By Daniel S & Louis V 5P 2011

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Eureka Stockade

The Eureka Stockade started in 1851 in Ballarat when gold was found. Peter Lalor led the miners to a spot of land where a heap of gold was found, here they built a fort and named it the Eureka Stockade. Soon the stockade formed which was a wooden barricade or fence circling an acre of land. When the foundation was finished they put up a flag named the Union or Eureka Flag. When the gold rush started more people were coming to the gold fields so they had to recruit more soldiers and police. Everyone was coming to the goldfields to mine leaving their jobs, meaning that the police at the time created a licence that you need to buy to mine. At the result of creating licences it made miners angry and caused the Rebellion to start in 1854.

Gold

Gold is a rare metal to find and can only be identified in rocks or mixed with river sand. Lumps of gold are called nuggets. Some people use sifters near rivers to find gold. Gold is mostly found underground, that is why they had mine shafts during the gold rush to dig underground. The largest Australian nugget is called Holtermann’s nugget, at the time it was the world’s largest nugget weighing 286kg, and was 150cm by 66cm in size. It was found in October 1872 and was referred to as “the reef of gold”. Also well known are the Hand of Faith at 27.7kg, the Welcome Stranger at 73.4kg and the Welcome at 69.9kg.

The Union Flag

The Eureka flag also known as the union flag was shown at Bakery Hill, Ballarat, Australia. It was a symbol to remind the miners of their resistance during the Eureka Stockade Rebellion in 1854. Once the flag was up Peter Lalor swore this oath in front of his fellow demonstrators: "We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties." The Eureka flag was thought to be designed by a Canadian miners by the name of Lieutenant Ross during 1854 in Ballarat, Victoria. The flag’s five starts were thought to represent the Southern Cross and the white cross joining the stars in union. The blue background was to represent the blue shirts commonly worn by the miners rather than presenting the sky. Once Lalor was elected leader they built a stockade at the goldfields defying the authorities. In only a few days 300 men in the military force attacked and within 15 minutes the stockade was smashed. The Eureka flag was torn down by Police Constable John King on the morning of Sunday 3 rd of December. It was to remind them of victory.

Miners

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Miners are people who mine for gold in mine shafts. Lots of people became miners when the Gold Rush started in 1851. Most people moved to Australia just because of the gold appearances. Only some of the miners managed to find gold and strike it rich. Miners usually use shovels or pick axes to mine underground. Some miners used hard caps with flash lights on top of them, to help them see underground in the dark.

Land For Gold Digging

Miners need land for gold digging and had to pay a fee to own it, similar to the licenses. Without land or even licenses the miners wouldn’t be able to mine. Miners were able to buy land by going to the police and buying a part of land. To determine the location the police would show a map, and block off a part chosen by the miner. Here the miners would be able to do whatever they want. Most miners lived on the goldfields by building tents.

Tools Used To Mine

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Tools used to mine back then were mainly shovels and pick axes. There are a number of different shovels such as the coal shovel, snow shovel, grain shovel, barn shovel, square shovel, spoon shovel, gardening shovel, roofing shovel and the spade. Also the pick axe is used mainly for a digging purpose, and is why it is used for mining especially when trying to dig past rocks. There is also the railroad pick. The pick axe is a hand tool with a steel head which is similar to a shovel.

How, Where And When Did The Gold Rush Start?

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The Gold rush started on the 9 th of August in 1851 when Victoria had their first gold strike. The gold was found in Sovereign Hill close to Ballarat. But the real Gold Rush began when gold was discovered at Mount Alexander just 60km north east of Ballarat, and was also close to the town of Bendigo. Later in August James Regan was walking from the goldfields of Clunes to see a friend. He stopped at Ballarat and tried his luck, there he found one of the richest goldfields, possibly in the world. Thirty years before the Gold Rush in the 1820’s gold appearances were reported in Victoria before the Gold Rush leading to the fully fledged Gold Rush in the 1850’s.

How And Why Did The Battle Start At The Eureka Stockade?

“We swear by the Southern cross to stand truly be each other and fight defend our rights and liberties.”

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The gold discoveries around Victoria made a dramatic affect on Victoria. In 1853 about 60,000 miners not including their families were on the gold fields. Out of the 60,000 diggers about 23,000 were at Bendigo. In June a mining license association was formed protesting to get rid of all licenses. The lieutenant at the time wanted to improve law and order, such as give miners a chance to have a say in things and the right to buy land. 30,000 miners signed their names on the petition (when signatures are gathered to support an event). After the failure to join in union, the miners elected an Irish immigrant, Peter Lalor to be their leader. On December the 2 built to serve as a defence barricade. Lalor ordered any weapons available to them. Once the stockade was finally assembled they truly by each other and fight defend our rights and liberties” and police, but so far nothing. Most miners weren’t trained for not returning to help. The troops suddenly struck the miners on wounded 12 other including Lalor. They took 100 as prisoner and destroyed the stockade in 20mins.

nd in 1854 the Rebellion began and that was the day the Stockade was repeated the eureka oath: “We swear by the southern cross to stand Amen! The miners were waiting for the first attack from the soldiers fighting. Many miners left the stockade on Sunday to got to church Sunday at 3am, taking the 120 men by surprise. They killed 22 and

How Did The Miners Live Their Lives On The Goldfields?

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During the Gold Rush in Ballarat the drain on man power was nearly at it’s highest point, nearly the whole state went bankrupt. Only a few men managed to strike it rich and find around $50,000 dollars worth of gold back in their pockets. Most miners wore heavy boots when walking to a new goldfield in hope that there was gold. A digger usually had a few clothes, though most wore leggings, mole skin pants, flannel shirts, heavy knitted jumpers and wide hats. These clothes were carried to each spot of land in a blanket. Life on the goldfields was very harsh with bad weather and it was hard to find a place to live. At the time there was very little transport, shelter or food. Life on the gold fields of Australia had very little transport, shelter or food. The miners lived in tents or bark huts and cooked on an outside fire. All the miners had to pay to get to the goldfields, plus the tools for mining, food and shelter, leaving them with a small amount of money and giving them a hard time on the goldfields. Then the miners had to deal with the license fee, and if they were caught without a license they had to pay a $60 dollar fine. Miners started to complain about the rising costs of licenses as most were not finding gold.

Why Were The Miners And Police Arguing With Each Other?

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In the early 1850’s the government in Melbourne had set up a system with gold licenses, to allow miners to mine for gold on a particular piece of land. But the miners had to pay a fee of 10 pounds even if they hadn’t found gold. If they were found without a license they would have to pay a fine or they’d be chained to a log until they payed. This became frustrating for the miners over time but still, the police went on about the license check and the frequency of surprise inspections raised. Most police men were ex-convicts and the government gave them the power to undertake checks. The police had an advantage over the miners and treated them unfairly, which led to arguments between the miners and police. As a solution when the Union flag was put up to join all people on the goldfields, including police the burning of the licenses was how the argument was resolved.

How Many Hours Were Spent Mining A Day?

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Most miners worked for six days a week nearly 24 hours a day leaving the Sunday as day to rest. There were also miners that had 12 hour shifts. One miner working during the day the other working at night. This way they would be able to work all 7 days of the week mining on the goldfields. Some goldfields operate 7 days a week 24 hours a day. About half of the goldfields mining hours, ranged between 40-50 hours a week.

Biography Of Edward Hargraves

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Edward Hammond Hargraves was born on the 5 th October 1816. As he grew up he went to Brighton Grammar School in England to be educated. He traveled to California to search for gold during the gold rush in California. He was not successful in California so he moved back to England, where he married Elizabeth. He started a new job as a gold prospector when he moved to Australia in 1851. Edward was the first person to find gold in NSW. On the 12 in Sydney. th of February he announced that gold was found. At a meeting at Bathurst. Hargraves was given a 10,000 pound reward, from the NSW government for finding gold. For his efforts the Victorian government gave him the job of Commissioner and received another 5,000 pound. In 1853 a meeting was held, claiming that Hargraves was the first to discover a goldfield. In 1856 Edward Hargraves purchased an 640 acre of land, where he built a new town in NSW called “Norahville”. Once the town was built, with the help of the Aboriginals, Hargraves be-friended them. In 1877 he was given a 250 pound pension per year. In 1891 at the age of 75 he died

What Were The Miners Rights And Were They Respected?

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Miners weren’t respected much during the gold rush. Mainly because there were lots of fights. But the miners main problem was the miners licenses. This caused arguments and fights between the police. During the fights, some miners even stole other miner’s claims. Which is the space there are mining in. To keep their claim, they needed to work every day except Sundays. The miners didn’t have many rights either. All the miners needed to get all their things by themselves. Like buying their own food and tools. Also they needed to make their own place to live in. The only right they had was to be able to come to the goldfields and mine.

What Role Did Peter Lalor Play In The Eureka Stockade?

Peter Lalor was an Irish immigrant. He was born on the 5 Lalor was elected to be the miners' leader on the 30 th th of February 1827. He used to work in a railway line in Geelong, but soon he joined the Gold Rush in Ovens Valley, then Ballarat. Due to the conditions on the Gold Fields, and the lack of the miners' rights. of November 1854. Lalor led the Rebellion that later became known as the Eureka Stockade. His role in the Eureka Stockade was to lead the Rebellion and to help fight against the police. Peter Lalor was the main miner during the Gold Rush and he made a big difference during it.

How Long Did The Gold Rush Last And When Did It End?

The gold rush started in 1851 when gold appearances where reported and ten years later it ended in 1861.

1851: Hargraves digs for gold on Summerhill Creek.

Gold found at Ballarat First payable gold discovered at Ophir in NSW beginning of the great Australian gold rush 1854: Eureka Stockade Gold miners rebel at Eureka in Victoria, in protest at the conditions imposed by the 'Miner's License'. The rebellion led to the abolition of the Miner's license 1861: The Gold Rush ended

When And Why Did They Create The Eureka Stockade?

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The Eureka Stockade was built in 1854 when the rebellion started, for defensive purposes. It was built because the police were attacking the miners because they were defying the law at the time. As Peter Lalor was the leader at the time, and had military experience he gave the miners weapons to defend the Stockade and stop the police forces. But because the police had advanced weapons, they killed over 1,000 men. Soon the forces broke into the Stockade and savagely ripped it to pieces. As the leader, he was one of the few that survived but was taken to jail by the police, for defying the law.

Why Did People Need A License To Mine?

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People needed a license to mine because there were so many people going to goldfields to mine for gold, people left there jobs and they were low on food and construction was slowing down. The governor at the time, Governor Fitz Roy thought that there would be violence and destruction on the goldfields. So he decided to created licenses, that miners would have to pay a 30 shilling fee to have any right to mine for gold. Also the police made a rule that you needed to buy land so you’re able to mine.

Biography Of Paddy Hannan

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Patrick Hannan was born on the 26 He died on the 4 17 th th th of April 1840. Quin, Ireland. of November 1925 at the age of 85. Brunswick, Melbourne. He was a gold prospector who had a discovery on the of June 1893 near Kalgoorlie, Western, Australia. That was how he set off a gold rush in that area. Paddy Hannan was the son of John Hannan and Bridget Lynch. Not much is known about his family history but he emigrated to Australia in 1863. Paddy Hannan and a group of friends discovered gold near Mount Charlotte which was less than 40km from the Coolgardie gold fields. The night before the body of men moved out, Hannan found gold in a gully. Not wanting to cause a rush, he informed his friends for what he had found. The following morning they started to get the gold. So Hannan, the only one that was literate, raced off to Coolgardie to register the claim. After registering his claim of over 100 ounces of gold, an estimated 700 men were searching for gold in the area within 3 days. In 1904 at the age of 61, having prospected for all his adult life, Hannan was granted $150 dollars by the government of Western Australia. He stopped his prospecting activities in 1910, and moved to live with his 2 nieces in Brunswick, Melbourne. That was where he died in 1925.

Biography Of Peter Lalor

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Peter Fintan Lalor was born on the 5 th February 1827 in the parish of Raheen in Ireland. He was the son of Patrick Lalor and Ann, n’ee Dillon. The Lalor family had always fought against British rule for the rights of Irish peasantry. He was educated at Carlow College, taking a course for engineering in Dublin. Years after the famine in 1845 most of the population, migrated from Ireland. Peter and Richard moved into Australia, Victoria the the gold discoveries attracting them. In 1853, Peter left for the oven diggings, then in early 1854 he moved to Ballarat. At Ballarat Lalor staked a claim on the Eureka lead. He was seen together with some of the diggers at Ballarat fair luck on their claim. He was involved with them but not officially, because of the annoyances with the licenses. Later Peter Lalor wrote that the people were not satisfied because they were excluded to get possession of land. Being presented in front of the Legislative council, they created a license fee, to be payed by miners. As 12,000 diggers gathered at Bakery hill, for the first time under the Southern cross flag the license fee problem was resolved, in the burning of licenses. Done for the protection of the miners without the possession of licenses. On the 30 th of November, the miner took the opportunity of a gold hunt on Bakery Hill. The news resulted in an outrage spreading rapidly through the diggings to Eureka, where Lalor was working in his shaft 43m below ground level. The next morning about 1500 diggers gathered on Bakery Hill marching behind the Union flag to Eureka. The leaders put Lalor in the position of Commander. In the next two days, both sides continued preparations. He was involved with the Military in 1848 but he claimed he had no military expertise. Lalor did not expect an immediate attack and didn’t have a defence plan. By midnight only 120 men were remaining at the stockade. In the morning the police attacked again killing more men and taking a hundred or so as prisoners leaving the stockade defenceless. In 1856 Lalor was returned to the Legislative assembly for North Grenville. Later in his life he became a politician. Lalor fought courageously in the parliament. As Lalor got rich, he forgot his passion in parliament only when a class claim he had over bearing power made him angry and fought for what he wanted. Soon in 1889 at the age of 62 he died.

2011

By Daniel.S & Louis.V 5P