Eureka Site

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Eureka Site Plan, 1870 This plan shows Stockyard Hill, The Orphan Asylum, and the Free Trade Hotel

The Stockade

There was a good deal of misunderstanding about the nature and object of the Stockade. it was never intended as a means of defense. It was the flimsiest construction ever seen. It was composed of slabs 4 feet 4 inches long, placed at a distance apart in the ground, and leaning together at the top, forming a Ʌ on a sectional view. It offered no resisting power whatever, and when rushed it collapsed like the shutting up of a book. The chief object of the Stockade was to keep undesirable people from interfering with the work of drilling, and to form a rallying place for the men who had taken the oath. there is not doubt the men expected to have to defend themselves here, and were determined to do so if necessary, but there seems have been no definite plan of action beyond that of passive resistance, and waiting fro a movement to be made from the camp. That this movement would be made , and that it would necessitate a fight, was beyond doubt, and was equally doubt that the revolutionary element was determined to bring the conflict about. [1]
Charles A. Doudiet, The Battlefield - Red Hill (From Post Office Hill), 1854, watercolour, pen and ink on paper.
Courtesy Art Gallery of Ballarat, purchased by the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery with the assistance of many donors, 1996.

Stockade Lines of Vision

Alfred W. Crowe was on of the moral force party, and a strong supporter of J.B. Humffray. He wrote in his diary:

This morning (December 3rd) at daybreak I was awakened by a heavy roll of musketry. Half-dressed, I ran to the top of Specimen Hill. A heavy cloud of smoke rested over the Stockade, through which could be seen the constant flashing of firearms, and the whirr of volley from the troops could be heard. My first impression was that it was an attack by the Stockaders on the troops expected from Melbourne. As daylight increased the redcoats became visible at the back of the Stockade. Troopers were riding and dashing in every direction at headlong speed, and occasionally shots showed that the work of slaughter had not yet ceased. I walked to the site of the notorious Eureka Hotel, where I could distinctly see the proceeding. The troopers still continued chasing the unfortunate wretches who showed themselves, and mercy was not much though of if they attempted to save themselves by flight. A crowd of prisoners were huddled together, surrounded by the military, and several drays were there for carrying away the wounded. The troopers slowly march back to the camp, taking the wounded and Prisoners with them. Every point that commanded a view of the proceedings were taken advantage of by a large number of spectators. Hundreds lined the sides of Black Hill. It would have been an interesting sight were it not for the awful sacrifice of life, which had taken place on that lovely Sabbath morn. [2]


The Eureka Cement Company, whose works are situated near the old London Hotel and the site of the Stockade ground, afford another instance of the utilisation of stuff that, in the prime days of the "ould Eureka," was thrown away as worthless. ... [3]


FIFTIETH. ANNIVERSARY. EUREKA STOCKADE STORY. INCIDENTS IN DIGGINGS LIFE.
The discontent culminated in a monster meeting on Bakery Hill on Wednesday November 20th, at which from 8000 to 10000 were present. The insurgent flag was run up-the stars of the Southern Cross on a blue ground-and it was resolved to burn the licenses, and pay the obnoxious tax no more. A fire was lit, and the diggers filed past and threw their licenses into the flames. J.B. Humffray, the leader of the peace party, and his friends seceded from the movement. Peter Lalor, the hero of the Eureka fight, addressed the crowd. Hehad not taken a prominent part in urging them to resistance, but he saw clearly that a conflict was inevitable, and method, and organisation of the insurgents was wanted. Ha urged the diggers to swear allegiance to the cause, and enrol themselves, so that some measure of discipline mipht be se cured. His earnestness impressed the men, and be was unanimously elected leader.
Next day - Thursday - the authorities unwisely organised anothor digger hunt - the last held in Victoria. It was bitterly resented. Arms and ammunition were requisitioned on the authority of Lalor and his officers. Drilling proceeded vigorously. Blacksmiths hammered away at pikes - rude weapons like a billhook fastened on the end of stringy-bark saplings. The stockade, a rough barricade, enclosing about an acre of ground, on the Eureka lead, behind where the Orphan Asylum now stands, was made Lalor's headquarters. The barricade was a flimsy affair, constructed of slabs stuck on end, brush wood, and whatever could be obtained handy. It enclosed several tents, stores, and windlass claims, and appears to have been designed to conceal the operations of the head quarters staff rather than as a fort, in spite of Lalor's untiring efforts it it was difficult to enforce discipline. Men came and went freely, and all that happened was known to the commissioner. The diggers knew that another large reinforcement of troops from Melbourne was expected, and they believed they were secure until these arrived.
Captain Thomas, the officer in command of the military forces at the camp, realising that the diggers had been lulled into a false sense of security resolved on a surprise attack. On Sunday morning, December 3rd, just before daybreak, he led out his men (276) and stole silently to the gully between Cattle Yard Hill and the hill which Rodier-street now bisects, and wheeled round on the stockade, near the Free Trade Hotel, which was kept by Lester (afterwards of Lester's Hotel Sturt street). It was bright moonlight, and just breaking dawn Lalor's pickets sighted the red coats, and fired, and were answered by a volley from the troops. It is generally agreed there were not more than 300 men in the stockade at the time. Many of these were asleep. Numbers had only the clumsy pikes for arms. A few volleys and then the charge, and tee barricade fell like a pack of cards, and the fight was over in 25 or 30 minutes from the time the first shot was fired.
Fourteen of the diggers were killed outright, or subsequently died of their wounds, and 12 others were wounded, and a great batch of prisoners were taken. Lalor had his left arm smashed with a bullet. He was hidden under a pile of slabs, and escaped. Some days later his arm was amputated, and he was conveyed to Geelong, and kept in hiding until a general pardon was granted to those who had taken part in the episode. Two hundred pounds reward was offered for Lalor and the same amount for Black, and £500 for Vern who was concealed for week's in a diggers tent near Eureka. The loyalty of the digger's was such that none of the leaders were betrayed.
Captain Wise, second in command of the soldiers, was killed by one of the first shots fired from the stockade. Three privates were also killed, while several were badly wounded, one subsequently dying. The diggers were buried in one grave in the old Ballarat Cemetery, and a monument, presented by Mr. James Leggatt, of Geelong, erected over it in 1836. The soldiers were buried in the same cemetery close by, and the Victorian Government erected a monument to mark their grave in 1879.[4]

Witness Statements

Trooper Henry Goodenough gave evidence against James Beattie, stating he arrested him at the London Hotel, about one hundred yards from the stockade.[5]

Also See

Eureka Treason Trial Map - [1]

Eureka Monument

London Hotel


Other Sites

http://bih.ballarat.edu.au/index.php/Eureka_Cement_Co.

References

  1. From Tent To Parliament, Berry Anderson & Co., Ballarat, p19-20.
  2. From Tent To Parliament, Berry Anderson & Co., Ballarat.
  3. Ballarat Star, 16 November 1860.
  4. Charleville Times, 31 December 1904
  5. The Argus, 11 December 1854.