Eureka Heritage Tour
A Self-guided tour of Ballarat's hertiage
The history of Ballarat's heritage:
The gold rush of the 1850s brought with it wealth and as chaos to the fledgling Victorian colony known as Ballarat. Agitation on the goldfields eventually led to the Eureka Uprising, which is documented below. The information in this brochure is intended as a guide to some of Ballarat's history and heritage.
Eureka Uprising Overview:
Ballarat became the new frontier, where tens of thousands of diggers worked their claims. All age groups, cultural backgrounds and some 20 nationalities were represented, turning the diggings into Australia's first multicultural community.
Within a few years, however, anger over unjust mining licence fees and the perceived brutal administration which collected them had reached boiling point.
Simmering tensions exploded with the murder of a young Scottish digger, James Scobie, in a brawl outside Bentley's Eureka Hotel. Police corruption was suspected when the alleged culprit was set free, triggering a violent protest in which the pub was burnt to the ground.
Anti-government sentiment found a voice on November 11 1854, when diggers formed the Ballarat Reform League. A charter spelling out their political demands called for the abolition of the dreaded licences, beginning with a simple but vital principle:
'That it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws that he is called on to obey, that taxation without representation is tyranny.'
The diggers' fury was further ignited when three men were arrested and jailed for burning down Bentley's Eureka Hotel. Confrontation was inevitable.
On November 29 1854, 12,000 people were present when the Southern Cross flag was unfurled for the first time, becoming the symbol of their struggle. In an atmosphere of defiance and triumph, the diggers burned their licences and fired shots into the air. The following day, under the leadership of a young Irishman, Peter Lalor, a smaller but determined group swore the Eureka Oath:
'We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties'.
Taking up arms, they marched to a defensible position near the Melbourne road, erecting barricades to form what would become the Eureka Stockade.
The authorities ordered a crackdown, calling in reinforcements from Melbourne to help put down an increasingly angry mob. After a two day stand-off, heavily armed troopers and police attacked the camp before dawn on Sunday, December 3 1854, catching the diggers unprepared.
Some 120 men were inside the stockade; outnumbered and outgunned, they were quickly overwhelmed. The fighting lasted less than a hour and over 30 people were killed. But this short-lived revolution became a lasting symbol of struggle against injustice and oppression and a defining moment in the creation of the Australian spirit.
In the early 1850's, the lure of gold was a magnet, drawing people from all over the world to the Victorian goldfields.
Eureka sites:
The four principal sites of the Eureka Trail are Bakery Hill, the Eureka Stockade, the Ballarat Old Cemetery and the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. The diggers met at Bakery Hill and fought at the Stockade. Those killed in the conflict are buried at the Ballarat Old Cemetery and their flag - the flag of the Southern Cross - is preserved at the Ballart Fine Art Gallery. The Art Gallery and Bakery Hill are within easy walking distance of the city centre, while other sites listed may require transport.
Troopers Trail:
The Troopers Trail follows, as closely as possible, the route taken by the government forces on their way to the Eureka Stockade. The walk now travels through urban Ballarat and alongside Yarrowee River. It ends in the Eureka Stockade Historical Precinct. Directional bollards and information signs are located along the way. The Troopers Trail is 3.5km long and takes approximately one hour to walk.
Diggers Trail:
The annual Diggers' March begins at Bakery Hill, the site where the massive meetings of miners took place and where the diggers' flag, the flag of the Southern Cross (the Eureka flag) was first flown. The march then proceeds to the site of the Eureka Stockade, passing numerous points of interest in the Eureka story. The Diggers' march takes place during Eureka Week on the first Saturday of December each year.
1. Police Camp:
The government established a police camp on the site between Lydiard and Camp Streets, now occupied by the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, as it gave the police a clear view of the diggings below. The military were stationed nearby at Soldiers Hill. The police force had a battle on its hands to maintain law and order, with the city's population increasing from 50 to 50,000 in five years, according to police records from 1854. Records show there were 76 police and 28,000 miners living in Ballarat, but the local police inspector was forced to dismiss more than a dozen constables for drunkenness and violence, making law enforcement an even more difficult task. Troopers began their march to the Eureka Stockade from here, early in the morning on December 3, 1854, and their mission was to stop the diggers from protesting against the much-despised mining licences.
2. Gnarr Gully:
Government forces stopped here for half an hour, and were joined by more forces from Soldiers Hill, who were dressed in readiness for battle. Almost 300 foot soldiers from the 12th and 40th regiments joined men mounted on horseback to wage the battle. Soldiers Hill, north of this point across the railway line, is where government forces camped in the 1850s. From that vantage point they were able to observe diggers across the Ballarat flat.
3. Eastern Oval/Yarrowee River:
Troopers were eager to avoided detection, so marched along established walking tracks following gullies, rivers and hills. The group quietly trekked along the northern banks of Yarrowee River, which now flows in a bluestone channel behind the Eastern Oval grandstand.
4. Yarrowee River/Black Hill:
Here Government forces crossed the Yarrowee River and gathered on the grassy flat on the opposite side, preparing themselves for the battle that lay ahead. As a result of extensive mining activity over the years, the actual crossing place is difficult to identify in today's landscape. Tension between the government and the diggers had intensified over a period of months, and in anticipation of an attack, diggers placed sentinels on watch around the various diggings around Ballarat. From the top of Black Hill to the north, one of the diggers remaining on duty saw the Government forces and fired a single warning shot to the diggers. It was heard at the Stockade but they waited for a second confirming shot, which was never fired.
5. Specimen Vale Creek:
The Government forces gathered here and split into three groups to attack the diggers at the Stockade. The infantry and foot police marched up Carboni's Gully and marksmen took positions on the top of the hill. Another group on horseback continued along the Specimen Vale Creek and past the Free Trade Hotel to attack the Stockade from the rear.
6. The Eureka Stockade:
A somewhat flimsy fortification was erected in this area in November 1854. Built of timber and scrap materials, it was designed to provide cover for the diggers, who undertook basic military training behind its walls. The Stockade was considered a place they could call their own and defend in what was shaping up to be an almighty and bloody battle. However on the morning of the attack the Stockade was poorly defended and the thousands who had pledged their loyalty a week earlier had dwindled away. The diggers were quickly overrun in the ensuing battle, which lasted approximately 20 minutes. Some 30 years later, in 1884, residents decided it would be fitting that an appropriate memorial be built at the Eureka site. The Victorian Government donated four cannons and the granite obelisk was eventually mounted in 1886. However, the exact site of the 1854 Eureka Stockade was a contentious issue, with a large party of old diggers unable to agree on its exact location. Some evidence suggests that the original site may have been approximately 200 metres north-west of the 1884 monument.
7. Bakery Hill:
Bakery Hill was the hub of the goldfields. All roads led to this narrow gully, making it the town's centre of activity: it was here that the hotels, gold buyers and merchants congregated. It was here too that huge public meetings where held and the diggers demands were made. From Bakery Hill the diggers could look across the valley of the Yarrowee River to the Government Camp and to Soldiers Hill. On November 29, 1854, a crowd of more than 12,000 (equal to one third of Ballarat's adult population at the time) attended a meeting on Bakery Hill, where the newly-created flag of the Southern Cross (the Eureka flag) was flown for the first time, and where many diggers burnt their licences and made pledges of loyalty. The next day, local man Peter Lalor knelt beneath the Eureka Flag, proclaiming: "We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties." His oath was echoed by many of the assembled diggers.
8. Ballarat Times Office:
The local newspaper was edited by Henry Seekamp, an outspoken critic of the Government and its representatives in Ballarat. The newspaper business was established on March 4, 1854 and by the time of the Eureka Stockade Seekamp had moved his operation to the north-east corner of Victoria and Humffray Street in Ballarat East. Seekamp was convinced that the founding of the Ballarat Reform League and the Charter of Bakery Hill had sown the seeds of Australian independence. On Monday December 4, Seekamp was arrested at his office when he was preparing to report on the battle. He was found guilty of seditious libel and thrown into prison.
9. Catholic Chapel:
The Chapel was located near the eastern boundary of the St Alipius Church grounds in Victoria Street, between Princes and King Streets. Father Patrick Smyth, a highly-educated young Irish priest, constantly tried to negotiate with the camp authorities to calm tempestuous spirits, including the 4000 Irishmen on the Eureka Lead. The Catholic Chapel became an important meeting place for formal and informal gatherings during the weeks prior to Eureka.
10. Hayes' Tent Site:
Timothy and Anastasia Hayes lived at this site close to the Eureka diggings at the time of the Eureka Rebellion. Timothy Hayes was chairman of the Ballarat Reform League and was charged with high treason following his arrest on the day of the Stockade battle. Anastasia Hayes, the mother of six children, protested against the harsh treatment of the diggers by the government. She was present during the operation to amputate Peter Lalor's arm after he was severely injured in the Stockade battle.
11. Carboni's Vantage Point:
Raffaello Carboni was an Italian digger on the Ballarat goldfields. He spoke a number of languages and acted as an interpreter at the monster meetings on Bakery Hill. Carboni wrote a book titled The Eureka Stockade, which recorded that from this vantage point on November 30, 1854, he looked back to observe the file of diggers two abreast stretching back to the Catholic Church, on their march to the Stockade from Bakery Hill.
12. Bentley's Eureka Hotel:
One of the sparks that lit Eureka was the burning of Bentley's Eureka Hotel. Its owner, James Bentley, was an ex-convict who had quickly amassed great wealth and had influential friends. The hotel, known widely as a house of ill-repute, was a popular meeting place for the administrators and magistrates of the goldfields. Following the death of local man James Scobie on October 7, the hotel was burnt down on October 17, 1854. A plaque marking the site is situated on the corner of Otway and Eureka Streets.
13. The Eureka Lead:
Located in East Ballarat, the Eureka Lead, which is adjacent to Old Melbourne Road, was situated approximately 2.5 km from the Government Camp. While this was largely an Irish settlement, other nationalities also called this area home.
14. The Eureka Centre at the Eureka Stockade Gardens Precinct:
The Eureka Centre was opened in 1998 and its exhibition galleries provide a dramatic focus from which to explore, interpret and contemplate the events and significant of Eureka. A monument dedicated to the miners and soldiers who died as a consequence of the Eureka Battle is located in the south-east corner of the gardens.
15. Ballarat Old Cemetery:
In December 1856, a small band of diggers trekked to the Ballarat Old Cemetery to gather around a memorial to honour their fallen comrades. James Leggat donated the memorial, and the inscription speaks of the "unconstitutional proceedings" of the Victorian Government. In 1878 a monument was erected to honour the soldiers who died at Eureka. It stands 50 metres to the east of the diggers' monument and was erected by the Victorian Government at the request of the citizens of Ballarat. The inscription makes it clear that doing one's duty in the cause of the British Empire was of importance to many citizens.
16 Peter Lalor Statue:
Irishman Peter Lalor was appointed leader of the Ballarat diggers as their Commander in Chief prior to the conflict at the Stockade. Lalor was severely wounded during the battle at the Stockade, later causing his arm to be amputated. He remained in hiding until after the State Treason Trials in early 1855. Lalor was elected to the Legislative Council in November 1855 and appointed speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1880. He died in 1889.
17. Ballarat Fine Art Gallery:
The Ballarat Fine Art Gallery houses the original Eureka flag, one of the most valuable and historic relics in Australian history. The gallery is also home to an important collection of contemporary goldfields artworks. The flag of the Southern Cross was 4 x 2.6 metres in size and was designed by a Canadian digger, Captain Ross. A group of women loyal to the diggers' cause made the flag under which many diggers died when the Stockade was over-run by the Government forces. Since 1895, the Gallery has held the flag. It was out of view for several decades and has only been on public display since December, 1973.