The Eureka Stockade was a monumental battle fought by miners in the 19th century. It occurred on Sunday the third of December in 1854, on Bakery Hill. The miners who participated were those who mined in the Ballarat Goldfield in Victoria, who changed life forever for not only the miners in Victoria, but also all over Australia. Fighting for equal rights for the
The Miners Grievances.
What caused this was the terrible treatment which was directed towards the miners in the late 1800’s. There were many laws at the time that greatly inconvenienced these miners including an inability to vote or purchase land. This meant that the miners were practically not even citizens as they had no way to influence the future or the laws of this country in which they lived in. Not only that but they had no other way of generating money or food, because of this lack of land they…show more content… The Government, needing someone to blame after the incident, simply arrested three random miners, of the hundreds which participated in the arson. After their trail, one of the Jurors commented “they would never have had their painful duty if those entrusted with the government of Ballarat had done their duty properly” (The Australian Gold Rushes, p42). After their men were arrested the miners began bargaining with the government for not only their people but also their rights.
The Leaders of the Rebellion.
The Eureka Stockade was led by many great and forward thinking people who had the miners and their families at heart. The man who was elected to be the leader of the Miners Rebellion was Peter Lalor. He was a young Irishman who believed very strongly about the miners rights and wished for them to be treated the same as all other citizens. He was the man who stood and suggested the burning of licences under the Southern Cross flag, as well as the building of the stockade.
