Difference between revisions of "Bendigo Goldfields Petition"
Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
Your Petitioners would also remind your Excellency that a Petition is the only mode by which they can submit their wants to your Excellency's consideration as although they contribute more to the Exchequer that half the Revenue of the Colony they are the largest class of Her Majesty's Subjects in the Colony unrepresented<br/> | Your Petitioners would also remind your Excellency that a Petition is the only mode by which they can submit their wants to your Excellency's consideration as although they contribute more to the Exchequer that half the Revenue of the Colony they are the largest class of Her Majesty's Subjects in the Colony unrepresented<br/> | ||
And your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray etc.]] | And your Petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray etc.]] | ||
− | |||
[[File:IMG_0286-wiki.jpg|1000px|thumb|right|''Red Ribbon Movement Monument in Rosalind Park, Bendigo [detail], 2013.'' Ballarat Heritage Services Picture Collection]] | [[File:IMG_0286-wiki.jpg|1000px|thumb|right|''Red Ribbon Movement Monument in Rosalind Park, Bendigo [detail], 2013.'' Ballarat Heritage Services Picture Collection]] | ||
Revision as of 18:08, 9 March 2019
Signed in or around Bendigo
Contents
Background
Once thought to be lost, the Bendigo Goldfields Petition was discovered by chance lying in a pile of papers on a rubbish tip. Some 13 metres in length and bound in green silk, it’s a milestone document in the state’s history.[1]
The petition was signed by over 5000 diggers on the Victorian goldfields in mid-1853. At the time, the signatures represented about one in 12 diggers.[2]
In June 1853 an anti-gold licence association was formed at Bendigo to give voice to the diggers' many grievances about their conditions. The diggers were angry about the mining licence fees imposed by the government and the system by which they were collected.[3]
The petition was signed by miners across the state’s major goldfields and was brought to Melbourne and presented to Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe on 01 August 1853. Most of its demands, including the reduction in the licence fee, were rejected. Eventually the diggers' dissatisfaction erupted, culminating in the Eureka Stockade uprising at Ballarat on 3 December 1854.[4]
Two women signed the petition - Florence Foley and Sarah Williamson.
Dr John Chapman, a Melbourne collector, purchased the petition from its discoverer and presented it to the State Library of Victoria in 1988. Its discovery is particularly valuable for historians and genealogists investigating the history of social and political events during the gold rushes in Victoria.[5]
Alphabetical Listings
See also
Further Reading
References
- ↑ http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/our-collections/treasures-curios/bendigo-goldfields-petition, accessed 06 December 2013.
- ↑ http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/our-collections/treasures-curios/bendigo-goldfields-petition, accessed 06 December 2013.
- ↑ http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/our-collections/treasures-curios/bendigo-goldfields-petition, accessed 06 December 2013.
- ↑ http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/our-collections/treasures-curios/bendigo-goldfields-petition, accessed 06 December 2013.
- ↑ http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/our-collections/treasures-curios/bendigo-goldfields-petition, accessed 06 December 2013.
External links
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/our-collections/treasures-curios/bendigo-goldfields-petition