John Randell

Notes

...There were differing inspirations in the men on the golidfields justifying the distinction I am trying to make clear between, enmity to the Ballarat administration and to the Government. The action of the Creswick diggers is a case in point. This part of the story was told to me by John Randell, whom Creswick and Ballarat people knew well. It is said that on the Eureka Sunday, morning, a band of Creswick diggers was on the road to help Peter Lalor. 'We had no trouble at Creswick," said John Randell, "though we had the same tax and disliked it just as much as the Ballarat diggers. We had a good Commissioner at Creswick. He was a young English man, who knew how to manage men. We had no digger hunts, but we had our inspections of licenses. We always knew when an inspection was to be made, because the young Commissioner rode through the field. He would stop here and there and chat with the diggers, ask them how they were doing, and as he went away, he would say, "I hope you all have your licenses ready." That meant to get them ready for next day. "We had no trouble at Creswick,' said Mr Randell "Why", he continued, "we offered the Commissioner men to defend the camp, and stored our gold there for safety.' And yet Creswick was sending men to help the diggers at Ballarat. The moral of the story is that the main current of public opinion understood the movement as a redress of a grievance and neither the flag of the "Republic.' nor treason seriously entered the minds of the digger. ...

Further Reading

Corfield, J., Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.

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