The Eureka Sockade Essay, Research Paper

The Eureka Stockade, which took place on Ballarat in 1854, can be seen as

speeding up the process of democracy and self-government, but it cannot be classed as a

turning point in Australia s history. The colonies were already on the track of democracy

when the Eureka Stockade took place. However, the Eureka Stockade did make an

impact on society. The Eureka Stockade could take responsibility for giving birth to the

union movement and plant the seeds of what would eventually become the labour

movement. The Eureka Stockade was very popular with the people of the colony, and this

in itself had a large impact on the colony, it did not influence the colony enough to class

the events of the Eureka Stockade in 1854 as a turning point in Australia s history.

The new Victorian constitution had already been sent to England before the

Eureka Stockade took place, therefore it cannot take credit for setting in motion, self-

government, because it had already started. The constitution was sent to England in

March 1854 , the Eureka Stockade did not take place until December of the same year,

meaning that the process of self-government had been put in place eight months prior to

the stockade. The Eureka Stockade had no real impact on the implementation of a self-

governing body in the colony of Victoria.

Democracy in the colonies was accelerated by the Eureka Stockade, but it was not

started by it . The colony was slowly starting to move in the direction of democracy as

the colony was slowly starting to become fed up with corrupt leaders and not having their

say in matters that concerned them. It was the miners that were the most fed up with the

leaders of the Victorian colony, as the police were corrupt and they thought it was very

unfair that they were charged so much so often for their mining licences. This contempt

for the current system culminated in the Eureka Stockade. The democratic sentiments

were already there, the miners were just the first ones to act on them. This did make the

process of implementing democracy in Victoria faster, as the leaders were worried that

another rebellion could break out, if they didn t give them a chance to have their say and

decide what they want for the colony. Another rebellion was highly likely from the

amount of support the leaders of the Eureka Stockade were getting from other members

of the colony. However, this impact on the acceleration of democracy in Victoria cannot

be called a turning point, because the stockade did not cause radical changes, it just

accelerated the process.

As stated earlier, the Eureka Stockade did have an impact on the people of the

colony. When the leaders of the stockade were on trial for high treason, a crime

punishable by death, the juries in Melbourne refused to convict them, as was reported in

the Melbourne newspaper, The Argus in 1855 . The people of the colony believed in

what the miners did. The miners stood up for their rights, and because of this, the people

of colony believed they could do this also, and in part, by acquitting the leaders of the

stockade, they were standing up for their rights and showing that they were no longer

going to put up with not having a say about their future and the future of the colony. Peter

Lalor, the main leader of the stockade, was even voted in to the Victorian Parliament as

the member for Ballarat in 1856. This formed the basis of what was to come in the

colonies. The people managed to get their say about public affairs, but it cannot be said

that the Eureka Stockade was the direct reason for this happening. There were other

factors concerned, one being that it was inevitable that Australia was going to head down

this path, and for this reason it cannot be said that the Eureka Stockade was a turning

point in Australia s history. Some writers believed that the Eureka Stockade was a small

revolution. One notable writer being Mark Twain, who wrote;

The Ballarat miners protested, petitioned and complained – it was of no use; the Government held its ground, and went on collecting the tax. And not by pleasant methods… By and by there was a result; and I think it may be called the finest thing in Australian history. It was a revolution – small in size, but great politically; it was a strike for liberty, a struggle for a principle, a stand against injustice and oppression… It is another instance of a victory won by a lost battle. It adds an honourable page to history; the people know it and are proud of it. They keep green the memory of the men who fell at the Eureka Stockade.

However, time has shown that the Eureka Stockade did not have as large an impact as

Twain is referring to. There is credit in what he has said, but, there is very little evidence

that the Eureka Stockade created all these changes on its own. The Eureka Stockade was

the accelerating force in the process, but it was not the origin of it. The stockade cannot

be classed as a turning point.

The miners at Eureka could be considered as Australia s first union. In this way,

the stockade was a new phenomenon. The leaders of the colonies had never faced such an

organised protest against them. The miners had to take a pledge of allegiance to the

Southern Cross:

We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other, and

fight to defend our rights and liberties.

The miners at Ballarat were fighting for better conditions at their workplace much like

the unions of today. In this perspective, the events at Ballarat were a turning point in

Australia s history, as unions have been commonplace to defend the rights of workers

against the government, and protests have also occurred to get what they want, albeit less

bloody. The men at Sovereign Hill formed the country s first union, and unions since

have followed this in similar form. The Eureka Stockade showed the people of the

colonies that it was possible to get the leaders to pay attention and for them to change

things for the better. In part, this made the Eureka Stockade a turning point, but not to any

major extent, but this would be one of the most important legacies that the stockade left.

There are some aspects of the colony and the country in general that changed for

the better after the Eureka Stockade, but not enough was changed on a large scale to be

able to call the Eureka Stockade a turning point. Many elements that the Eureka Stockade

influenced were already set in motion before the stockade had taken place, and in many

cases, such as in the implementing of democratic policies, it just accelerated the process.

The stockade and its leaders did enjoy a lot of public support, and it did enhance

democratic feelings, and more people started standing up for their rights, this in itself was

not enough to consider the Eureka Stockade as a turning point. The only real lasting

effect that the Eureka Stockade was the basis for the union movement in Australia. This

is the only aspect that is in favour of the Eureka Stockade being classed as a turning

point, but again, this is not sufficient enough to warrant the stockade to be called a

turning point. Overall, although the Eureka Stockade had an impact on the colony,

historians usually exaggerate the importance of the stockade. It was not a turning point in

the history of Australia, and it should not be considered as one.