Eureka 161 years on: Honest History miscellany

‘Eureka 161 years on: Honest History miscellany’, Honest History, 1 December 2015

Thursday this week, 3 December, is the 161st anniversary of Eureka. Honest History has collected resources on Eureka over the last couple of years and here are links to some of them:

Part of the mounted force of military and police moved towards the left of their position to threaten its flank and rear, the remainder of the mounted force and the foot police were kept in reserve; we then advanced quietly towards the intrenchments, where the revolutionary flag was flying. At about 150 yards we were received by a rather sharp and well directed fire from the rebels, without word or challenge on their part. Then, and not till then, I ordered the bugle to sound the “commence firing.” For about ten minutes a heavy fire was kept up by the troops advancing, which was replied to by the rebels. (Extract from report of Captain J W Thomas, commanding troops at Ballarat, to Deputy Adjutant-General, 3 December 1854: Geelong Advertiser and Intelligencer, 20 December 1854, p. 5, under headline ‘The Ballarat disturbance’)

Eureka_stockade_battleBattle of the Eureka Stockade, JB Henderson watercolour 1854 (Wikimedia Commons/State Library of NSW/Mattingbn)

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