Colony of Victoria
172-645: The Eureka Flag was flown at the Battle of the Eureka Stockade , which took place on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat in Victoria, Australia . It was the culmination of the 1851–1854 Eureka Rebellion on the Victorian goldfields. Gold miners protested the cost of mining permits , the officious way the colonial authorities enforced the system, and other grievances. An estimated crowd of over 10,000 demonstrators swore allegiance to
344-685: A European was on 24 November 1642 by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman , who landed at today's Blackman Bay . More than a century later, in 1772, a French expedition led by Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne landed at (nearby but different) Blackmans Bay , and the following year Tobias Furneaux became the first Englishman to land in Tasmania when he arrived at Adventure Bay , which he named after his ship HMS Adventure . Captain James Cook also landed at Adventure Bay in 1777. Matthew Flinders and George Bass sailed through Bass Strait in 1798–1799, determining for
516-574: A Proclamation of Demarcation forbidding Aboriginal people to enter the settled districts without a passport issued by the government. Arthur declared martial law in the colony in November that year, and this remained in force for over three years, the longest period of martial law in Australian history. In November 1830, Arthur organised the so-called " Black Line ", ordering every able-bodied male colonist to assemble at one of seven designated places in
688-465: A 50-metre canopy and are varied by environmental factors. Emergent growth usually comes from eucalyptus , which can tower another 50 metres higher (usually less), providing the most common choice of nesting for giant wedge-tailed eagles . The human environment ranges from urban or industrial development to farming or grazing land. The most cultivated area is the Midlands , where it has suitable soil but
860-406: A band of Aboriginal Tasmanians who had not been removed from the island. Van Diemen's Land—which thus far had existed as a territory within the colony of New South Wales —was proclaimed a separate colony, with its own judicial establishment and Legislative Council , on 3 December 1825. Transportation to the island ceased in 1853 and the colony was renamed Tasmania in 1856, partly to differentiate
1032-566: A bearded man" that Cayley believes may have been intended as a representation of Henry Ross. Federation University history professor Anne Beggs-Sunter refers to an article reportedly published in the Ballarat Times "shortly after the Stockade referring to two women making the flag from an original drawing by a digger named Ross. Unfortunately no complete set of the Ballarat Times exists, and it
1204-424: A bit. I was with him when he tore it off. It seems wanton sacrilege, vandalism or something worse to tear it still he did and I am in possession of that piece. As a result of this practice, the pieces of the flag in the art gallery collection represent only 69.01% of the original specimen. In Labour History , Professor Beggs-Sunter states that the art gallery displayed the flag "in various unsuitable ways" until it
1376-456: A fateful decision, McGill decided to take most of his two hundred Californian Rangers away from the stockade to intercept rumoured British reinforcements coming from Melbourne. Many Saturday night revellers within the rebel garrison went back to their own tents, assuming that the government camp would not attack on the Sabbath day. A small contingent of miners remained at the stockade overnight, which
1548-591: A fragment of the Eureka Flag that now resides at the National Library of Australia. He said: I went to the Art Gallery to see the flag the men fought under and strange to say no-one there seems to value it in the least. It is hung over a trestle affair exposed to the public. Well I got into conversation with the keeper, and persuaded him to give me a bit of the flag, and much to my surprise and astonishment he gave me
1720-469: A government notice declaring that colonists were free to kill Aboriginal people when they attacked settlers or their property, and in the following eight months more than 200 Aboriginal people were killed in the Settled Districts in reprisal for the deaths of 15 colonists. After another eight months, the death toll had risen to 43 colonists and probably 350 Aboriginal people. In April 1828, Arthur issued
1892-402: A great sport and "carried out in the style of an English fox-hunt" by mounted officials who received a fifty per cent commission from any fines imposed. Many recruits were former prisoners from Tasmania and prone to brutal means, having been sentenced to serve in the military. Miners were often arrested for not carrying licences on their person because of the typically wet and dirty conditions in
SECTION 10
#17328448004162064-482: A high concentration of waterfalls . These can be found in small creeks, alpine streams , rapid rivers , or off precipitous plunges. Some of the tallest waterfalls are found on mountain massifs , sometimes at a 200-metre cascade. The most famous and most visited waterfall in Tasmania is Russell Falls in Mount Field due to its proximity to Hobart and stepped falls at a total height of 58 metres. Tasmania also has
2236-467: A judicial enquiry into the murder of miner James Scobie outside the Eureka Hotel. There was no finding of guilt regarding the owner, James Bently, who was deeply suspected of involvement, with the case being presided over by a police magistrate accused of having a conflict of interest. Then, there was an uproar over the arrest of Catholic Father Smyth's disabled Armenian servant Johannes Gregorious. He
2408-512: A landmass of 68,401 km (26,410 sq mi) and is located directly in the pathway of the notorious " Roaring Forties " wind that encircles the globe. To its north, it is separated from mainland Australia by Bass Strait . Tasmania is the only Australian state that is not located on the Australian mainland. About 2,500 kilometres (1,300 nautical miles) south of Tasmania island lies the George V Coast of Antarctica . Depending on which borders of
2580-895: A large number of beaches , the longest of which is Ocean Beach on the West Coast at about 40 kilometres. Wineglass Bay in Freycinet on the east coast is a well-known landmark of the state. The Tasmanian temperate rainforests cover a few different types. These are also considered distinct from the more common wet sclerophyll forests, though these eucalypt forests often form with rainforest understorey and ferns (such as tree-ferns ) are usually never absent. Rainforest found in deep gullies are usually difficult to traverse due to dense understorey growth, such as from horizontal ( Anodopetalum biglandulosum ) . Higher-elevation forests (~500 to 800 m) have smaller ground vegetation and are thus easier to walk in. The most common rainforests usually have
2752-638: A large plateau which forms a number of ranges and escarpments on its north side, tapering off along the south, and radiating into the highest mountain ranges in the west. At the north-west of this, another plateau radiates into a system of hills where takayna / Tarkine is located. The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) divides Tasmania into 9 bioregions: Ben Lomond , Furneaux , King , Central Highlands , Northern Midlands , Northern Slopes , Southern Ranges , South East , and West . Tasmania's environment consistes of many different biomes or communities across its different regions. It
2924-428: A means of suppressing the native threat – or even in some cases, exacting revenge. Van Diemen's Land had an enormous gender imbalance, with male colonists outnumbering females six to one in 1822—and 16 to one among the convict population. Historian Nicholas Clements has suggested the "voracious appetite" for native women was the most important trigger for the explosion of violence from the late 1820s. From 1825 to 1828,
3096-582: A party of 49, including 21 male and three female convicts, named the camp Risdon. Several months later, a second settlement was established by Captain David Collins , with 308 convicts, 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) to the south in Sullivans Cove on the western side of the Derwent, where fresh water was more plentiful. The latter settlement became known as Hobart Town or Hobarton, later shortened to Hobart , after
3268-408: A peace proposal; however, Rede was suspicious of the chartist undercurrent of the anti-mining tax movement and rejected the proposals as being the way forward. The rebels sent out scouts and established picket lines in order to have advance warning of Rede's movements and a request for reinforcements to the other mining settlements. The "moral force" faction had withdrawn from the protest movement as
3440-547: A rebel sentry, who fired, not at our party, but to warn his party in the Stockade. He was on Black Hill. Captain Thomas turned his head in the direction of the shot and said, "We are seen. Forward, and steady men! Don't fire; let the insurgents fire first. You must wait for the sound of the bugle". A magistrate by the name of Charles Hackett said to have been generally well-liked by the miners in Ballarat, had accompanied Captain Thomas in
3612-516: A reputation as "Sanitorium of the South" and a health-focused tourist boom began to grow. The MS Princess of Tasmania began her maiden voyage in 1959, the first car ferry to Tasmania. As part of the boom, Tasmania allowed the opening of the first casino in Australia in 1968. Queen Elizabeth II visited the state in 1954, and the 50s and 60s were charactered by the opening of major public services, including
SECTION 20
#17328448004163784-413: A sight for a Sabbath morn that, I humbly implore Heaven, may never be seen again. Poor women crying for absent husbands, and children frightened into quietness ... Some of the bodies might have been removed - I counted fifteen. Tasmania Tasmania ( / t æ z ˈ m eɪ n i ə / ; palawa kani : lutruwita ) is an island state of Australia . It is located 240 kilometres (150 miles) to
3956-462: A significant dolerite exposure, though the western half of the state is older and more rugged, featuring buttongrass plains, temperate rainforests, and quartzite ranges, notably Federation Peak and Frenchmans Cap . The presence of these mountain ranges is a primary factor in the rain shadow effect , where the western half receives the majority of rainfall, which also influences the types of vegetation that can grow. The Central Highlands feature
4128-527: A stage and planting the flagstaff. This is a splendid pole of about 80 feet and straight as an arrow. This work being completed about 11 o'clock, the Southern Cross was hoisted, and its maiden appearance was a fascinating object to behold. There is no flag in Europe, or in the civilised world, half so beautiful and Bakery Hill as being the first place where the Australian ensign was first hoisted, will be recorded in
4300-622: A tarpaulin maker. There is another popular tradition where the flag design is credited to a member of the Ballarat Reform League , "Captain" Henry Ross of Toronto , in Ontario , Canada . A. W. Crowe recounted in 1893 that "it was Ross who gave the order for the insurgents' flag at Darton and Walker's". Crowe's story is confirmed in that there were advertisements in the Ballarat Times dating from October–November 1854 for Darton and Walker, manufacturers of tents, tarpaulin and flags, situated at
4472-485: A thousand men, "but when the news circulated that Irish independence had crept into the movement, almost all turned back". FitzSimons points out that although the number of reinforcements converging on Ballarat was probably closer to 500, there is no doubt that as a result of the choice of password "the Stockade is denied many strong-armed men because of the feeling that the Irish have taken over". Withers states that: Lalor, it
4644-482: A visit to the soon-to-be headquarters of the Ballarat Historical Society in 1963, which may be the original plans for the Eureka Flag. One is a two-dimensional drawing of a flag bearing the words "blue" and "white" to denote the colour scheme. Cayley has concluded: "It looks like a rough design of the so-called King Flag." The other sketch was "pasted on the same piece of card shows the flag being carried by
4816-411: Is a significant agricultural exporter, as well as a significant destination for eco-tourism. About 42% of its land area, including national parks and World Heritage Sites (21%), is protected in some form of reserve. The first environmental political party in the world was founded in Tasmania. Tasmania is named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman , who made the first reported European sighting of
4988-535: Is also the driest part of the state. Tasmania's insularity was possibly detected by Captain Abel Tasman when he charted Tasmania's coast in 1642. On 5 December, Tasman was following the east coast northward to see how far it went. When the land veered to the north-west at Eddystone Point , he tried to keep in with it but his ships were suddenly hit by the Roaring Forties howling through Bass Strait . Tasman
5160-535: Is called upon to obey" and "taxation without representation is tyranny", in the language of the United States Declaration of Independence . On 30 November, there was further rioting where missiles were once again directed at military and law enforcement by the protesting miners, who had henceforth refused to cooperate with licence inspections en masse . That afternoon there was a paramilitary display on Bakery Hill. The oath-swearing ceremony took place as
5332-546: Is found on the Central Plateau and the Southwest. Cradle Mountain , another dolerite peak, for example, was a nunatak . The combination of these different rock types contributes to scenery which is distinct from any other region of the world. In the far southwest corner of the state, the geology is almost wholly quartzite, which gives the mountains the false impression of having snow-capped peaks year round. Evidence indicates
Eureka Flag - Misplaced Pages Continue
5504-470: Is impossible to locate this intriguing reference." The theory that the Eureka Flag is based on the Australian Federation Flag has precedents in that "borrowing the general flag design of the country one is revolting against can be found in many instances of colonial liberation, including Haiti, Venezuela, Iceland, and Guinea". Some resemblance to the modern Flag of Quebec has been noted, that
5676-452: Is said, gave 'Vinegar Hill' as the night's pass-word, but neither he nor his adherents expected that the fatal action of Sunday was coming, and some of his followers, incited by the sinister omen of the pass-word, abandoned that night what they saw was a badly organised and not very hopeful movement. In his memoirs, Lynch states: "On the afternoon of Saturday we had a force of seven hundred men on whom we thought we could rely". However, there
5848-399: Is still part of it around the rope so that I suppose it would be best to send the whole of it as it now is. You will find several holes, that were caused by bullets that were fired at my late husband in his endeavours to seize the flag at that memorable event:- Yours, &c., Mrs J. King (per Arthur King) In a letter to his father, Fred Riley recalled visiting Ballarat in 1912 and acquiring
6020-577: Is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the central western parts of the state. The Midlands located in the central east, is fairly flat, and is predominantly used for agriculture, although farming activity is scattered throughout the state. Tasmania's tallest mountain is Mount Ossa at 1,617 m (5,305 ft). Much of Tasmania is still densely forested, with the Southwest National Park and neighbouring areas holding some of
6192-468: Is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he is called upon to obey" and "taxation without representation is tyranny", in the language of the United States Declaration of Independence . On 30 November 1854, there was further rioting where missiles were once again directed at military and law enforcement by the protesting miners who had henceforth refused to cooperate with licence inspections en masse . That afternoon there
6364-685: Is the most forested state in Australia, and preserves the country's largest areas of temperate rainforest . A distinctive type of moorland found across the west, and particularly south-west of Tasmania, are buttongrass plains, which are speculated to have been expanded by Tasmanian Aboriginal burning practices . Tasmania also features a diverse alpine garden environment , such as cushion plant . Highland areas receive consistent snowfall above ~1,000 metres every year, and due to cold air from Antarctica , this level often reaches 800 m, and more occasionally 600 or 400 metres. Every five or so years, snow can form at sea level. This environment gives rise to
6536-543: The 1943 federal election and first female to serve in the federal cabinet . In May 1948, Margaret McIntyre achieved another milestone as the first female elected to the Parliament of Tasmania. Less than six months after her election, McIntyre died in the crash of the Lutana near Quirindi on 2 September 1948. After the end of World War II, the state saw major urbanisation, and the growth of towns like Ulverstone . It gained
6708-552: The British Colonial Secretary of the time, Lord Hobart . The settlement at Risdon was later abandoned. Left on their own without further supplies, the Sullivans Cove settlement suffered severe food shortages and by 1806 its inhabitants were starving, with many resorting to scraping seaweed off rocks and scavenging washed-up whale blubber from the shore to survive. A smaller colony was established at Port Dalrymple on
6880-474: The Bruny Island Tasmanian language . George Augustus Robinson recorded it as Loe.trou.witter and also as Trow.wer.nar , probably from one or more of the eastern or Northeastern Tasmanian languages . However, he also recorded it as a name for Cape Barren Island . In the 20th century, some writers used it as an Aboriginal name for Tasmania, spelled "Trowenna" or "Trowunna". It is now believed that
7052-565: The Communist Party media, published an article about the flag during his investigation that followed on from Withers'. He entered into correspondence with the King family, the art gallery, and Ballarat local historian Nathan Spielvogel. Fox was sent a piece of the flag by the art gallery in March 1945, along with a drawing. Spielvogel offered to assist, although he had reasons to doubt the authenticity of
Eureka Flag - Misplaced Pages Continue
7224-456: The Furneaux Group of Bass Strait , King Island in the west of Bass Strait, Cape Barren Island south of Flinders Island, Bruny Island separated from Tasmania by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel , Macquarie Island 1,500 km from Tasmania, and Maria Island off the east coast. Tasmania features a number of separated and continuous mountain ranges. The majority of the state is defined by
7396-592: The Imperial parliament was pending, with an election held for a provisional legislative council consisting of 20 elected and ten appointed members subject to property-based franchise and membership requirements. Gold prospectors were offered 200 guineas for making discoveries within 320 kilometres (200 mi) of Melbourne . In August 1851, the news was received worldwide that, on top of several earlier finds, Thomas Hiscock , outside of Buninyong in central Victoria, had found still more deposits. As gold fever took hold,
7568-743: The National Firearms Agreement . In 2000, Queen Elizabeth II once again visited the state. Gunns rose to prominence as a major forestry company during this decade, only to collapse in 2013. In 2004, Premier Jim Bacon died in office from lung cancer. In January 2011 philanthropist David Walsh opened the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart to international acclaim. Within 12 months, MONA became Tasmania's top tourism attraction. The COVID-19 pandemic in Tasmania resulted in at least 230 cases and 13 deaths as of September 2021 . In 2020, after
7740-609: The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area . The Franklin Dam was blocked by the federal government in 1983, and CSIRO opened its marine studies centre in Hobart. Pope John Paul II would hold mass at Elwick Racecourse in 1986. The 1990s were characterised by the fight for LGBT rights in Tasmania , culminating in the intervention of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 1997 and
7912-577: The cypress forests of the Central Plateau and mountainous highlands. In particular, the Walls of Jerusalem with large areas of rare pencil pine , and its closest relative King Billy pine . On the West Coast Range and partially on Mount Field , Australia's only winter- deciduous plant, deciduous beech is found, which forms a carpet or krummholz , or very rarely a 4-metre tree. Tasmania features
8084-473: The 19th century, the Eureka Flag has achieved customary use as a general-purpose symbol of protest and has been adopted by supporters of the Australian republic and trade union movements. It has also been incorporated into the official logo of the far-right Australia First Party and is often seen on bumper stickers accompanied by white nationalist political slogans. There have been efforts, such as around
8256-580: The Ballarat camp were under the immediate command of resident gold commissioner Robert Rede . Overall command was exercised by the executive lieutenant governor Sir Charles Hotham and the high commander of the British colonial forces in Australia, Major General Sir Robert Nickle Robert Nickle . The police inspector at Ballarat was Henry Foster. Other notable Victorian police commanders at the Eureka Stockade include sub-inspectors Ladislaus Kossak, Samuel Furnell, Thomas Langley, and Hussey Chomley. It appears that
8428-480: The Ballarat gold commissioner Robert William Rede and La Trobe's successor Charles Hotham in October and November 1854. The ever-present "physical force" faction of the mining tax protest movement gained the ascendancy over those who advocated " moral force ", including John Basson Humffray , after a judicial enquiry into the murder of miner James Scobie outside the Eureka Hotel. There was no finding of guilt regarding
8600-688: The British Empire. The colony suffered from economic fluctuations, but for the most part was prosperous, experiencing steady growth. With few external threats and strong trade links with the Empire, Tasmania enjoyed many fruitful periods in the late 19th century, becoming a world-centre of shipbuilding. It raised a local defence force that eventually played a significant role in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and Tasmanian soldiers in that conflict won
8772-474: The Central Highlands and flow out to the coast. Tasmania's major population centres are mainly situated around estuaries (some of which are named rivers). Tasmania is in the shape of a downward-facing triangle, likened to a shield, heart, or face. It consists of the main island as well as at least a thousand neighbouring islands within the state's jurisdiction. The largest of these are Flinders Island in
SECTION 50
#17328448004168944-423: The Eureka Flag, and swore to the affirmation of over 10,000 demonstrators: "We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties." Raffaello Carboni recalls that Henry Ross was the "bridegroom" of the flag and "sword in hand, he had posted himself at the foot of the flag-staff, surrounded by his rifle division". In 1931, R. S. Reed claimed that "an old tree stump on
9116-522: The Eureka Stockade was fought in Ballarat , Victoria, Australia on 3 December 1854, between gold miners and the colonial forces of Australia . It was the culmination of the 1851–1854 Eureka Rebellion during the Victorian gold rush . The fighting resulted in at least 27 deaths and many injuries, the majority of casualties being rebels. The miners had various grievances, chiefly the cost of mining permits and
9288-542: The Eureka Stockade also refers to a Union Jack being flown during the battle that was captured, along with the Eureka Flag, by the foot police. The Port Phillip District was partitioned on 1 July 1851 by the Australian Constitutions Act 1850 , as Victoria gained autonomy within the British Empire after a decade of de facto independence from New South Wales . Approval of the Victorian constitution by
9460-510: The Eureka Stockade when the rebel garrison was observed to be at a low watermark. The police and military had the element of surprise, timing their assault on the stockade for dawn on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath day of rest. The soldiers and police marched off in silence at around 3:30 am Sunday morning after the troopers had drunk the traditional tot of rum. The British commander used bugle calls to coordinate his forces. The 40th Regiment
9632-559: The Eureka lead where the Eureka Stockade was constructed over the next few days. It consisted of pit props held together as spikes by rope and overturned horse carts. Raffaello Carboni described it in his 1855 memoirs as being "higgledy piggledy". It encompassed an area said to be one acre; however, that is difficult to reconcile with other estimates that have the dimensions of the stockade as being around 100 feet (30 m) x 200 feet (61 m). Contemporaneous representations vary and render
9804-524: The Gravel Pits. It has long been said that women were involved in constructing the Eureka Flag. In a letter to the editor published in the Melbourne Age , 15 January 1855 edition, Fredrick Vern states that he "fought for freedom's cause, under a banner made and wrought by English ladies". According to some of their descendants, Anastasia Withers, Anne Duke and Anastasia Hayes were all involved in sewing
9976-457: The Greater Hobart area. Tasmania is the most decentralised state in Australia, with the lowest proportion of its residents living within its capital city. Tasmania's main island was inhabited by Aboriginal peoples . It is thought that Aboriginal Tasmanians became separated from the mainland Aboriginal groups about 11,700 years ago, after rising sea levels formed Bass Strait . The island
10148-524: The Queen" and attempt "by the force of arms to destroy the Government constituted there and by law established, and to depose our Lady the Queen from the kingly name and her Imperial Crown". Furthermore, concerning the "overt acts" that constituted the actus reus of the offence, the indictment read: "That you raised upon a pole, and collected round a certain standard, and did solemnly swear to defend each other, with
10320-673: The Settled Districts to join a massive drive to sweep Aboriginal people out of the region and on to the Tasman Peninsula . The campaign failed and was abandoned seven weeks later, but by then Tasmania's Aboriginal population had fallen to about 300. After hostilities between settlers and Aboriginal peoples ceased in 1832, almost all of the remnants of the Indigenous population were persuaded by government agent George Augustus Robinson to move to Flinders Island . Many quickly succumbed to infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, reducing
10492-648: The Southern Cross from the flag-staff, and headed the march." In his report dated 14 December 1854, Captain John Thomas mentioned "the fact of the Flag belonging to the Insurgents (which had been nailed to the flagstaff) being captured by Constable King of the Force". King had volunteered for the honour while the battle was still raging. W. Bourke, a miner residing about 250 yards from the stockade, recalled that: "The police negotiated
SECTION 60
#173284480041610664-605: The Tamar River in the island's north in October 1804 and several other convict-based settlements were established, including the particularly harsh penal colonies at Port Arthur in the southeast and Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast. Tasmania was eventually sent 75,000 convicts—four out of every ten people transported to Australia. By 1819, the Aboriginal and British population reached parity with about 5000 of each, although among
10836-587: The Tasmanian Housing Department and Metro Tasmania public bus services. A jail was opened at Risdon in 1960, and the State Library of Tasmania the same year. The University of Tasmania also moved to its present location in 1963. The state was badly affected by the 1967 Tasmanian fires , killing 64 people and destroying over 652,000 acres in five hours. In 1975 the Tasman Bridge collapsed when
11008-563: The aboriginal community, or without having a connection to the place in question. As well as a diverse First Nations geography, where remnants are preserved in rough form by European documentation, Tasmania is known as a place for unorthodox place-names . These names often come about from lost definitions, where descriptive names have lost their old meanings and have taken on new modern interpretations (e.g. 'Bobs Knobs'). Other names have retained their original meaning, and are often quaint or endearing descriptions (e.g. 'Paradise' ). The island
11180-576: The arrival of 600 colonists from Norfolk Island between 1807 and 1813. They established farms along the River Derwent and east and west of Launceston , occupying ten percent of Van Diemen's Land. By 1824 the colonial population had swelled to 12,600, while the island's sheep population had reached 200,000. The rapid colonisation transformed traditional kangaroo hunting grounds into farms with grazing livestock as well as fences, hedges and stone walls, while police and military patrols were increased to control
11352-399: The blood spouted out of their wounds, or just bubbled out and trickled away. One man, a stout-chested fine fellow ... had three contusions in the head, three strokes across the brow, a bayonet wound in the throat ... and other wounds - I counted fifteen in that single carcase. Some were bringing handkerchiefs, others bed furniture and matting to cover up the faces of the dead. O God! sir, it was
11524-536: The bridge was struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra . It was the only bridge in Hobart, and made crossing the Derwent River by road at the city impossible. The nearest bridge was approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north, at Bridgewater. Throughout the 1980s, strong environmental concerns saw the building of the Australian Antarctic Division headquarters, and the proclamation of
11696-490: The bugler to sound the retreat, with around 120 rebels, some wounded, being rounded up and marched back to the government camp two kilometres away as prisoners. They were kept there in an overcrowded lock-up before being moved to a more spacious barn on Monday morning. The Geelong Advertiser , 6 December 1854 edition, reported that: They all lay in a small space, with their faces upwards, looking like lead; several of them were still heaving, and at every rise of their breasts,
11868-417: The burgeoning society of free settlers from the island's convict past. The Legislative Council of Van Diemen's Land drafted a new constitution which gained Royal Assent in 1855. The Privy Council also approved the colony changing its name from "Van Diemen's Land" to "Tasmania", and in 1856 the newly elected bicameral parliament sat for the first time, establishing Tasmania as a self-governing colony of
12040-532: The collection of the Art Gallery of Ballarat , which is responsible for their conservation. Since 2013, they have been on a long-term loan to the interpretative centre located at the Eureka Stockade Memorial Park , where they remain on public display. There are also other notable authenticated Eureka Flag fragments to have been exhibited and sold at auction. The disputed first report of the attack on
12212-515: The colonists men outnumbered women four-to-one. Free settlers began arriving in large numbers from 1820, lured by the promise of land grants and free convict labour. Settlement in the island's northwest corner was monopolised by the Van Diemen's Land Company , which sent its first surveyors to the district in 1826. By 1830, one-third of Australia's non-Indigenous population lived in Van Diemen's Land and
12384-417: The colony's population increased from 77,000 in 1851 to 198,496 in 1853. Among this number was "a heavy sprinkling of ex-convicts, gamblers, thieves, rogues and vagabonds of all kinds". The local authorities soon found themselves with fewer police officers and lacked the infrastructure needed to support the expansion of the mining industry. The number of public servants and factory and farm workers leaving for
12556-407: The convict farm labourers. Violence began to spiral rapidly from the mid-1820s in what became described as the " Black War ". Aboriginal inhabitants were driven to desperation by hunger – that included a desire for agricultural produce, as well as feeling anger at the prevalence of abductions of women and girls. New settlers motivated by fear carried out self-defence operations as well as attacks as
12728-471: The cross is 37 centimetres (15 in) wide, and the vertical arm is 36 centimetres (14 in) tall. The central star is slightly larger (8.5%) than the others, being about 65 centimetres (26 in), all from point to point and the other stars 60 centimetres (24 in). The white stars are made from a fine cotton lawn , and the off-white cross is cotton twill . In addition to a modern, standardised version, there are also other Eureka Flag variants. Since
12900-418: The deathless and indelible pages of history. The flag is silk, blue ground with a large silver cross; no device or arms, but all exceedingly chaste and natural. Lalor, armed with a rifle, took the initiative by mounting a stump and proclaiming "liberty", then called for rebel volunteers to form themselves into companies. Near the base of the flagpole, Lalor knelt with his head uncovered, pointed his right hand to
13072-579: The decriminalization of homosexuality that year. Christine Milne became the first female leader of a Tasmanian political party in 1993, and major council amalgamations reduce the number of councils from 46 to 29. Following the Port Arthur massacre on 28 April 1996, which resulted in the loss of 35 lives and injured 21 others, the Australian Government conducted a review of its firearms policies and enacted new nationwide gun ownership laws under
13244-423: The defence counsel Henry Chapman argued there were no inferences to be drawn from the hoisting of the Eureka Flag, saying: and if the fact of hoisting that flag be at all relied upon as evidence of an intention to depose Her Majesty ... no inference whatever can be drawn from the mere hoisting of a flag as to the intention of the parties, because of the witnesses has said that two hundred flags were hoisted at
13416-567: The diggings, to draw an exact inference as to the hoisting of any one particular flag at one spot. The Eureka Flag was retained by John King, who quit the police force two days after the state treason trials ended to become a farmer. In the late 1870s, he eventually settled near Minyip in the Victorian Wimmera district. It was here that the flag "made occasional appearances at country bazaars". In his 1870 history of Ballarat, William Withers said he had not been able to find out what had happened to
13588-408: The diggings; and if two hundred persons on the same spot choose to hoist their particular flag, what each means we are utterly unable to tell, and no general meaning as to hostility to the Government can be drawn from the simple fact that the diggers on that occasion hoisted a flag ... I only throw it out to you because it is utterly impossible, in the multiplicity of flags that have been hoisted on
13760-520: The dispersed and fleeing rioters. Stories tell how women ran forward and threw themselves over the injured to prevent further indiscriminate killing. The second in command, Captain Pasley, threatened to shoot anyone involved in murdering prisoners. His valuable assistance was acknowledged in dispatches printed and laid before the Victorian Legislative Council . Captain Thomas finally ordered
13932-401: The divided loyalties among the heterogeneous rebel force which was in the process of melting away. At one point, up to 1,500 of 17,280 men in Ballarat were garrisoning the stockade, with as few as 120 taking part in the battle. Lalor's choice of Vinegar Hill as the password the night before the battle did not resonate with the non-Irish members of the protest movement and has been cited as
14104-405: The first completely electrified city on the island in 1885, followed closely by the township of Zeehan in 1900. The state economy was riding mining prosperity until World War I. In 1901, the state population was 172,475. The 1910 foundation of what would become Hydro Tasmania began to shape urban patterns, as well as future major damming programs. Hydro's influence culminated in the 1970s when
14276-477: The first time that Tasmania was an island. Sealers and whalers based themselves on Tasmania's islands from 1798, and in August 1803 New South Wales Governor Philip King sent Lieutenant John Bowen to establish a small military outpost on the eastern shore of the Derwent River in order to forestall any claims to the island by French explorers who had been exploring the southern Australian coastline. Bowen, who led
14448-596: The first two Victoria Crosses awarded to Australians. In 1901, the Colony of Tasmania united with the five other Australian colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Tasmanians voted in favour of federation with the largest majority of all the Australian colonies. Tasmania was an early adopter of electric street lighting . Australia's first electric street lights were switched on in Waratah in 1886. Launceston became
14620-446: The first volley", it appears as if the first shots came from the Eureka Stockade garrison. It has been claimed that Harry de Longville, who was on picket duty when the early morning shootout started, fired the first shot that was possibly intended to be a warning that the government forces were approaching. John O'Neill, serving with the 40th Regiment, later recalled: The party had not advanced three hundred yards before we were seen by
14792-497: The flag as a symbol of defiance at Bakery Hill on 29 November 1854. It was then flown over the Eureka Stockade during the battle that resulted in at least 27 deaths. Around 120 miners were arrested, and many others were badly wounded, including five soldiers. The field is Prussian blue , measuring 260 by 400 centimetres (100 in × 160 in) (2:3.08 ratio) and made from a fine woollen fabric. The horizontal arm of
14964-508: The flag due to the uncertainty over its origins. It would remain in the custody of the King family for forty years until 1895 when it was lent to the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of Ballarat). John King's widow Isabella would post the flag after being approached by art gallery president James Oddie, along with a letter to the secretary which reads: Kingsley, Minyip, 1st October, 1895 Dear Sir, In connection with
15136-488: The flag held by the art gallery. Later that year, Fox visited Ballarat to inspect the flag, and the custodians gave him two more pieces. Fox self-published a booklet in 1963 that advanced his argument as to why the flag at the art gallery was authentic. It was probably due to Fox's interest that in 1963, the flag was transferred to a safe at the art gallery. Battle of the Eureka Stockade The Battle of
15308-475: The flag on a pole that was "now a sadly tattered flag from which souvenir hunters had cut and torn pieces". The morning after the battle, "the policeman who captured the flag exhibited it to the curious and allowed such as so desired to tear off small portions of its ragged end to preserve as souvenirs." At the Eureka state treason trials that began on 22 February 1855, the 13 defendants had it put to them that they did "traitorously assemble together against our Lady
15480-475: The flag. Professor Anne Beggs-Sunter thinks it is "likely that King read Withers's book, because he wrote to the Melbourne Public Library offering to sell the flag to that institution." The head librarian, Marcus Clarke, approached Peter Lalor to authenticate the flag. He was unable, replying, "Can you find someone whose memory is more accurate than mine?" The library eventually decided not to acquire
15652-416: The flag. The stars are made of delicate material, consistent with the story they were made out of their petticoats. The blue woollen fabric "certainly bears a marked resemblance to the standard dressmaker's length of material for making up one of the voluminous dresses of the 1850s" and also the blue shirts worn by the miners. In his seminal Flag of Stars , Frank Cayley published two sketches he discovered on
15824-577: The genocide thesis, arguing that the colonial authorities did not intend to destroy the Aboriginal population in whole or in part. Boyce has claimed that the April 1828 "Proclamation Separating the Aborigines from the White Inhabitants" sanctioned force against Aboriginal people "for no other reason than that they were Aboriginal". However, as Reynolds, Broome and Clements point out, there was open warfare at
15996-407: The goldfields to seek their fortune led to a chronic labour shortage that needed to be resolved. The response was a universal mining tax based on time stayed, rather than what was seen as the more equitable option, being an export duty levied only on gold found, meaning it was always designed to make life unprofitable for most prospectors. Licence inspections, known as "digger hunts", were treated as
16168-423: The government forces resumed their advance. The Victorian police contingent led the way over the top as the forlorn hope in a bayonet charge. Carboni says it was the pikemen who stood their ground that suffered the heaviest casualties, with Lalor ordering the musketeers to take refuge in the mine holes and crying out, "Pikemen, advance! Now for God's sake do your duty". There were twenty to thirty Californians at
16340-437: The heights to the old Canadian Gully, and there we shall make our final stand". On being brought to battle that day, Lalor stated: "we would have retreated, but it was then too late". On the eve of the battle, Father Smyth issued a plea for Catholics to down their arms and attend mass the following day. Rede planned to send the combined military police formation of 276 men under the command of Captain John Thomas to attack
16512-486: The hoisting of the diggers' flag on which should be the signal for calling together a meeting on any subject which might require immediate consideration." In 1885, John Wilson , whom the Victorian Works Department employed at Ballarat as a foreman, claimed that he had originally conceptualised the Eureka Flag after becoming sympathetic to the rebel cause. He then recalls that it was constructed from bunting by
16684-418: The hopes of being able to read the riot act to the rebels; however, he had no time before the commencement of hostilities. He later gave sworn testimony that: "No shots were fired by the military or the police previous to shots being fired from the stockade". Withers mentions an American rebel who claimed that: The Fortieth regiment was advancing, but had not as yet discharged a shot. We could now see plainly
16856-417: The infrastructure needed to support the expansion of the mining industry. The number of public servants, factory and farm workers leaving for the goldfields to seek their fortune led to a chronic labour shortage that needed to be resolved. The response was a universal mining tax based on time stayed, rather than what was seen as the more equitable option, being an export duty levied only on gold found, meaning it
17028-420: The intention of levying war against our said Lady the Queen". Called as a witness, George Webster, the chief assistant civil commissary and magistrate, testified that upon entering the stockade the besieging forces "immediately made towards the flag, and the police pulled down the flag". John King testified, "I took their flag, the southern cross, down – the same flag as now produced." In his closing submission,
17200-473: The island accounted for about half of all land under cultivation and exports. Tensions between Tasmania's Aboriginal and white inhabitants rose, partly driven by increasing competition for kangaroo and other game. Explorer and naval officer John Oxley in 1810 noted the "many atrocious cruelties" inflicted on Aboriginal people by convict bushrangers in the north, which in turn led to black attacks on solitary white hunters. Hostilities increased further with
17372-602: The island on 24 November 1642. Tasman named the island Anthony van Diemen's Land after his sponsor Anthony van Diemen , the Governor of the Dutch East Indies . The name was later shortened to Van Diemen's Land by the British. It was officially renamed Tasmania in honour of its first European discoverer on 1 January 1856. Tasmania was sometimes referred to as "Dervon", as mentioned in the Jerilderie Letter written by
17544-404: The island's nine nations; Nicholas Clements, citing research by N.J.B. Plomley and Rhys Jones , settled on a figure of 3,000 to 4,000. They engaged in fire-stick farming , hunted game including kangaroo and wallabies , caught seals, mutton-birds, shellfish and fish and lived as nine separate "nations" on the island, which they knew as "Trouwunna". The first reported sighting of Tasmania by
17716-525: The last temperate rain forests in the Southern Hemisphere . The Tarkine , containing Savage River National Park located in the island's far north west, is the largest temperate rainforest area in Australia covering about 3,800 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi). With its rugged topography, Tasmania has a great number of rivers. Several of Tasmania's largest rivers have been dammed at some point to provide hydroelectricity . Many rivers begin in
17888-466: The main reason why support for the armed rebellion collapsed. Support for the Eureka Rebellion fell away among those who were otherwise disposed to resist the military as word spread that the question of Irish home rule had become involved. There were miners from Bendigo, Forrest Creek, and Creswick who were converging on Ballarat to join the rebel garrison. The latter contingent was said to number
18060-524: The men of violence moved into the ascendancy. The rebels continued to fortify their position as 300-400 men arrived from Creswick's Creek, and Carboni recalls they were: "dirty and ragged, and proved the greatest nuisance. One of them, Michael Tuohy, behaved valiantly". Once foraging parties were organised, there was a rebel garrison of around 200 men. Amid the Saturday night revelry, low munitions, and major desertions, Lalor ordered that any man attempting to leave
18232-400: The military companies formed were gathered around the Eureka Flag. In the preceding weeks, the men of violence had already been aiming musket balls at the barely fortified government camp during the night. The rebels, under their commander-in-chief Peter Lalor , who had left Ireland for the gold fields of Australia, were led down the road from Bakery Hill to the ill-fated Eureka Stockade. It
18404-411: The military. Miners were often arrested for not carrying licences on their person because of the typically wet and dirty conditions in the mines, then subjected to such indignities as being chained to trees and logs overnight. In the years leading up to the Eureka Stockade, several mass public meetings were held to address the miner's grievances. The Bendigo Petition received over 5,000 signatures and
18576-409: The mines, then subjected to such indignities as being chained to trees and logs overnight. In the years leading up to the Eureka Stockade, several mass public meetings were held to address the miner's grievances. The Bendigo Petition received over 5,000 signatures and was presented to Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe by a miner's delegation in August 1853. There were also delegations received by
18748-589: The name is more properly applied to Cape Barren Island, which has had an official dual name of "Truwana" since 2014. A number of palawa kani names, based on historical records of aboriginal names, have been accepted by the Tasmanian government. A dozen of these (below) are 'dual-use' (bilingual) names, and another two are unbounded areas with only palawa names. There are also a number of archaeological sites with Palawa names. Some of these names have been contentious, with names being proposed without consultation with
18920-464: The news was received worldwide that, on top of several earlier finds, Thomas Hiscock , outside of Buninyong in central Victoria, had found still more deposits. As gold fever took hold, the colony's population increased from 77,000 in 1851 to 198,496 in 1853. Among this number was "a heavy sprinkling of ex-convicts, gamblers, thieves, rogues and vagabonds of all kinds". The local authorities soon found themselves with fewer police officers and lacking
19092-471: The northeast and east, continental granites can be seen, such as at Freycinet, similar to coastal granites on mainland Australia. In the northwest and west, mineral-rich volcanic rock can be seen at Mount Read near Rosebery , or at Mount Lyell near Queenstown . Also present in the south and northwest is limestone with caves. The quartzite and dolerite areas in the higher mountains show evidence of glaciation , and much of Australia's glaciated landscape
19264-805: The northernmost point on mainland Tasmania is approximately 40°38′26″S 144°43′33″E / 40.64056°S 144.72583°E / -40.64056; 144.72583 in Woolnorth / Temdudheker near Cape Grim / Kennaook . Tasmania lies at similar latitudes to Te Waipounamu / South Island of New Zealand and parts of Patagonia in South America. Areas at equivalent latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere include Hokkaido in Japan, Northeast China ( Manchuria ), Central Italy , and United States cities such as New York and Chicago . The most mountainous region
19436-464: The notorious Australian bushranger Ned Kelly in 1879. The colloquial expression for the state is "Tassie". Tasmania is also colloquially shortened to "Tas", mainly when used in business names and website addresses. TAS is also the Australia Post abbreviation for the state. In the constructed palawa kani language, the main island of Tasmania is called lutruwita , a name originally derived from
19608-501: The number of native attacks more than doubled each year, raising panic among settlers. Over the summer of 1826–1827 clans from the Big River, Oyster Bay and North Midlands nations speared stock-keepers on farms and made it clear that they wanted the settlers and their sheep and cattle to move from their kangaroo hunting grounds. Settlers responded vigorously, resulting in many mass-killings. In November 1826, Governor Sir George Arthur issued
19780-779: The oceans are used, the island can be said to be either surrounded by the Southern Ocean, or to have the Pacific on its east and the Indian to its west. Still other definitions of the ocean boundaries would have Tasmania with the Great Australian Bight to the west, and the Tasman Sea to the east. The southernmost point on mainland Tasmania is approximately 43°38′37″S 146°49′38″E / 43.64361°S 146.82722°E / -43.64361; 146.82722 at South East Cape , and
19952-526: The officer and hear his orders, when one of our men, Captain Burnette, stepped a little in front, elevated his rifle, took aim and fired. The officer fell. Captain Wise was his name. This was the first shot in the Ballarat war. It was said by many that the soldiers fired the first shot, but that is not true, as is well known to many. Withers also published an account of one of Lalor's captains who stated: "The first shot
20124-619: The officious way the system was enforced. The colony of Victoria was created on 1 July 1851 gaining autonomy within the British Empire after a decade of de facto independence from New South Wales . The Victorian constitution was awaiting a ratification by the Imperial parliament . An election for a provisional legislative council was held, with the chamber having 20 elected and ten appointed members subject to property-based franchise and membership requirements. Gold prospectors were offered 200 guineas for making discoveries within 320 kilometres (200 mi) of Melbourne . In August 1851,
20296-452: The operation with Lalor quoted as saying, "Courage, courage, take it off!". It was Doyle who, in May 1853, exclaimed, "Eureka!" as he found the first nuggets of gold near where the stockade was located by which the locality became known. Most of the killings happened after resistance by the rebels had slackened. The government forces destroyed tents and belongings without justification, bayoneting
20468-581: The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic ( SARS-CoV-2 ) and its spread to Australia, the Tasmanian government issued a public health emergency on 17 March, the following month receiving the state's most significant outbreak from the North-West which required assistance from the Federal government . In late 2021, Tasmania was leading the nationwide vaccination response. Tasmania, the largest island of Australia, has
20640-404: The owner, James Bently, who was deeply suspected of involvement, with the case being presided over by a police magistrate accused of having a conflict of interest. Then, there was an uproar over the arrest of Catholic Father Smyth's disabled Armenian servant, Johannes Gregorius. He was subjected to police brutality and false arrest for licence evasion even though it was revealed he was exempt from
20812-400: The population further. Of those removed from Tasmania, the last to die was Truganini , in 1876. The near-destruction of Tasmania's Aboriginal population has been described as an act of genocide by historians including Robert Hughes , James Boyce , Lyndall Ryan and Tom Lawson. However, other historians including Henry Reynolds , Richard Broome and Nicholas Clements do not agree with
20984-432: The possibility that the flag being carried by the prisoner had been souvenired from the flag pole as the routed garrison was fleeing the stockade. Amid the rising number of rebels absent without leave throughout 2 December, a contingent of 200 Americans under James McGill arrived at 4 pm. Styled as "The Independent Californian Rangers' Revolver Brigade", they had horses and were equipped with sidearms and Mexican knives. In
21156-537: The presence of Aboriginal people in Tasmania about 42,000 years ago. Rising sea levels cut Tasmania off from mainland Australia about 10,000 years ago and by the time of European contact, the Aboriginal people in Tasmania had nine major nations or ethnic groups. At the time of the British occupation and colonisation in 1803, the indigenous population was estimated at between 3,000 and 10,000. Historian Lyndall Ryan's analysis of population studies led her to conclude that there were about 7,000 spread throughout
21328-410: The present Constitution of Tasmania was enacted, and the following year the colony formally changed its name to Tasmania. In 1901, it became a state of Australia through the process of the federation of Australia . Today, Tasmania has the second smallest economy of the Australian states and territories , and comprises principally tourism, agriculture, aquaculture, education, and healthcare. Tasmania
21500-449: The rear. We were then placed between two fires, and further resistance was useless. In the area where the first contact was made, Carboni mentions: Here a lad was really courageous with his bugle. He took up boldly his stand to the left of the gully and in front: the red-coats 'fell in' in their ranks to the right of this lad. The wounded on the ground behind must have numbered a dozen. The rebels eventually ran short of ammunition, and
21672-404: The rebel dispositions along: The shepherds' holes inside the lower part of the stockade had been turned into rifle-pits, and were now occupied by Californians of the I.C. Rangers' Brigade, some twenty or thirty in all, who had kept watch at the 'outposts' during the night. The location of the stockade has been described by Eureka man John Lynch as "appalling from a defensive point of view" as it
21844-413: The rebels offered stiff resistance, with ranged fire coming from the Eureka Stockade garrison such that Thomas's best formation, the 40th Regiment, wavered and had to be rallied. Blake says this is "stark evidence of the effectiveness of the defender's fire". Despite Lalor's insistence that his standing orders to all but the riflemen were to engage at a distance of fifteen feet and that "the military fired
22016-417: The requirement. Gregorius was instead convicted of assaulting a constable and fined 5 pounds despite the court hearing testimony to the contrary. Eventually, the discontent began to spiral out of control. A mob of many thousands of aggrieved miners burned the Eureka Hotel on 17 October 1854. On 28 November, there was a skirmish as the approaching 12th Regiment (East Suffolk) had their wagon train looted in
22188-406: The site is a car park and was for a hundred years a school, with plans to develop it into an apartment block. After the oath-swearing ceremony, the rebels marched in double file behind the Eureka Flag from Bakery Hill to the Eureka lead, where construction of the stockade began. In his 1855 memoirs, Raffaello Carboni again mentions the role of Henry Ross, who "was our standard-bearer. He hoisted down
22360-460: The south of the Australian mainland , and is separated from it by the Bass Strait . The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world , and the surrounding 1000 islands . It is Australia's smallest and least populous state, with 573,479 residents as of June 2023 . The state capital and largest city is Hobart , with around 40% of the population living in
22532-418: The south side of Victoria Street, near Humffray Street, is the historic tree at which the pioneer diggers gathered in the days before the Eureka Stockade to discuss their grievances against the officialdom of the time." Reed called for the formation of a committee of citizens to "beautify the spot, and to preserve the tree stump" upon which Lalor addressed the assembled rebels during the oath swearing ceremony. It
22704-524: The southeast portions of the island are mostly dolerites. Mount Wellington above Hobart is a good example, showing distinct columns known as the Organ Pipes. In the southern midlands as far south as Hobart, the dolerite is underlaid by sandstone and similar sedimentary stones. In the southwest, Precambrian quartzites were formed from very ancient sea sediments and form strikingly sharp ridges and ranges, such as Federation Peak or Frenchmans Cap . In
22876-430: The spies reported to Rede. Common estimates for the size of the garrison at the time of the attack on 3 December range from 120 to 150 men. According to Lalor's reckoning: "There were about 70 men possessing guns, 30 with pikes and 30 with pistols, but many had no more than one or two rounds of ammunition. Their coolness and bravery were admirable when it is considered that the odds were 3 to 1 against". Lalor's command
23048-588: The spread of infectious diseases . The conflict, which peaked between 1825 and 1831 and led to more than three years of martial law, cost the lives of almost 1,100 Aboriginal people and settlers. Under British rule, the island was initially part of the Colony of New South Wales ; however, it became a separate colony under the name Van Diemen's Land (named after Anthony van Diemen ) in 1825. Approximately 80,000 convicts were sent to Van Diemen's Land before this practice, known as transportation , ceased in 1853. In 1855,
23220-584: The state government announced plans to flood environmentally significant Lake Pedder . As a result of the eventual flooding of Lake Pedder, the world's first green party was established; the United Tasmania Group . National and international attention surrounded the campaign against the Franklin Dam in the early 1980s. Tasmanian Enid Lyons became the first female member of the House of Representatives at
23392-427: The stockade as either rectangular or semi-circular. Testimony was heard at the high treason trials for the Eureka rebels that the stockade was four to seven feet high in places and was unable to be negotiated on horseback without being reduced. Hotham feared that the goldfield's terrain would greatly favour the rebel snipers. Rede would instead order an early morning surprise attack on the rebel camp. Carboni details
23564-469: The stockade be shot. The Argus newspaper of 4 December 1854 reported that the Union Jack "had" to be hoisted underneath the Eureka Flag at the stockade and that both flags were in possession of the foot police. Among those willing to credit the first report of the battle as being true and correct it has been theorised that the hoisting of a Union Jack at the stockade was possibly an 11th-hour response to
23736-457: The stockade during the battle. After the rebel garrison had already begun to flee and all hope was lost a number of them gamely joined in the final melee bearing their trademark colt revolvers. At the height of the battle, Lalor's left arm was shattered by a bullet which later required amputation. He was hidden under some slabs before being secreted out of Ballarat to hide as an outlaw with supporters. Golden Point local Dr Timothy Doyle performed
23908-496: The terms "captain" and "lieutenant" were used interchangeably within the Eureka Stockade garrison. The front cover of Raffaello Carboni's 1855 The Eureka Stockade features a rendition of the Eureka Flag with diamond-shaped stars and the words "When Ballarat unfurled the Southern Cross, the bearer was Toronto's Captain Ross". Yet Peter Lalor's casualty list records "Lieutenant Ross" as "wounded and since dead". It appears that Frederick Vern
24080-458: The time as the Australian flag. The day after the battle, the Age reported that: "They assembled round the Australian flag, which has now a permanent flag-staff." The Geelong Advertiser stated, "The following remarkable scene at the inauguration of the 'Australian flag', and the organisation of the first 'rebel army' in these colonies" and that "The 'Australian Flag', it appears, has been captured from
24252-577: The time of the 150th anniversary in 2004 by Ballarat MP Catherine King , to give legal standing to the Eureka Flag under the Flags Act and to reserve it for more progressive causes. The Eureka Flag is listed as an object of significance on the Victorian Heritage Register and was designated as a Victorian icon by the National Trust of Australia in 2006. The "King" fragments are part of
24424-461: The time. Boyce described the decision to remove all Tasmanian Aboriginal people after 1832—by which time they had given up their fight against white colonists—as an extreme policy position. He concluded: "The colonial government from 1832 to 1838 ethnically cleansed the western half of Van Diemen's Land." Nevertheless, Clements and Flood note that there was another wave of violence in north-west Tasmania in 1841, involving attacks on settlers' huts by
24596-403: The vicinity of the Eureka lead, where the rebels ultimately made their last stand. The next day, the Eureka Flag appeared on the platform for the first time, and mining licences were burnt at the final fiery mass meeting of the Ballarat Reform League – the miner's lobby. The league's founding charter proclaims that "it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he
24768-421: The volunteers." In a despatch dated 20 December 1854, Lieutenant-Governor Charles Hotham said: "The disaffected miners ... held a meeting whereat the Australian flag of independence was solemnly consecrated and vows offered for its defence." In the subsequent Ballarat Times report of the oath-swearing ceremony, it was stated that: During the whole of the morning several men were busily employed in erecting
24940-409: The wall of the Stockade on the south-west, and I then saw a policeman climb the flag pole. When up about 12 or 14 feet the pole broke, and he came down with a run." John Lynch, who fought at the Eureka Stockade, said: "I have a vague recollection of its being pulled down by the soldiers amidst a chorus of jeers and ribald shoutings. A private of the 40th Regiment told myself and other prisoners that he
25112-501: The way over the top as the forlorn hope in a bayonet charge. The earliest mention of a flag was the report of a meeting held on 23 October 1854 to discuss indemnifying Andrew McIntyre and Thomas Fletcher, who had both been arrested and committed for trial over the burning of the Eureka Hotel. The correspondent for the Melbourne Herald stated: "Mr. Kennedy suggested that a tall flag pole should be erected on some conspicuous site,
25284-478: The white cross on which the stars are arrayed is "really an Irish cross rather than being [a] configuration of the Southern Cross ". Cayley has stated that the field "may have been inspired by the sky, but was more probably intended to match the blue shirts worn by the diggers". Norm D'Angri theorises that the Eureka Flag was hastily manufactured, and the number of points on the stars is a mere convenience as eight
25456-470: The wish of the president of the Ballarat Fine Arts and Public Gallery for the gift or loan of the flag that floated above the Eureka Stockade, I have much pleasure in offering loan of flag to the above association on condition that I may get it at any time I specify, or on demand of myself or my son, Arthur King. The main portion of the flag was torn along the rope that attached it to the staff, but there
25628-410: The wounded and targeting non-combatants. The Commission of Inquiry would later find that: The foot police appear, as a body, to have conducted themselves with creditable temper; but assuredly, on the part of the mounted division of that force there seems to have been a needless as well as ruthless sacrifice of human life, indiscriminate of innocent or guilty, and after all resistance had disappeared with
25800-462: Was "the easiest to construct without using normal drawing instruments". Before the oath-swearing ceremony at Bakery Hill on 30 November 1854, another recorded hoisting of the Eureka Flag occurred that day. In his open letter to the colonists of Victoria, dated 7 April 1855, Peter Lalor said that he heard the news that shots were fired on miners at the Gravel Pits. Along with an armed mob, he then headed towards Barker and Hunt's store on Specimen Hill. It
25972-493: Was a paramilitary display on Bakery Hill. The oath-swearing ceremony took place as the military companies formed were gathered around the Eureka Flag. In the preceding weeks, the men of violence had already been aiming musket balls at the barely fortified government camp during the night. Captain John Thomas led the attack on the Eureka Stockade, with Captain Charles Pasley as his second in command. The government forces at
26144-523: Was a crude "higgledy piggledy" battlement erected between 30 November and 2 December that consisted of diagonal spikes and overturned horse carts. In the ensuing battle that left at least 22 rebels and seven soldiers dead, the stockade was besieged and captured by the advancing government forces. They briefly wavered, with the 40th Regiment (2nd Somersetshire) having to be rallied amid a short, sharp exchange of ranged fire lasting around 15 minutes at dawn on Sunday, 3 December. The Victorian police contingent led
26316-411: Was a false alarm from the picket line during the night. The subsequent roll call revealed there had been a sizable desertion that Lynch says "ought to have been seriously considered, but it was not". It is certain that Irish-born people were strongly represented at the Eureka Stockade. Most of the rebels inside the stockade at the time of the battle were Irish, and the area where the defensive position
26488-425: Was a skirmish as the approaching 12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot had their wagon train looted in the vicinity of the Eureka lead, where the rebels ultimately made their last stand. The next day, the Eureka Flag appeared on the platform for the first time. Mining licences were burnt at the final fiery mass meeting of the Ballarat Reform League – the miner's lobby. The league's founding charter proclaims that "it
26660-419: Was adjoined to the mainland of Australia until the end of the last glacial period about 11,700 years ago. Much of the island is composed of Jurassic dolerite intrusions (the upwelling of magma ) through other rock types, sometimes forming large columnar joints. Tasmania has the world's largest areas of dolerite, with many distinctive mountains and cliffs formed from this rock type. The central plateau and
26832-461: Was also more commonly known as a rebel "colonel" instead. A number of people who played key roles in the Eureka Rebellion and were defending the Eureka Stockade at some point lived in tents situated outside the stockade and were on assignment or otherwise absent when the surprise attack took place on Sunday morning, 3 December 1854. Following the oath swearing and Eureka Flag raising ceremony on Bakery Hill, about 1,000 rebels marched in double file to
27004-402: Was always designed to make life unprofitable for most prospectors. Licence inspections, known as "digger hunts", were treated as a great sport and "carried out in the style of an English fox-hunt" by mounted officials who received a fifty per cent commission from any fines imposed. Many recruits were former prisoners from Tasmania and prone to brutal means, having been sentenced to serve in
27176-616: Was based on a design used by the French-speaking majority of the colony of the Province of Canada at the time Ross emigrated. Ballarat local historian Father Tom Linane thought women from the St Aliphius chapel on the goldfields might have made the flag. This theory is supported by St. Aliphius raising a blue and white ecclesiastical flag featuring a couped cross to signal that mass was about to commence. Professor Geoffrey Blainey believed that
27348-431: Was established was overwhelmingly populated by Irish miners. Blainey has advanced the view that the white cross of the Eureka Flag is "really an Irish cross rather than being [a] configuration of the Southern Cross". In 2009, military historian Gregory Blake advanced the theory that two flags may have been flown on the day of the battle, as the miners were claiming to be defending their British rights. Blake leaves open
27520-415: Was fired from our party, and the military answered by a volley at 100 paces distance". Lynch recalled the course of the battle, saying: A shot from our encampment was taken for a declaration of war, and instantaneously answered by a fusilade of musketry ... The advance of the infantry was arrested for a moment; our left was being unprotected, the troopers seized the advantage, wheeled round, and took us in
27692-537: Was here the Eureka Flag "was procured and hoisted on the flagstaff belonging to Barker and Hunt; but it was almost immediately hauled down, and we moved down to the holes on the Gravel Pits Flat." John Wilson claimed to have enlisted the help of prisoners to procure the flag pole on Bakery Hill. He said that it was 60 feet (18 m) long and felled from an area known as Byle's Swamp in Bullarook Forest. Then it
27864-449: Was one of those who rough handled it." Theophilus Williams, a Justice of the Peace and later Mayor of Ballarat East, had a tent situated 300 yards away from the Eureka Stockade. He said that he was prepared to "affirm on affidavit that he saw two red uniformed soldiers haul down the flag". Carboni, an eyewitness to the battle, recalls that: "A wild 'hurrah!' burst out and 'the Southern Cross'
28036-526: Was permanently settled by Europeans in 1803 as a penal settlement of the British Empire to prevent claims to the land by the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars . The Aboriginal population is estimated to have been between 3,000 and 7,000 at the time of British settlement, but was almost wiped out within 30 years during a period of conflicts with settlers known as the " Black War " and
28208-441: Was presented to Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe by a miner's delegation in August 1853. There were also delegations received by the Ballarat gold commissioner Robert William Rede and La Trobe's successor Charles Hotham in October and November 1854. The ever-present "physical force" faction of the mining tax protest movement gained the ascendancy over those who advocated " moral force ", including John Basson Humffray , after
28380-554: Was put in a glass case alongside the sword of Captain Wise in October 1934, which she described as an "unlikely juxtaposition". When peace activist Egon Kisch visited the gallery the following year, he wrote that the Eureka monument "heroes and minions of the law, fighters and executioners ... on the same level". The Eureka Flag remained unauthenticated at the art gallery. After being told about it by his friend Rem McClintock in December 1944, Sydney journalist Len Fox, who worked with
28552-476: Was reported that the stump had "been securely fenced in, and the enclosed area is to be planted with floriferous trees. The spot is adjacent to Eureka, which is famed alike for the stockade fight and for the fact that the Welcome Nugget (sold for £10,500) was discovered in 1858 within a stone's throw of it." The modern-day address of the oath-swearing ceremony is likely 29 St Paul's Way, Bakery Hill. As of 2016,
28724-434: Was riddled with informants, and Rede was kept well advised of his movements, particularly through the work of government agents Henry Goodenough and Andrew Peters, who were embedded in the rebel garrison. Initially outnumbering the government camp considerably, Lalor had already devised a strategy where "if the government forces come to attack us, we should meet them on the Gravel Pits, and if compelled, we should retreat by
28896-559: Was set into an abandoned mineshaft, and his design of "five white stars on a blue ground, floated gaily in the breeze". The Ballarat Times first mentioned the Eureka Flag on 24 November 1854 in an article about a meeting of the Ballarat Reform League to be held the following Wednesday where, "The Australian flag shall triumphantly wave in the sunshine of its own blue and peerless sky, over thousands of Australia's adopted sons." There are also other examples of it being referred to at
29068-457: Was situated on "a gentle slope, which exposed a sizeable portion of its interior to fire from nearby high ground". In the early hours of 1 December, the rebels were observed to be massing on Bakery Hill, but a government raiding party found the area vacated. The riot act was read to a mob that had gathered around Bath's Hotel, with mounted police breaking up the unlawful assembly. A three-man miner's delegation met with Commissioner Rede to present
29240-440: Was subjected to police brutality and false arrest for licence evasion, even though it was revealed he was exempt from the requirement. Gregorious was instead convicted of assaulting a constable and fined 5 pounds , despite the court hearing testimony to the contrary. The discontent began to spiral out of control when a mob of many thousands of aggrieved miners burned the Eureka Hotel on 17 October 1854. On 28 November 1854, there
29412-486: Was to provide covering fire from one end, with mounted police covering the flanks. Enemy contact began at approximately 150 yards as the two columns of regular infantry and the contingent of foot police moved into position. According to Gregory Blake, the fighting in Ballarat on 3 December 1854 was not one-sided and full of indiscriminate murder by the colonial forces. In his memoirs, one of Lalor's captains, John Lynch, mentions "some sharp shooting". For at least 10 minutes,
29584-503: Was torn down, I should say, among their laughter, such as if it had been a prize from a May-pole ... The red-coats were now ordered to 'fall in'; their bloody work was over, and were marched off, dragging with them the 'Southern Cross'." The Geelong Advertiser reported that the flag "was carried by in triumph to the Camp, waved about in the air, then pitched from one to another, thrown down and trampled on". The soldiers also danced around
#415584