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Concept
Eureka Rebellion
Summary
The Eureka Rebellion was a series of events involving gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which took place on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat between the rebels and the colonial forces of Australia. The fighting left at least 27 dead and many injured, most of the casualties being rebels. There was a preceding period beginning in 1851 of peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience on the Victorian goldfields. The miners had various grievances, chiefly the cost of mining permits and the officious way the system was enforced.
Tensions began in 1851 with the introduction of a tax on the occupation of the gold fields. Miners began to organize and protest the taxes; miners stopped paying the taxes en masse. The October 1854 murder of a gold miner, and the burning of a local hotel (which miners blamed on the government), ended the previously peaceful nature of the miners' dispute. Open rebellion broke out on November 29, 1854, as a crowd of some 10,000 swore allegiance to the Eureka Flag. Gold miner Peter Lalor became the de facto leader of the rebellion, as he had initiated the swearing of allegiance. The Eureka Stockade was overrun by government forces after a brief early morning siege that ended the short-lived armed uprising on 3 December 1854. A group of thirteen captured rebels (not including Lalor, who was in hiding) was put on trial for high treason in Melbourne, but mass public support led to their acquittal.
The legacy of the Eureka Rebellion is contested. Rebel leader Peter Lalor was elected to the parliament in 1856, though he proved to be less of an ally to the common man than expected. Several reforms sought by the rebels were subsequently implemented, including legislation providing for universal adult male suffrage for Legislative Assembly elections and the removal of property qualifications for Legislative Assembly members.
Official source
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