoria's 150th anniversary celebrations in 1984, featuring Donald cant and Suzanne Steele. It was performed again in 1985 as part of the Ballarat Begonia Festival and also in 1988 to mark Australia's Bicentenary. In 2004 the Victorian Government commissioned songs to mark the 150th anniversary.
A dramatic re-enactment of the events of Eureka can be seen nightly at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat in the spectacular sound and light show 'Blood on the Southern Cross.
Additional Information
Chronology Of Federation