_THE EUREKA STOCKADE._
The insurgents had pitched upon the junction of the Eureka lead with the
Melbourne road as a place suitable for meeting _en masse_. About an acre
of the ground was roughly enclosed with slabs, and within this area the
diggers commenced their drilling. The slabs were put up as a screen
merely, so that the preparations for revolt might not be too closely
watched. This frail enclosure received the name of the Eureka Stockade.
Lalor delivered a speech within this stockade. It was couched
thus:--"Gentlemen, I find myself in this responsible position for the
following reasons. Outraged at the unaccountable conduct of the camp
officials in the wicked license-hunt at the point of the bayonet, the
diggers took it as an insult to their manhood, and a challenge to the
determination expressed at their monstre meeting. They ran to arms, and
crowded on Bakery Hill. They wanted a leader, but no one came forward,
and confusion was the consequence. I mounted the stump, and called on
the people to fall in into divisions according to the arms they had
got, and to choose their captains out of the best men among themselves.
My call was answered with unanimous acclamation, and complied to with
willing obedience. The result is, I have been able to bring about that
order without which it would be folly to face the impending struggle
like men. I make no pretentions to military knowledge. I have not the
presumption to assume the chief command no more than any other man who
means well in the cause of the diggers. I shall be glad to see the best
man take the lead. In fact, gentlemen, I expected someone who is really
well known to you to come forward and direct our movement! However, if
you appoint me your commander-in-chief, I shall not shrink; I mean to do
my duty as a man. I tell you that if once I pledge my hand to the
diggers, I will neither defile it by treachery nor render it
contemptible by cowardice."
Raffello, who had a great admiration for Lalor's straightforwardness and
many other manly qualities, comments thus:--"Bravo, Peter, you gave us
your hand on the Eureka, and left there your arm," an incontestible
proof of the sincerity of Lalor's pledge.
Lalor was appointed commander-in-chief. In thanking the council for the
confidence placed in him, he told them he was determined to prepare the
diggers to resist force by force; but at the same time it was perfectly
understood by everyone present that the organisation was solely for
defence.
In the stockade a straight pole, eighty feet long, was erected to serve
as a flag-staff. At the head of this the diggers hoisted their
standard--the Southern Cross. Then Lalor, gun in hand, mounted a stump.
Resting the stock of the gun on his foot, and grasping its barrel firmly
in his left hand, he slowly raised his right arm towards the standard,
and proceeded solemnly to swear in the diggers. He said, "It is my duty
to take from you the oath to be faithful to the standard. The man who,
after this solemn oath, does not stand by our standard is a coward at
heart." All those who did not intend to take part in the insurrection
were ordered to leave the meeting. Then the armed diggers, numbering
about five hundred, gathered around the flag-staff. They were
formed into divisions, and the captains of each saluted their
commander-in-chief. He now knelt down, and solemnly pointing to the
standard streaming in the breeze, said, in firm, serious, and glowing
tones, "We swear by the standard to stand truly by each other and fight
to defend our rights and liberties;" to which the diggers responded
decisively by a universal "Amen," and by simultaneously stretching five
hundred hands towards the flag.
Immediately after the swearing-in ceremony the names were taken down and
the men formed into squads for drill. Drilling was kept up with but
little intermission till a late hour, and was now and then renewed up to
the capture of the stockade. Side by side with these warlike
preparations several claims were being worked; indeed, some of the
working miners gave up their tents as quarters for insurgent officers.
Orders of war were sent round the diggings to obtain arms, ammunition,
etc. Lalor was obliged to keep piquets to enforce these orders, and also
to prevent their being made a cover for robbery, because some
unscrupulous diggers had, in the name of the insurgents, pillaged the
storekeepers. The levying officers issued receipts on behalf of the
Reform League. Some of these are rather entertaining documents. Here is
one: "Received from the Ballarat store, 1 Pistol for the Comtee x. Hugh
McCarty--Hurrah for the people!" Another: "The Reform Lege Comete, 4
drenks, fower chillings, 4 Pies, for fower of thee neight watch troops
xP." The four night watch troops were some of those insurgents told off
to patrol the diggings. The foragers, as things came to a crisis, became
more peremptory in their demands, one party even threatening to shoot a
storekeeper if he did not hand over quickly. But, notwithstanding the
levying, the insurgents failed to obtain sufficient war material.
Several of their fire-arms were afterwards found loaded with pebbles and
such missiles.
Lalor's men kept together within the stockade, some cooking the meat
which friendly butchers had brought in; others mending muskets or making
pikes or similar rude weapons for use by the several companies of
pikemen. Friends and enemies also dropped into the stockade at all hours
until the day before the tragic event.
Humffray, ever foremost in advocating peaceful reform, heard, when in
the stockade, of a project to attack the soldiers' camp. It was thought
that 2000 diggers could be got for that purpose. Humffray, with other
mild spirits, vainly endeavoured to persuade them from attempting it,
and then left the stockade.
Vinegar Hill was the pass-word on the night of the 2nd of December, and
its ominous associations led several to abandon what they saw was a
badly-organised and hopeless movement.
Meanwhile the soldiers had not been idle. After securing a commanding
position on the rising ground afterwards known as "Soldiers' Hill," they
vigilantly watched the movements of the insurgents. The police were also
on the alert, so that little was said or done among the insurgents that
was not soon afterwards reported to the authorities.
A Government officer, then in the camp, writes:--
"On the 1st of December the Government took final measures to meet the
assault. Every Government employee was armed and told off to his post,
and sentinels and videttes were placed at every point. The principal
buildings of the camp were fortified with breastworks of firewood,
trusses of hay, and bags of corn from the Commissariat Stores, and the
women and children were sent for security into the store, which was
walled with thick slabs and accounted bullet-proof. A violent storm of
rain, with thunder, commenced as these arrangements were completed, and
the mounted police, soaked through with rain, spent the night standing
or lying by their horses, armed, and horses saddled ready for instant
action. At four A.M. on the 2nd of December the whole garrison was under
arms, and soon after daylight a demonstration in force was made towards
Bakery Hill without opposition, although bodies of men were seen
drilling near the Red Hill. A mounted trooper coming from Melbourne with
despatches was fired at near the Eureka lead. No work was carried on
through the entire diggings, and every place of business was closed.
Notices were issued stating that if any lights were seen in the
neighbourhood after eight o'clock at night, or if any fire-arms were
discharged, the offenders would be fired at by the military." The same
Government officer writes about the
STORMING OF THE STOCKADE.
"Before daylight on the morning of the 3rd of December a mixed force of
two hundred and seventy-six men, including a strong body of cavalry,
quietly left the camp for the purpose of taking the stockade. At early
dawn they reached the neighbourhood of the position sought, and the
advance files were fired at by a sentinel within the stockade. The order
to attack was given, and the 40th regiment, led by Captain Thomas, the
chief officer in command, made a quick advance upon the double
breastwork which formed the stronghold of the insurgents. After several
volleys had been fired on both sides, a barrier of ropes, slabs, and
overturned carts was crossed, and the defenders driven out or into the
shallow pits with which the place was spotted, and in which many were
put to death in the first heat of the conflict either by bullets or by
bayonet thrusts."
Raffello says--"I awoke on Sunday morning. A discharge of musketry--then
a round from a bugle--the command 'Forward'--and another discharge of
musketry was sharply kept up by the red-coats for a couple of minutes.
The shots whizzed by my tent. I jumped out of my stretcher and rushed to
my chimney facing the stockade. The force within could not muster then
above one hundred and fifty diggers. The shepherds' holes inside the
lower part of the stockade were turned into rifle pits.... The dragoons
from the south and troopers from the north were trotting at full speed
towards the stockade. Peter Lalor was on top of the first logged-up hole
within the stockade, and by his decided gestures pointed to the men to
retire among the holes. He was shot down in his shoulder at this
identical moment. It was a chance shot. I recollect it well, for the
discharge of musketry from the military now mowed down all who had heads
above the barricades.... Those who suffered most were the pikemen, who
stood their ground from the time the whole division had been posted on
top, facing the Melbourne road from Ballarat, in double file under the
slabs to stick the cavalry with their pikes. The old command 'Charge'
was distinctly heard, and the red-coats ran with fixed bayonets to storm
the stockade. A few cuts and kicks, a little pulling down, and the job
was done; too quickly for their wonted ardour, for they actually thrust
their bayonets through the bodies of the dead and wounded strewed about
the ground. A wild hurrah burst out, and the 'Southern Cross' was torn
down. Of the armed diggers, some made off the best way they could,
others surrendered themselves as prisoners, and were collected in groups
and marched down the gully.... The red-coats were now ordered to 'fall
in,' their bloody work being over, and were marched off, dragging with
them the 'Southern Cross.'"
In less than twenty-five minutes the engagement was over, and the
soldiers had possession of the stockade and one hundred and twenty-five
prisoners. During the same day the soldiers who were killed in the
inglorious conflict were buried in the cemetery; and no opposition was
offered to the dead bodies of the insurgents being placed in rough
coffins and taken away by their sorrowing friends.
After the fray notices were posted up at various places ordering all
well-disposed persons to return to their ordinary occupations, and to
abstain from assembling in large groups. The soldiers then returned to
their camp, but remained under arms all night, rumours of an intended
attack keeping them on the alert, although it was tiring work; and most
of them, having had no repose for four nights, were almost exhausted.
On the next evening a number of insurgents, favoured by a clouded moon,
crept up under the cover of the nearest tent beyond the palisade and
fired from several points upon the sentinels. This caused a sudden alarm
in the camp; everyone ran to his post, and a general firing followed,
resulting in the wounding of a woman and child in one of the tents and
of three men on the road close by, who unfortunately happened to be
passing.
On the 5th of December Major-General Sir Robert Nickle arrived with a
relief contingent from Melbourne, and later in the day a force of eight
hundred soldiers and a large party of seamen from the men-of-war then in
the bay still further strengthened the hands of the Government. The
presence of these additional troops had immediate effect throughout the
digging community in sinking below zero the spirit of insurrection,
which was already depressed by the loss of the Eureka stockade. Sir
Robert was a veteran well skilled in quelling disturbances. The district
was now under martial law, but his good sense made it more acceptable to
the diggers than the previous administration of the Commissioners.
The soldiers were kept at Ballarat until affairs on the gold-fields
resumed a more peaceful course; then, as no further tumults were
apprehended, Sir Robert Nickle and his forces returned to Melbourne,
leaving a small garrison to await the turn of events.
EXCITEMENT IN MELBOURNE.
Meanwhile, the Government were making other strenuous efforts to restore
order, and favouring the report that the leaders of the revolutionary
movement were foreigners, issued notices, calling upon British subjects
not only to abstain from identifying themselves with persons who were
endeavouring to excite the mining population to riotous courses, but to
render support and assistance to the authorities, civil and military,
then stationed at Ballarat. At the same time £500 was offered for the
arrest of a German named Vern, whom the Government believed to be the
chief instigator of the outbreak. Civilians in Melbourne, Geelong, and
various towns in the colony were requested to come forward and be sworn
in as special constables.
From McCombie's _History of Victoria_ we learn:--"That the Legislative
Council presented to the Governor an address expressing their sympathy
for him and pledging their support to him while affairs were so
embarrassing." Sir Charles Hotham replied, "That the firm resolve to
suppress the incipient revolution was softened by the readiness with
which he offered to redress the grievances complained of. It would be
his constant endeavour to conduct the Government with the utmost
possible temper. The time for military rule had passed, but when there
was an outbreak, and that caused by foreigners--men who had not been
suffered to remain in their own country in consequence of the violence
of their character--then Englishmen must sink all minor differences and
unite to support the authorities."
The Government, however, fared differently when a direct appeal was made
to the people. At Melbourne a public meeting had been called by
requisition to consider the best means for protecting the city during
the crisis at the diggings. The principal agitators in this matter
seemed to be the members of the Legislature, who took a large share in
the proceedings of this public meeting. The resolutions proposed were
received with such ill-concealed dissatisfaction that, after the Mayor
had declared two of them to be carried, the opponents of the Government
interfered, and such confusion prevailed that the gentleman who presided
vacated the chair; and a series of resolutions, diametrically opposed
to the proceedings of the Executive, and demanding an immediate
settlement of the differences between the Government and the diggers,
were carried with the utmost enthusiasm. One speaker told the people
they must go forth with their brother-diggers to conquer or die.
"The Government demonstration having terminated in so unsatisfactory a
manner, another meeting was convened on the following day, 'for the
assertion of order and the protection of constitutional liberty.' It
took place on a large open space of ground near St. Paul's Church, at
the corner of Flinder's Lane. From four to seven thousand people were
present, the chair being filled by Henry Langlands, one of the largest
employers of labour in Melbourne. The resolutions condemned the whole
policy of the Government, and declared that, while disapproving of the
physical resistance offered by the diggers, the meeting could not,
without betraying the interests of liberty, lend its aid to the
Executive until the coercive measures they were attempting to introduce
should be abandoned. The result of this meeting had very considerable
weight with the Executive, and the same afternoon a _Government Gazette_
extraordinary appeared, in which was a proclamation revoking martial law
at Ballarat."
A few days before the outbreak a Commission had been appointed to
inquire into the state of the mining districts, and now, in deference
to the feelings shown at the public meetings, several gentlemen were
added to it, in order to find out the grounds of the diggers'
complaints. The Commissioner urged the Government to grant a general
amnesty as to the past; but the Government considered that some of the
prisoners taken in the stockade should be tried for high treason.
A monstre meeting was therefore held in Melbourne, at which it was
resolved, "That the unhappy outbreak at Ballarat was induced by no
traitorous designs against the institution of monarchy, but purely by a
sense of political wrong and irritation, engendered by the injudicious
and offensive enforcement of an obnoxious and invidious tax, which, if
legal, has since been condemned by the Commission." Thousands in
Ballarat subscribed a similar petition.
But the Executive remained obdurate, and on the 18th of January issued a
public notice offering £400, £200 each, for the arrest of Lalor and
Black, because of their treasonable and seditious language in inciting
men to take up arms against the Queen.
The insurgent chief, Lalor, was severely wounded whilst defending the
stockade. He fell to the ground. Some of his pikemen seeing his body,
covered it with slabs. When the soldiers retired with their prisoners,
he managed to extricate himself from the _débris_ and make his way to
his friends. On the following day his left arm had to be amputated. He
secreted himself in various friendly huts at different places, and after
several narrow escapes, succeeded in eluding the police in their search
for fugitives. His friends proving true to him, notwithstanding the
reward of £200, he ultimately reached Geelong, where he remained until
the storm of general disapproval had extinguished the desire of the
authorities for his capture.
In the opinion of many, the agitation at Ballarat was constitutional at
first, and had assumed its unconstitutional form in consequence of the
coercion of the Commissioners, who precipitated measures by their
imprudent digger-hunting during the period of excitement.
However, the Government continued the prosecution of the rioters,
despite their being the objects of public sympathy. The trial was ended
on the 1st of April by the jury acquitting the prisoners, a result which
had been generally anticipated.
WRONGS RIGHTED.
The insurrectionists were afterwards conciliated by the efforts of the
Commission of Inquiry, and consequent redress of grievances. The revolt,
in addition to the valuable lives lost, cost the colony £20,000 for
military expenses, extra police charges, and compensation to sufferers.
From Westgarth's _Colony of Victoria_ we extract:--"The Commission
produced a lengthened report, in which the whole system of gold-fields'
management was proposed to be reconstituted. The miners' earnings were
found to be, on an average, rather smaller than those of other branches
of colonial labour--a circumstance not favourable to the persistent
maintenance of a heavy license fee of practically very unequal
incidence. The report recommended the abolition of this fee, and in its
place the imposition of a moderate export duty on gold. The issue of a
'Miner's Right' was suggested, at a cost to each miner of one pound
a-year, and conferring upon him both the mining privileges and the
franchise. The title of 'Commissioner' to the head of each gold-field, a
name now associated with the wranglings of the past, was proposed to be
changed to the old English mining title, 'Warden.' The Commissioners
recommended local elective mining courts, and benches of local unpaid
justices of the peace, who should sit with the regular paid magistrate.
The more intelligent of the miners were constituted local justices of
the peace, and arrangements were made by which the mining districts
elected their own representatives to the 'Colonial Legislature.'"
Mr. Peter Lalor[A] was one of the first of these representatives, and
has since been in several ministries, and twice Speaker of the Assembly.
[A] Recently the sum of £4000 has been voted to Mr. Lalor, on
his retiring to a well-earned rest from the arduous duties attending the
Speakership of a House where so many members require a strong hand and
determined will to teach them the responsibilities of their position.
Thus ended one of the few unfortunate incidents of Australian history.
The miners have since been as loyal as any other section of the
population, and, by their industrious delving in the seemingly
inexhaustible gold mines of Victoria, they have contributed a full share
towards the prosperity of the colony.
_Printed by_ WALTER SCOTT, _Felling, Newcastle-on-Tyne_.
* * * * *
Transcribers Notes:
Some minor obvious typographical errors have been corrected
silently.
The footnote and illustrations have been moved to underneath
the paragraphs they refer to so as to not disrupt the flow of
the text.
Multiple versions of words not changed:
monstre, monster
flag-staff, flagstaff
over-crowded, overcrowded
End of Project Gutenberg's Australian Heroes and Adventurers, by William Pyke