Eureka Stockade sesquicentenary
December 3, 1854 The Battle of Eureka Stockade, an uprising of gold miners against the State of Victoria, Australia; six troopers and 22 miners died in the civil revolt by gold miners against the officials supervising the gold-mining regions of Ballarat.
Although the revolt failed, it has endured in the collective social consciousness of Australia.
Eureka has been variously described as the birthplace of Australia's democracy, republicanism and multiculturalism. It is often regarded as being an event of equal significance to Australian history as the storming of the Bastille was to French history, or the Boston Tea Party or Battle of the Alamo to the history of the USA. Its heroes include an Italian writer, a freed American slave, a former German soldier and sundry American democrats, Irish rebels and British chartists.
The miners held a series of huge peaceful meetings demanding fairer treatment (their main complaint was about miners’ taxes), but following the murder of a miner, those calls for non-violence were pushed aside. A 27-year-old Irishman, Peter Lalor, who'd never before addressed a public meeting was thrust into leadership; his first word: "Liberty" ... [more]
The Eureka flag
At left is shown the Eureka flag, the tattered original of which is still in existence. Showing the constellation of the Southern Cross, a stellar feature that dominates the night sky in Australia, it is favoured by many Australians as a replacement for the national flag which still shows Britain's Union Jack even after 103 years of independence. However, many conservative elements oppose the Eureka flag, for obvious reasons, and there will likely be no change in the foreseeable future. One hopes that the sesquicentenary will further raise consciousness about this anachronism.
This is just a snippet of today's stories, and links to Australia's Eureka celebrations. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date (or your birthday) when you're there.
... I think [Eureka] may be called the finest thing in Australasian history. It was a revolution – small in size, but great politically; it was a strike for liberty, a struggle for a principle, a stand against injustice and oppression. It was the Barons and John over again; it was Hampden and Ship-Money; it was Concord and Lexington ... It was another instance of a victory won by a lost battle.
Mark Twain, on Australia's Eureka Stockade; More Tramps Abroad
December 3, 1854 The Battle of Eureka Stockade, an uprising of gold miners against the State of Victoria, Australia; six troopers and 22 miners died in the civil revolt by gold miners against the officials supervising the gold-mining regions of Ballarat.
Although the revolt failed, it has endured in the collective social consciousness of Australia.
Eureka has been variously described as the birthplace of Australia's democracy, republicanism and multiculturalism. It is often regarded as being an event of equal significance to Australian history as the storming of the Bastille was to French history, or the Boston Tea Party or Battle of the Alamo to the history of the USA. Its heroes include an Italian writer, a freed American slave, a former German soldier and sundry American democrats, Irish rebels and British chartists.
The miners held a series of huge peaceful meetings demanding fairer treatment (their main complaint was about miners’ taxes), but following the murder of a miner, those calls for non-violence were pushed aside. A 27-year-old Irishman, Peter Lalor, who'd never before addressed a public meeting was thrust into leadership; his first word: "Liberty" ... [more]
The Eureka flag
At left is shown the Eureka flag, the tattered original of which is still in existence. Showing the constellation of the Southern Cross, a stellar feature that dominates the night sky in Australia, it is favoured by many Australians as a replacement for the national flag which still shows Britain's Union Jack even after 103 years of independence. However, many conservative elements oppose the Eureka flag, for obvious reasons, and there will likely be no change in the foreseeable future. One hopes that the sesquicentenary will further raise consciousness about this anachronism.
This is just a snippet of today's stories, and links to Australia's Eureka celebrations. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date (or your birthday) when you're there.
Pip Wilson posted item above at 2:12 PM | Permalink
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