The Eureka Stockade Signaled a Bold New Era within Australian History - Essay Example

? Introduction The Eureka stockade signalled a bold new era within Australian history. The Eureka rebellion the initial concrete affirmation of Australians’ determination to become masters of their own political destiny as it represented a struggle against oppression and injustice. The event originated from demands for fair treatment and justice for gold miners, but also adopted political aspects of great significance as the crossroads to progression to a democratic state. The revolt sought to free enterprise from the burdensome taxation. Although, the miners lost the battle, they succeeded in gaining greater equality for the miners including the abolition of the License and Gold Commission, as well as the vote for all males. The Eureka stockade can be regarded as the birthplace of Australia’s political system as marked the inception of the right to vote, political equality, and freedom of speech.1 The Eureka revolution represented an earnest attempt at democratic government. The paper maintains that the miners who staged the Eureka rebellion were mainly motivated by democratic ideals, by values and principles against injustice and oppression. Background The gold can be regarded to have been a social transformer, a democratic mineral given that whoever who found had cash in their hands. In order to maintain control on the colony’s critical pastoral industry and preserve its conventional values, Governor La Trobe instituted an emergency system where commissioners enjoyed both judicial and executive powers. This set the stage for the confrontation as the military and the police transformed into an arbitrary force, whose decisions almost unchallenged. A heavy tax as imposed on all individuals who went to dig in an effort to deter men from leaving their regular employment, especially within the pastoral industry. Furthermore, the diggers bought the license at a high price, more than what the squatters paid to graze sheep. Unsurprisingly, the license tax was opposed right from its inception and the majority of the colony’s men condemned the tax and the manner in which the police enforce the tax.2 The failure by the conservative legislative council to substitute the detestable tax with an equitable and less confrontational export duty on gold set the stage for future rebellion. The new governor, Hotham ordered twice-weekly searches to weed out unlicensed miners, which further disillusioned the miners. The move heightened hostility to the overworked and undermanned police force. At the same time, larger complaints were emerging, which rendered licenses to be symbolic. The burning of the licenses derived from the fact that they represented the most evidence of government's injustice.3 The seeds of discord, sown into the soil, can be highlighted as a series of miscarriages of justice, latent within the system. The incidences police mistreatment was subsidiary to the deeply entrenched distrust fuelled by serious miscarriage of justice over the murder of James Scobie by Bentley, who was an ex-convict owner of the Eureka Hotel and exonerated of the murder charge.4 The burning of the hotel in protest to the Bentley verdict marked a turning for both sides. The Eureka episode created disaffection between the two camps, which had threatening undertones. What started as a disconnected series of events triggered by the same flawed system of control gained momentum when the populace reacted to the enquiry into the hotel’s destruction while seizing the opportunity to highlight the long-standing litany of grievances against the government.5 Hotham declined to accept the recommendations, which demanded that the licenses be abolished, and the police return to standard work, but used delaying tactic of a royal commission. The Ballarat miners were by then organized, united, and determined to success. The governor and other officials, on the other hand, sought to conquer the defeat the rebel movements even if it meant the use of military force. The retrial and subsequent conviction of Bentley was not enough for the miner to stop pursuing democratic ideals and an end to the misrule and despotism. On December 3, 1854, state troops attacked the Eureka stockade leading to the death, disabling, dispersion, and arrest of the rebels. Discussion The gold miners of Ballarat rose up in protest against the draconian laws and undemocratic government practices. The merging of political and economic demands struck fear within the hearts of the ruling elite. The new ideals of universal democracy and social equality can be linked to the Eureka rebellion. The battle of the Eureka stockade, as well as the bloody suppression that followed can be regarded as the dramatic outcome of a broader struggle between the classes relating to the future shape of the Australian society. Although, they were defeated in battle, the disloyal “lower orders” speedily won a majority of their key demands such as universal male suffrage within the lower houses of the new houses of the new Australian colonial parliaments.6 The rebels of Eureka were seeking economic independence, greater level of social equality, and political democracy. A mass meeting held on 1st November inspired the production of a colonial charter that called for the redress of present grievances, as well as the institution of a democratic constitution. The charter called for universal suffrage, as well as the admission of common citizens as members of parliament, which formed the cutting edge of democracy. The Ballarat people were fired up with ideas on good governance, which informed their condemnation of the present system.7 The reform league justified its stand by inferring the power and right vested in people by God, and urged to be listened to rather than ignored. The Eureka revolt moved towards democratic reform and required a persistent struggle by urban social forces, as well as new leaders for victory to be attained. The Eureka rebellion possesses an iconic status within the dominant constructions of the Australian identity and nation.8 The event represents the culmination of a significant class struggle waged between independent gold miners and tax collectors. The stockade yielded to a significant military conflagration, which represented a disproportionate government’s reaction to wage increases. The battle pushed Australian colonies towards parliamentary forms of government with a broad franchise. The Eureka rebellion can be regarded as the birthplace of Australian democracy and can be delineated as the only armed rebellion that yielded to reform of unjust laws. The gold miners did not enjoy political rights including voting during elections and representation within the Legislative Council (Victorian parliaments).9 The injustices linked to “License hunts” generated an atmosphere of anger and discontent, which was further worsened by the Bentley incident. Massive public meetings held on November marked the official launch of the Ballarat Reform League. The aims of the League included instituting political changes that would guarantee: (1) a full and fair representation (within parliament); (2)abandoning the qualification of property as the basis of joining the Legislative Council; (3) manhood suffrage; (4) non-property qualification of members for the Legislative Council; (5) and, short interval of parliament.10 Some people have linked the Eureka rebellion to the birth of Australian democracy or viewed it as a political revolt; however, the political significance of the event remains frequently disputed outside of Victoria. As such, this has had the impact of promoting the status of the Eureka flag to national symbolism mainly employed by political radicals as a symbol of protest for a broad range of anti-establishment non-conformists motives. Debate on the political significance of the Eureka rebellion rests on the assertion that this was a rebellion against imperial domination, of labour against privileged ruling class, of independent free enterprises against excessive taxation, or as an embodiment of republicanism.11 Some historians maintain that there was no democratic feeling among the foreigners except a spirit of opposition to the license fee. This contradicts the assertion that the Eureka rebellion was a seminal event that marked the birth of Australia’s democratic ideals. Some people have criticized those who view the Eureka flag and the rebellion as a symbol of Australian independence, of freedom from foreign tyranny by asserting that such a view lacks credibility and standing. Other people view the Eureka rebellion as an uprising organized by outsiders who exploited the country’s resources and declining to pay their fair of taxes. Conclusion The Eureka Rebellion represented the breakpoint for the miner’s frustrations. The miners were refusing the expense of a miner’s license, the actions of the government plus its agents (the military and police), and taxation (through the license) devoid of representation. The fruits of the Eureka rebellion include the Electoral Act (1856), which mandated full male suffrage for elections within the lower house in the Victorian parliament (one of the instituted political democracy within Australia). Consequently, the Eureka rebellion is controversially highlighted as the birth of democracy within Australia while come interpret the event as a mere political revolt. Bibliography Cochrane, Peter. Colonial ambition: foundations of Australian democracy. Melbourne: Melbourne Univ. Press, 2007. French, Jackie. The night they stormed Eureka. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010. Healy, Chris. From the ruins of colonialism: History as social memory. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Hirst, John. Australia’s Democracy: A short History. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2002. Blake, Gregory. Eureka Stockade: a ferocious and bloody battle. Newport: Big Sky Publishing Pty, 2012. McIlroy, Jim. Australia's first socialists. Sydney, NSW: Resistance Books, 2003. Partington, Geoffrey. The Australian nation: its British and Irish roots. New Brunswick [u.a.]: Transaction Publ, 1997. Ward, Stuart. British culture and the end of empire. Manchester [u.a.]: Manchester Univ. Press, 2001. Read More