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The Eureka Stockade was a dispute between the miners, or diggers as they were called, protesting the high price of their licence fee, and the troopers, or police, who enforced the licence fees and carried out spot checks to ensure diggers had current licences, which cost exorbitant fees.

Conditions on the Australian goldfields were harsh. The main problem was the miner's licence, which cost a monthly fee of 30 shillings and permitted the holder to work a 3.6 metre square "claim". Licences had to be paid whether or not a digger found gold. Troopers carried out frequent licence hunts, during which the miners were ordered to produce proof of their licences. This added to the increasing discontent by the diggers. Previous delegations for miners' rights had met with a complete lack of action from the Victorian government, so on 29 November 1854, the miners burned their licences in a huge, united display of resistance against the laws over the miners. After troopers conducted a particularly intense licence hunt on November 30, an Irish immigrant miner named Peter Lalor was selected to lead the rebellion.

On December 1, the miners began to construct a wooden barricade, a stockade from which they planned to defend themselves against further licence arrests or other incursions by the authorities. At 3:00am on Sunday, 3 December 1854, 276 police and military personnel and several civilians stormed the stockade. It remains unclear which side fired first, but in the violent fray, 22 diggers and 5 troopers died.

Although the rebellion itself failed in its objective, it did gain the attention of the Government. A Commission of Enquiry followed, and changes were made. These included the removal of monthly gold licences, replaced by a much more affordable annual miner's licence. The numbers of troopers were reduced considerably, and Legislative Council was expanded to allow representation to the major goldfields. Peter Lalor and another representative, John Basson Humffray, were elected for Ballarat. Later, Lalor was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Victoria. Because of this, the Eureka Stockade is regarded by many as the birthplace of Australian Democracy.

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Related Questions

What year was the Eureka Stockade built?

The Eureka Stockade was built in 1854.


Why was the Eureka Stockade built?

The Eureka Stockade was buikt by the miners as a stockade, from which they planned to defend themselves against licence arrests.


Where was the eureka stockade built?

The makeshift defence known as the Eureka Stockade was built in the gold-mining town of Ballarat, in Victoria, Australia.


Why was the stockade built?

The Eureka Stockade was buikt by the miners as a stockade, from which they planned to defend themselves against licence arrests.


What was the Eureka stockade made out of?

The Eureka Stockade was merely a lightweight, ramshackle fence-like construction built of timber and carts. It was not built to be a fortress, just an enclosure to keep the miners together.


What year did the Eureka Stockade start?

The Eureka Stockade occurred in 1854.


What is population of Eureka stockade in 1854?

The Eureka stockade was a temporary stockade, not a town with any sort of population.


When was the Eureka stockade in Ballarat?

The Eureka Stockade occurred on 3 December 1854.


What are the physical features from the Eureka stockade?

what was the key physical features of the eureka stockade


What was the eureka stockade built with?

easy it was built with wood it created the stockade perimeter with wooden wallsabout 2m high and most living areas were tents and there was the flag raised in the middle


Did Peter Lalor attack the Eureka Stockade?

No, Peter Lalor was the leader of the Eureka Stockade.


How long would it take to find gold in the eureka stockade?

There was no gold in the Eureka Stockade.