ON THE WALLABY- 3rd January 2006

” We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties – The Diggers Oath, sworn at Bakery Hill, Ballarat Victoria on the 30th November 1854, 4 days before the Eureka Stockade rebellion”

There it was in front of me.

In a dimly lit viewing room, enclosed behind glass, was the object that had occupied a considerable part of my passion for Australian history and politics – the original Eureka Flag (or what remains of it) that flew that historic and fateful day of the 3rd December 1854.

I believe the Eureka Stockade rebellion, where some 150 ill prepared miners took on 296 well armed soldiers of the 40th Foot Regiment (with the outcome already guaranteed, as you can well imagine), was one of the most important political events in the history of Australia for it established the Australian psyche of “a fair go for all” and “standing up for your mates” that has seen Australia so much admired across the globe for fairness and integrity.

Over 30 men, mostly miners, were killed in the clash and more than 120 were arrested.

It was, however, a classic case of losing the battle but winning the war for shortly after, when 13 miners were sent to trial by the Crown for “High Treason”, all were acquitted, the first time the Crown had been defeated in such a legal case and in doing so, set in train events that were to shape Australia politically forever.

The miners stood up for, as itemised in the Charter of the Ballarat Reform League, the following beliefs, all of which now are part of Australian law.

These included:-

• the removal of the iniquitous Gold License that was causing much financial hardship to the miners and physical harm through it’s administration by the Gold Commissioners and Police.

• The right to vote for the people who would govern them

• The right to be represented in Parliament

• The removal of the requirement that to be a Member of Parliament an individual was required to own property.

Such was the commotion caused by the general public over the treatment meted out to the miners by the soldiers and Police at Eureka that the aims as itemised above were made part of law and, as I wrote earlier, the Australian ethos of mateship, standing up for your mate and speaking out against injustice was firmly rooted in the then Colony, and later nations, psyche, even if the current federal government have seemingly done their best to reverse that.

The miners were a polyglot of world citizens with them being drawn from native born Australians and countries such as Canada, Corsica, England, France, Germany/Prussia, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States of America, Wales and the West Indies so it was no wonder that passion flowed through their veins!

The Eureka Flag can be seen at the magnificent Fine Art Gallery of Ballarat in Lydiard Street (in the city centre) and which is rated amongst the 5 top Galleries in Australia.

The Eureka Centre is located on the site of the Stockade in Eureka Street and a tour of it, especially their “Contemplation Space” is excellent and only a few minutes from the Fine Art Gallery.

At the Eureka Centre, it was most rewarding to see on display some of the projects done by school children on the Eureka Stockade. Hopefully that signals that our youth are learning of the event and it’s ramifications and maybe, probably long after I am buried at sea, this country will have the courage to replace the Union Jack dominated national flag with one, such as the Eureka Flag, that displays fully and proudly to the world of just who we are, where we have come from and what we stand for.

Given my passion for the Eureka Flag and what it stands for, I would welcome any opportunity to address school children (and adults) on the subject.

The photo above, of the Eureka and Australian national flag flying together, was taken on Sydney Harbour Bridge on the 3rd December 2004 in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade. If you would like a copy to use as a screen saver or some other purpose, please email me at tony@fountainandco.com. Carpe diem

Tony

Tony Fountain

Professional Speaker, auctioneer and author

Sydney NSW Australia

If you would like to subscribe a friend or colleague to these free “On the Wallaby” email bulletins, click here and place their email address in the subscription box .