THE WISE KNOW THEIR OWN LIMITATIONS. Others, like the diggers, chance their arm. My decision to write about an Australian legend entailed travelling well-worn terrain. Legends take their substance from repetition through generations, and the one known as Eureka has often been repeated. It was not my intention to accept or refute its claims; my purpose was simply to ask why it came to be and to explain how the word ‘Eureka’ has become part of our folklore.
All historians who have worked on Eureka agree that the diggers had legitimate reasons to feel aggrieved. Most have concluded that there were good grounds for a rejection of authority at Ballarat in late 1854; some have taken the view that the diggers were justified in going as far as revolt. I have stood aside from this argument. There was no revolt at Eureka on 3 December 1854. The appearance of one was engineered by the authorities in the colony of Victoria.
Unrest on the goldfields went back to the days when the fields were first opened and to the subsequent imposition of a licence fee in late September 1851. Ballarat was not especially notable in its level of unrest, and Bendigo seemed the more likely place for armed resistance. Yet it was at Ballarat that events coalesced to make resistance imperative. There the authorities decided that the score between them and the digger community had to be settled once and for all. They wanted the form and shape of a rebellion in order to throw the blame upon the diggers and, as a result, they hoped to take attention from their responsibility for unrest on the goldfields during the preceding three years.
Just as it is futile to see the diggers as the initiators of revolution, so it is futile to try to fit them into categories. Some values transcend the barriers of class, creed, sex and colour. One such value is human dignity. It was precisely because the diggers’ dignity had been wantonly and callously demeaned that they turned to resistance. They did not act in a precipitate manner, nor did they want to embark on a course which would overthrow authority. At Eureka the diggers demanded to be treated with respect. History gives them a place with countless others who have taken a stand on the same ground.
Generous assistance from the Australian Research Grants Scheme made it possible for me to obtain the help of Helen Smith—who saw the work through to completion and was always thorough, cheerful and co-operative—and of Marguerite Hancock. I am grateful to both of them. Kevin Cowan of the Geography Department, Australian National University, kindly drew the map, and Russel Ward’s precious contribution is evident in the making of the legend.
Eureka material is mainly held at the Public Records Office of Victoria, the La Trobe Library of the State Library of Victoria and the Central Highlands Regional Library at Ballarat. To all those who gave of their time and expertise in locating material at these repositories I am indebted.
Shirley Bradley, Monica Dean, Barbara Hutchinson, Debbie Mathews, Leann Owenson, Mary Ann Ryan and Rosemary Semmens all worked on the manuscript, while Paddy Maughan returned to see it to rest. I thank them all. Don Baker, Bunny Austin and Chris Wise gave me valuable advice and warm encouragement. My deepest thanks to Carla Taines, editor and friend. To my friend and colleague John Ritchie, I say, ‘Thanks digger’.