The Eureka Stockade was a crude battlement built in 1854 by rebel gold miners at Ballarat, Australia during the Eureka Rebellion. It stood from 30 November until the Battle of the Eureka Stockade on 3 December. The exact dimensions and location of the stockade are a matter of debate among scholars. There are various contemporary representations of the Eureka Stockade, including the 1855 Victorian high treason trials map and Eureka Slaughter by Charles Doudiet.
After the oath swearing ceremony, where Peter Lalor mounted the stump armed with a rifle declaring "liberty" and called for the formation of paramilitary companies, about 1,000 rebels marched in double file from Bakery Hill to the Eureka lead, where construction of the stockade took place between 30 November and 2 December 1854.[1][2] The stockade itself was a ramshackle affair described in Raffaello Carboni's 1855 memoirs as "higgledy piggledy".[3] There were existing mines within the stockade,[4] which consisted of pit props held together in the form of diagonal spikes by rope and overturned horse carts.
According to Lalor, the stockade "was nothing more than an enclosure to keep our own men together, and was never erected with an eye to military defence".[5] However, Peter FitzSimons asserts that Lalor may have downplayed the fact that the Eureka Stockade may have been intended as something of a fortress at a time when "it was very much in his interests" to do so.[6] The construction work was overseen by Frederick Vern, who had apparently received instruction in military methods. John Lynch wrote that his "military learning comprehended the whole system of warfare ... fortification was his strong point".[7] Les Blake has noted how other descriptions of the stockade "rather contradicted" Lalor's recollection of it being a simple fence after the fall of the stockade.[8] Testimony was heard at the high treason trials for the Eureka rebels that the stockade was four to seven feet high in places and was unable to be negotiated on horseback without being reduced.[9]
The location of the stockade has been described as "appalling from a defensive point of view", as it was situated on "a gentle slope, which exposed a sizeable portion of its interior to fire from nearby high ground".[10][note 1] A detachment of 800 men, which included "two field pieces and two howitzers" under the commander in chief of the British forces in Australia, Major General Sir Robert Nickle, who had also seen action during the 1798 Irish rebellion, would arrive after the insurgency had been put down.[12][13] In 1860, William Withers stated in a lecture that "The site was most injudicious for any purpose of defence as it was easily commanded from adjacent spots, and the ease with which the place could be taken was apparent to the most unprofessional eye".[14]
Debate over the exact dimensions and location of the Eureka Stockade
As the materials used by the rebels to fortify the Eureka lead were quickly removed and the landscape subsequently altered by mining, the exact location of the Eureka Stockade is unknown.[15] Various studies have been undertaken that have arrived at different conclusions. Jack Harvey (1994) has conducted an exhaustive survey and has concluded that the Eureka Stockade Memorial is situated within the confines of the historical Eureka Stockade.[16][17]
It encompassed an area said to be one acre; however, that is difficult to reconcile with other estimates that have the dimensions of the stockade as being around 100 feet (30 m) x 200 feet (61 m).[18] Contemporaneous descriptions and representations vary and have the stockade as either rectangular or semi-circular.[19] Harvey believes the existing evidence points to a semi-circular stockade that occupied an area of three acres.[20]
Three witnesses in the high treason trials for the Eureka rebels were questioned about the size and shape of the stockade.
Sub-inspector C. J. Carter testified, "It formed a parallelogram...I should think it was about 100 yards wide and double that length", or about four acres. Lieutenant T. B. Richards and Police Magistrate C. P. Hackett could not say if the stockade's perimeters met at a specific angle. Still, they both had the impression of sides, not the curved perimeter, in Huyghue's plan.[21]
Others were asked whether the stockade was fully enclosed or open at one corner, as seen in the trial exhibit. Goodenough and Carter believed it was fully enclosed. G. A. Amos stated:
The slabs...were three or four foot separated in some places by other slabs placed crosswise, in some places by carts, and in some places by mounds of earth ... The portion which was open there was slightly defended by several mounds of earth. The earth taken out of the holes formed several mounds...[22]
The only known contemporary map showing the stockade's geographical location was exhibited at the trials. It was prepared before the first trial in February 1855. Based on W. S. Urquhart's 1852 survey, the map reveals that the stockade was erected on the edge of "Urquhart's diggings", more commonly referred to as the gravel pits. It contains the dated signatures of Redmond Barry (four times), and on the reserve side, there is a cartoon figure and the words "one of the volunteers" and William à Beckett's initials "W.A.B.". At the trials, Amos, Webster, Langley, Hackett and Richards all agreed that the map exhibit was generally true and correct. It features the route of the besieging forces, and two of the aforementioned witnesses have used a pencil to make relevant points. Commissioner Amos wrote "Bakery" for Bakery Hill and "E" for the police outpost, which Captain Thomas estimated to be 440 yards from the stockade. The camp in the trial map is 428 yards from the stockade. Another witness has made two notations concerning the arrest of Timothy Hayes near the stockade after the battle. The artist shows the Eureka Stockade built over a track. Government surveyor Thomas Burr, draftsman James Gaunt, and Eugene Bellairs, whose party was fired upon from the area a couple of days prior, all knew the location of the stockade but were not examined as to the fidelity of the trial map when called as witnesses. Concerning the trial map, Attorney General William Stawell told the jury in the trial of John Joseph that:
A plan has been prepared to enable you to understand the description more accurately. This stockade encompassed three sides of a parallelogram, leaving one end completely open, and it enclosed a number of tents; some of those tents were vacated at once, but in others some of the men remained, some of them sympathising with those men...[23]
Ian MacFarlane notes that the defence counsels never directly called the accuracy of the trial map into question. However, they did request that "stricter evidence of its accuracy should be given by the survey officer who made it".[24]
There are two known drawings of the battle dating from 1854. Charles Doudiet was an associate of Henry Ross and aided the wounded rebel, noting his death at the Free Trade Hotel two days later in his sketchbook. He was present at the burning of Bentley's Hotel, the oath swearing ceremony on Bakery Hill and may have been an eyewitness to the early morning battle. Doudiet depicted these scenes from the Eureka Rebellion, among others from the travels in Australia and time in Ballarat. His sketchbook, now under preservation at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, includes Eureka Slaughter, which has the stockade as a ring of defences.[25]
J.B Henderson's 1854 Eureka Stockade Riot was drawn by an eyewitness to the aftermath. It features the clash between the forlorn hope and the rebel garrison at the perimeter of the stockade.[26]
Also in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ballarat is Eureka Stockade by Samuel Huyghue, completed in 1882. Huyghue was an eyewitness to the Eureka Rebellion and was employed as a government clerk.[27]
Other eyewitness accounts
In his 1855 memoirs, Raffaello Carboni said the stockade was "simply fenced in by a few slabs placed at random"[28] and that:
Vern had enlarged the stockade across the Melbourne road and down the Warrenheip Gully...an acre of ground on the surface of a hill...The shepherd's holes inside the lower part of the stockade had been turned into rifle pits.[29]
Samuel Huyghue recalled that "the irregular enclosure of the Stockade comprised about an acre" and that "this rude barricade was continued between the mounds of earth thrown up in mining, the open spaces separating the 'claims' being thus filled up and rendered defensible".
Charles Evans' diary says it was "between one and two hundred yards in circumference". Harvey notes that a circle of 100 yards circumference would have an area of only one-sixth of an acre and that Evan's might be referring to its diameter instead.[30]
Henry Powell, a miner from Creswick Creek, in a deposition stated that he "Looked in the ring", which appears to imply a circular perimeter.[30]
Eureka Stockade defenders
Following is a list of the best-documented members of the Eureka Stockade garrison. A number of people who played an important part in the Eureka Rebellion and were defending the stockade at some point lived in tents situated outside the stockade and were on assignment or otherwise absent when the surprise attack took place on Sunday morning, 3 December 1854.
Name
Birth year
Birthplace
Status
Legacy and notes
Ref(s)
? Ackeroyd
unknown
unknown
survivor
Ackeroyd was at the Eureka Stockade and attended the 50th-anniversary commemorations. He was pictured in the Leader, 10 December 1904 edition.
Ashburner was a pikeman at the Eureka Stockade who was captured during the fall of the Stockade. He was reported for wielding a pike made from a pick. Ashburner witnessed Peter Lalor being shot, and fearing for the rebel leader's life, he dragged Lalor outside the stockade, where he took refuge in a hole. He was detained soon after and chained to Timothy Hayes overnight. Ashburner was in Ballarat for the 50th anniversary commemorations. His account was published in the Ballarat Courier, 3 December 1904 edition.
Beattie was one of the indicted rebels tried and acquitted in the 1855 Victorian High Treason trials. Witnesses stated that he volunteered to join a rebel company at the 29th December 1854 meeting at Bakery Hill. He then drilled and marched with the other rebels to the Eureka lead and was drilled again that and the following day. Beattie negotiated the perimeter of the stockade just before the shooting had ceased. Beattie had a large horse pistol that he dropped within the stockade when he saw troops outside. He either fell or drooped to his knees and cried for mercy, saying he "was beaten and would give in".
The Weekly Times, 19 November 1910 edition, mentions that Brazel was a merchandise peddlar on the goldfields and that he was an associate of Lalor. He fled from Ballarat after the battle and did not return until after the amnesty for all on the runs was announced.
Wounded in the battle and died sometime in February 1855. May have been the same James Brown who signed a petition for compensation brought by Benden S Hassell. During the James Scobie inquest he complained that Mr Johnstone would not take evidence from some miners. Buried in the Old Ballarat Cemetery.
Known to have been badly wounded in the battle, Police Inspector Henry Foster informed his relatives that his whereabouts was unknown, and that unidentified Eureka rebels had been buried
Was one of Peter Lalor's rebel captains in command of the "Independent Californian Rangers Revolver Brigade". He later claimed to have fired the first shot of the battle by either side, which killed Captain Wise. Carried a rifle.
Suffered a wound between his shoulders and a cut under his left breast, both from a bayonet. His name is recorded in Lalor's official list of casualties.
In 1904, he gave some recollections saying that during the battle, he remembered seeing Peter Lalor began to stagger, then drop his weapon before stooping quickly to pick it up with his other hand, not knowing until later that the rebel leader had been wounded
Brother of Michael Canny. According to the Argus, the Canny brothers supplied 2,000 wooden slabs along with laths that were used in the construction of the Eureka Stockade.
It is said that Carey was at the Eureka Stockade. He owned the Excelsior restaurant in Ballarat. It was widely rumoured that he was framed for sly grog selling by Sergeant Major Robert Milne for not paying police bribes. In September 1854, Carey was sentenced to six months imprisonment and was given a conditional pardon after one month to placate the US consul.
His obituary in the Australian Town and Country, 3 November 1888 edition, mentions that he was at the battle and that he was a devout Peter Lalor supporter and was among a number of people who first introduced Duncan Gillies, premier of Victoria (1886-1890) to the miners of Ballarat.
Was present at the battle. He returned for the 50th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade in 1904. His commemorative blue ribbon as given to all the rebel veterans, is now held by the Gold Museum in Ballarat.
Was a lawyer's clerk who was at the Eureka Stockade. Died of wounds at Ballarat Benevolent Asylum eighteen months later, in May 1856. According to the Melbourne Herald, 12 May 1856 edition, he received a gunshot wound that resulted in compression of the brain and a fatal abscess.
Was present at the battle and died from injuries sustained. A chartist who supported John Hummfray. He told others that he had seen two Italian non-combatants being killed by government troops. The diary he kept is mentioned in From Tent to Parliament: The Life of Peter Lalor and His Coadjutors and was used as a source by the authors.
Was present at the battle and died from injuries sustained after being treated by Dr James Stewart. He was then buried in Ballarat Old Cemetery late on 3 December 1854.
His obituary in The Herald, 17 January 1921 edition, notes that he was present at the battle and his sense of pride at having supported the rebel cause.
His goldfields store was engulfed by the Eureka Stockade, later described as "half in and half out of it" by his wife Anne. Carboni records that meetings of the rebel leadership took place in Diamond's store. It was burnt down on the day of the battle, with Diamond being shot and cut with a sword three times and bayonetted in front of Anne. Lalor incorrectly refers to him as "John Diamond" in his list.
Dignum is among the four known native-born Australians at the Eureka Stockade and was one of the pikemen. Signed the Benden Hassell compensation petition. Carboni described him as a "serious looking, short, tight-built young chap" who "fought like a tiger" in the battle. He was one of the thirteen indicted rebels and succeeded in having the charge case dropped.
Was probably the youngest of the rebel dead. He may have been the owner of the "Pikeman's Dog", a terrier that would not leave his dead owner after the battle.
Signed the Bendigo Petition in 1853. He later returned to Ballarat, where he was described as a Eureka Stockade veteran in the Weekly Times, 14 April 1917 edition.
In the Adelaide News, 9 February 1927 edition, there is a report concerning James William Farrant's 80th birthday that mentions his father died at the Eureka Stockade
Ferguson was with the Californian Rangers at the Eureka Stockade. Was one of three Americans taken prisoner and was released after representations from the US consul James Tarleton. Decided to stay in Australia and had a reputation for being one of the best horse breakers in the colony. In 1860, the outback explorer Robert O'Hara Burke asked Ferguson to be the foreman on his ill-fated expedition. He accepted but quit after Burke insisted on a pay reduction. Burke fired Ferguson who later sued the expedition committee and was awarded 183/6/8 pounds in compensation.
It is said that he was a blacksmith and that during the battle, the top of his skull was severed by Lieutenant Richard's sabre. Hafele Drive in Ballarat Old Cemetery is named after him. His name is mentioned only in Lalor's list.
Wounded in the battle and listed as "since recovered" in Lalor's list. Family tradition has it that his two brothers were also at the Eureka Stockade. In early 1855, he signed the Benden Sherritt Hassell compensation petition. In his obituary in the Bathurst Times, 30 March 1914 edition, readers were told that he was just 14 at the time and was armed with a pike and a revolver. His brothers Jeremiah and Simon escaped unharmed, but he was shot in the arm, which he later lost the use of. It may have contributed to his death when he was thrown by a horse.
Was shot in the abdomen during the battle and died on 14 January 1855. His death certificate bears the name George Clifton. Buried in Ballarat Old Cemetery.
Slightly wounded in the arm during battle. He was in attendance at the 50th-anniversary commemorations in Ballarat, where he received the title of "The Stockade Poet".
His obituary in the Argus, 29 April 1909 edition, notes that he was at the Eureka Stockade. It is said that during the battle he helped to carry the wounded Peter Lalor to a place of safety.
Was wounded twice in the battle in the leg and head. Also known as "Eureka Jim". In the Sydney Sun, 31 July 1915 edition, it was stated that the Eureka Flag "was hoisted at the Eureka Stockade in 1854 by Mr, James Hodges".
There is some confusion as to whether he died immediately after being shot by soldiers or on 6 December, according to family records. Although his name appears on the Digger's Monument in Ballarat, it appears he may have been buried in an unmarked grave in Geelong Eastern Cemetery on 3 December. His name was incorrectly spelt "Haynes" on the Eureka Monument.
Joseph was one of the rebels indicted and acquitted of high treason. He was praised for his performance under fire. Carboni said that Joseph was honest and kind and fired as part of the volley that killed Captain Wise. As an African American, doctor Charles Kenworthy did not act as Joseph's intermediary in an effort to secure his release as he did in relation to other Americans in legal jeopardy as a result of their involvement in the Eureka Rebellion. Joseph was tried first and acquitted. It is said that he was carried aloft in a chair by a joyous crowd around the streets of Melbourne.
Badly wounded in the battle, he died on 14 January 1885 and was buried the same day in Ballarat Old Cemetery. Julien Avenue in the cemetery is named after him.
Kemp was at the Eureka Stockade and attended the 50th-anniversary commemorations in 1904. The Morwell & Yinnar Gazette reported that he witnessed the burning of the Eureka Hotel and that there is reason to believe that his friend asked him for a box of matches that was then used by the arsonists.
The rebel commander-in-chief was shot in the left arm, which was later amputated. Secreted out of Ballarat, he remained on the run until after the amnesty. Later became a member of parliament, serving on the parliamentary executive in various roles and as speaker of the Legislative Assembly. He is buried in Melbourne General Cemetery, where a single piper played to commemorate the centenary of his death in 1989.
On 2 December 1854, Peter Lalor sent Lessman for a raid on local storekeepers. He was slightly wounded in the battle. Lessman was a participant in the Eureka Stockade battle who was slightly wounded. Lessman was a lieutenant of the rifleman. To mark the second anniversary of the battle, he carried a garland of flowers in a procession.
One of Peter Lalor's captains, he helped to conceal the rebel leader in a hole with slabs. He was arrested later that day and released. He returned to Ballarat to deliver an oration for the second anniversary of the battle. His memoirs were published in the Austral Light from October 1893 to March 1894. Buried in the Smythesdale Cemetery.
Manallack was at the Eureka Stockade and attended the 50th-anniversary commemoration in 1904. He was a chemist and pottery maker who invented the Melrose glaze.
His obituaries in the Melbourne Tribune (29 August 1914) and the Australian Worker (10 September 1914) mentioned he was present at the Eureka Stockade.
Known as "Melody Bill" he served with the Californian rangers at the Eureka Stockade. He was the first to respond when rebel captain Robert Burnette cried "California Rangers to the fence".
Molly was at the Eureka Stockade and detained and released. On 9 December 1854, along with Edward Sorrenson and Patrick Howard, he was indicted for high treason. Witness Edward Verit testified that near the conclusion of the attack, Molly was "being driven out" of the stockade and that "I collared him and took him. He had no arms that I saw".
His obituary published on the front page of the Geelong Advertiser, 10 January 1913 edition, mentions that he was at the Eureka Stockade with his friend Peter Lalor an hour before the rebel commander-in-chief was shot in the arm.
In the Portland Guardian, 24 November 1919 edition, stated that the state premier, Mr Lawson had arranged for the 101-year-old to take up residence at the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum in Cheltenham. It was said that during the Eureka Rebellion, he helped to facilitate the escape of Peter Lalor after a 100-pound bounty was offered for the rebel leader and set a match to a pile of mining licences.
Died from gunshot wounds in the battle. Buried at Ballarat Old Cemetery on 5 December 1864. His name is incorrectly spelt as "Thomas Mullins" on the Digger's monument in the cemetery. Also known as Thomas Mullins.
Was a blacksmith and pike sharpener for the Eureka Stockade garrison. Along with others he helped to convey Peter Lalor from Ballarat to Geelong after the battle.
His obituary in the Bendigo Advertiser, 6 September 1905 edition, mentioned that he was at the battle which took place shortly after his arrival in Ballarat.
He came to Australia aboard the Royal Saxon as part of Caroline Chisholm's family unification work. Signed the Bendigo Petition in 1853. According to family tradition, on the day of the battle, he and Peter Lalor walked the perimeter of the Eureka Stockade, each heading in a different direction before Peter Lalor encountered the government forces under Captain Thomas. O'Donnell heard the shooting and quickly fled the Eureka Stockade to save his own life and avoid arrest.
Was still holding his pike during the battle while suffering from two broken legs and a musket ball lodged in his body. Listed as killed in Lalor's list. O'Neill Drive in Ballarat Old Cemetery is named after him.
His obituary published in the Weekly Times, 4 January 1913 edition, mentions that he was one of the pioneers of mining at Sebastopol and that he was said to have been at the Eureka Stockade. Perkin's son, W.H. Perkins, was born on the Eureka lead a few weeks before the battle took place. During the fighting, his wife, Ann Perkins, took refuge with the baby in a mine shaft.
Phelan was one of the rebels indicted and acquitted in the high treason trials. He had served as a juror on the James Scobie inquest. There is a legend that he and a miner named McGrath buried Lalor's amputated arm down an old alluvial shaft near the junction of present-day Princess and Meir Streets. Another is that he accompanied Lalor to a land auction while Lalor was still on the run. However, this seems unlikely, as Phelan was in police custody the whole time until his acquittal.
Reed (or Read) was one of the rebels indicted and acquitted for high treason. Sub-Inspector Samuel Furnell saw Reed inside the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854, and it was alleged that he had fired on trooper Michael Lawler.
Although not mentioned in any official records, according to family tradition, he was wounded at the Eureka Stockade and, like many others, managed to escape into the surrounding bush. He was known as "the General" or "the Broomstick General" as a result of his efforts to impart military training and discipline to members of the rebel garrison.
Was one of the rebel captains believed to have been involved in designing the Eureka Flag. Sustained a wound to the groin whilst defending the flag pole during the battle. He was taken on a stretcher to the Star Hotel, where he died later that day. When the publican informed a soldier of Ross' death, they replied, "damned glad at it". Buried in the Diggers' enclosure at Ballarat Old Cemetery on 7 December 1854.
According to a letter published in the Courier, 2 December 1904 edition, he spent the night before the battle at the Eureka Stockade. His tent was near where the Charlie Napier Hotel stood, and his neighbour was James Scobie. Rowlands also claimed to have a pistol and a glass from the Eureka Rebellion.
Was one of the rebel captains leading the pikemen at the Eureka Stockade. Avoided capture by the authorities. Listed as "wounded and since recovered" in Lalor's casualty report.
May be the same George Smith who signed the Bendigo Petition in 1853. In the Australian Town and Country Journal, 15 June 1901 edition, it was stated that he was at Eureka Stockade.
On 2 December 1854 he was passing by the Eureka Stockade when some rebels asked him to join the garrison. Had been drinking that night alongside many rebels who fell asleep with their clothes on "just lying down anywhere" and awoke when the battle began. Was immediately shot in the leg. He stood alongside planks until the end of the fighting and then surrendered himself. Witnessed the routed rebel garrison fleeing the stockade. Was arrested and subsequently released.
Sorenson was one of the rebels indicted and acquitted of high treason. He was described as heavily tattoed and illiterate. Police Sergeant George King testified that Sorenson was running among the mineshafts just after the shooting had ceased. King then found him in a tent holding a revolver. Sorenson surrendered, and then Police Inspector Henry Foster searched him and found some rounds, caps and a powder flask.
Was a doctor who befriended Peter Lalor and Duncan Gillies. His obituaries published in the Dubbo Dispatch and Wellington Independent (23 June 1916) and the Maryborough Chronicle (8 June 1916) mention that he was at the Eureka Stockade. He was a pikeman who helped Peter Lalor to avoid capture.
Was probably the "Frank Symons" listed as "wounded and since recovered" in Lalor's casualty report. Along with Richard Symons was a signatory to the Bendigo Petition in 1853.
Was a blacksmith and one of Lalor's rebel captains. Manufactured pikes for the Eureka Stockade garrison. Carboni records that amid the shooting, "Ross and his division northward and Thonen and his division southward, and both in front of the gully, under cover of the slabs, answered with such a smart fire". He was present at the meeting where Lalor was confirmed as leader and stood as seconder of the motion. Thonen was found dead with a mouthful of bullets. The only Jew known to have died at Eureka, he was buried in Ballarat Old Cemetery on 5 December 1854. Thonen Drive in the cemetery is named after him.
Was a friend of Harry Schmedding (aka Dutch Harry). Manufactured pies for the Eureka Stockade garrison. John Lynch said that a witness to Tom's death claimed he died in agony some hours after the battle. Mentioned only as "Tom the Blacksmith" in Lalor's casualty report.
Was one of complaintants to the board of inquiry investigating the death of James Scobie under the surname "Toopy". Also complained about one of the presiding officers of the inquest, James Johnstone, assistant gold commissioner for the gravel pits in Ballarat.
Baldiau (now Piatodorozny), near Konigsburg, East Prussia
survivor
Trompf was at the Eureka Stockade and attended the 50th-anniversary reunion in 1904. Addressed a protest meeting in 1859 at Maryborough that concerned the presence of Chinese miners in the area.
Was part of the contingent that traveled from Creswick contingent to the Eureka Stockade. He was detained by Corporal William Richardson whilst attempting to flee the stockade in possession of a double-barrelled shotgun. Subsequently, spent most of his fortune pursuing a compensation claim over the loss of his mine.
Vern was one of Lalor's rebel captains. The fortification of the Eureka lead was apparently overseen by Vern, who had apparently received instruction in military methods. He gave fiery speeches at mass protest meetings, and Carboni says he boasted of being able to form a company of German miners. Later accused of fleeing the stockade at the first sign of trouble and is suspected of being a double agent.
His obituary, published in Waimate Daily Advertiser, 1 March 1918 edition, mentions that he was one of the five remaining New Zealanders who were at the Eureka Stockade. Wilburd was wounded in the battle and always retained his Winchester rifle.
The Eureka Stockade encompassed an area of existing mines, and not all of the residents in the vicinity actively supported the armed struggle. There are a number of recorded deaths and injuries among non-combatants during the Eureka Rebellion. There were also economic losses, such as those suffered by Michael Noonan, who lost his store and received 70 pounds in compensation. His spouse was also assaulted at the time of the battle, and he was detained for five days after being arrested while standing near the St Alphius chapel.[138] It has been thought that all those killed during the battle were men. However, the diary of Charles Evans describes a funeral cortege for a woman who was mercilessly butchered by a mounted trooper while pleading for the life of her husband. Her name and the fate and identity of her husband remain unknown.[180]
Following the fall of the stockade, Hotham proclaimed martial law on 6 December 1854 with no lights allowed in any tent after 8 pm "even though the legal basis for it was dubious".[181][182][183] There were a number of unprovoked shots fired from the government camp towards the diggings.[184] Unrelated first-hand accounts variously state that a woman, her infant child and several men were killed or wounded in an episode of indiscriminate shooting.[note 2]
Name
Birth year
Birthplace
Status
Legacy and notes
Ref(s)
William Adams
unknown
unknown
wounded
Adams lived in the vicinity of the Eureka Stockade and was wounded by gunfire three times whilst trying to get his family to safety. He was taken prisoner and spent a week convalescing at the government camp hospital. Adams would later unsuccessfully claim 937 pounds in damages for loss of property and false imprisonment.
Hasleham was a correspondent for the Geelong Advertiser and Melbourne Herald who supplemented his income by prospecting. He was camping on the Eureka lead 300 yards away from the stockade on an adjacent hill when he was shot through the right shoulder by the mounted police. The trooper rode up to him and then fired. Carboni records that Hasleham lay bleeding in handcuffs for two hours before a friend found a blacksmith to remove the restraints. He was awarded 400 pounds in compensation for his injuries. His brief description of the Eureka Stockade was published in the Argus, 29 December 1854 edition.
Powell had come from Creswick on 2 December 1854 to visit a friend, William Cox. Cox's tent was close to the Eureka Stockade. When he emerged after the battle, police officer Arthur Akehurst told him he was being taken prisoner. Akehurst then struck Powell on the head with a sword, slashing his body several times, before mounted troopers rode over him. He gave a statement about these events before his death on 9 December 1854 and was buried two days later. There was a note in the Mount Alexander Mail, 22 December 1854 edition, that his coffin draped in a Union Jack was placed on a cart followed by around six mourners. Powell's was the only inquest into any of the deaths that arose from the Eureka Stockade. His testimony, which was given in the presence of Captain Gordon Evans, was disallowed. Akehurst was held liable by the coroner for wilful and felonious death, being later acquitted by a jury in Melbourne.
Rowlands was talking to Benjamin Welch about a quarter of a mile from the Eureka Stockade when they noticed soldiers and prisoners near the Catholic St Alphius chapel. He failed to surrender immediately when asked by a trooper who deliberately dismounted and shot Rowlands through the heart. Buried on 4 December 1854 at Ballarat Old Cemetery.
Sometimes referred to as John Fenwick, Vennick was a non-combatant who was indicted and acquitted of high treason. He shared a tent with Cornelius Peters and Le Fronzis Romeo that was situated 300 yards away from the Eureka Stockade. At the time of the battle, German miner Edward Bloehm roused the three of them. The police surrounded the tent and called on the occupants to surrender. Vennick emerged wearing red trousers gaining the nickname "the captain". He was handcuffed and then struck with a sword, nearly severing his ear and sustaining three blows to the head. At the treason trials, Peters was able to provide Vennick with an alibi, testifying that Vennick was working with him all day on the 2 December 1854 and had been in the tent all night and on the morning when the stockade was overrun.
Alamo Mission, site of a celebrated siege during the Texas Revolution in 1836
Notes
^Other eyewitness accounts say that the Eureka Stockade was located "on an eminence", "on rising ground", "at the head of the gully", "on the brow of a hill", and "sloped slightly down into a hollow.[11]
... some not understanding marshall (sic) law did not put out their lights and the soldiers fired into the tents and killed 2 men and one woman and wounded others, although we were half a mile off we heard the balls whistling over our tents.[183]
Charles Evan's diary also mentions that
Among the victims of last night's unpardonable recklessness were a woman and her infant. The same ball which murdered the mother, ... passed through the child as it lay sleeping in her arms.... Another sufferer is a highly respectable storekeeper, who had his thighbone shattered by a ball as he was walking toward the township.[185]
^Harvey, J.T. (May 2003). "Locating the Eureka Stockade: Use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in a Historiographical Research Context: Computers and the Humanities". Computers and the Humanities. 37 (2): 229–234. doi:10.1023/A:1022617505636.
Blake, Gregory (2009). To Pierce the Tyrant's Heart: The Battle for the Eureka Stockade. Loftus, ACT: Australian Army History Unit. ISBN978-0-98-047532-6.
Blake, Gregory (2012). Eureka Stockade: A ferocious and bloody battle. Newport: Big Sky Publishing. ISBN978-1-92-213204-8.
Blake, Les (1979). Peter Lalor: the man from Eureka. Belmont: Neptune Press. ISBN978-0-90-913140-1.
Lynch, John (1940). Story of the Eureka Stockade: Epic Days of the Early Fifties at Ballarat (Reprint ed.). Melbourne: Australian Catholic Truth Society.
MacFarlane, Ian (1995). Eureka from the Official Records. Melbourne: Public Record Office Victoria. ISBN978-0-73-066011-8.
Journals
Harvey, J.T. (May 2003). "Locating the Eureka Stockade: Use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in a Historiographical Research Context: Computers and the Humanities". Computers and the Humanities. 37 (2): 229–234. doi:10.1023/A:1022617505636.