Was the stockade protest a resounding failure or was it a success?
In 1851 when the gold was discovered in Australia, over 20 000 people rushed to Ballarat to start digging for Gold. The government decided that all miners must pay £2 every 3 months for a new gold licence. However the prices were increasingly expensive and in return the diggers got no rights. There were regular license checks and those found without a gold liscence were fined. The miners became more and more angry about the corrupt system and about the unfair treatment shown towards miners from police. They held meetings and protests to express their anger, but the system did not change.
On the 3rd December on an early Sunday morning hundreds soldiers and police attacked the stockade that miners had built around them. Soldiers and police outnumbered the miners 2 to 1. There were only about 200 or so miners left inside the Stockade, and they were quickly defeated. The battle lasted just 20 minutes. Numbers vary, but about twenty two diggers and five soldiers were killed. One of their leaders, Peter Lalor, was badly wounded and went into hiding.Leaving us to wonder was the battle really worth it?
The number of police patrolling the gold fields majorly decreased after the rebellion.
Within months all the miners who were supposedly the 'leaders' of the rebellion and held for trial were dismissed, except one. A royal commissioner investigating the goldfields suggested that miners paid a tax on gold they found, instead of paying to mine gold but not necessarily finding any. By June 1855, The monthly liscence fee costing 2 pounds for 3 months was abolished, instead a miners right was put in place costing £1 per year instead. An important aspect in the miners right was that it allowed the owner of the liscence to vote for the colonial parliament in Melbourne. The powerful (and hated) position of Gold Commissioner was replaced by a system of wardens. Another advantage was that previously the miners license gave the owner no right to own the land on which they mined on resulting in violence and theft because people started claimed other people's mine. After the rebellion, Miners were given the right to own the land on which they worked.Instead of having to wait for a new constitution, 8 new elected positions for the Legislative Council were created, Peter Lalor being one of them.
The eureka rebellion was also what moved Australia towards a democratic society.
Dr. H.V. Evatt, leader of the ALP, wrote that "The Eureka Stockade was of crucial importance in the making of Australian democracy"
The words of the last Stockader, John L. Potter, who died 26 October 1931 were-
"Though the diggers were defeated in battle, their cause was won. The gold liscence was modified, Parliamentary representation was granted, and Ballarat entered upon a new era of progress."
The rebellion at the Eureka Stockade took terrible casualties, but although the miners were defeated on the day, they were successful in bringing about the changes they sought
Peter Lalor once said "we not only got all we fought for, but a little more."
Written by Dominique
Bibliography
Guy de Winton. The impact of the Eureka Stockade [internet].http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.php?storyid=86 (Accessed 1/9/14)
The Eureka Rebellion available from http://home.alphalink.com.au/~eureka/eukand.htm
Eureka Stockade [internet]. State Library Of Victoria, Australia. Available from
http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/golden-victoria/impact-society/eureka-stockade (Accessed 1/9/14)
Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. (2000). Rebellion: The Eureka Stockade [internet] www.kidcyber.com.au
Thomas,J.(2004).Gold Rush. Watts Publishing Australia and New Zealand, New South Wales. (Accessed 4/9/14)
Bradfield,S.(2001). Gold Rushes. Australian Geographic Education, NSW.(accessed 4/9/14)
The Eureka Rebellion available from http://home.alphalink.com.au/~eureka/eukand.htm
Eureka Stockade [internet]. State Library Of Victoria, Australia. Available from
http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/golden-victoria/impact-society/eureka-stockade (Accessed 1/9/14)
Sydenham, S. & Thomas, R. (2000). Rebellion: The Eureka Stockade [internet] www.kidcyber.com.au
Thomas,J.(2004).Gold Rush. Watts Publishing Australia and New Zealand, New South Wales. (Accessed 4/9/14)
Bradfield,S.(2001). Gold Rushes. Australian Geographic Education, NSW.(accessed 4/9/14)