The Eureka Stockade

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

Eureka Stockade: A ferocious and bloody battle, is the epic account of the battle for the Eureka Stockade, an iconic moment in Australian history. On the chilly dawn morning of 3 December 1854 British soldiers and police of the Victorian colonial government attacked and stormed a crudely-built fortification erected by insurgent gold miners at the Eureka lead on the Ballarat Gold Diggings. The fighting was intense, the carnage appalling and the political consequences of the affair profound. This book, for the first time, examines in great detail the actual military events that unfolded during the twenty minutes of deadly fighting at Eureka.

Winner of the Stella Prize, 2014. The Eureka Stockade. It's one of Australia's foundation legends yet the story has always been told as if half the participants weren't there. But what if the hot-tempered, free-spirited gold miners we learned about at school were actually husbands and fathers, brothers and sons? What if there were women and children right there beside them, inside the Stockade, when the bullets started to fly? And how do the answers to these questions change what we thought we knew about the so-called 'birth of Australian democracy'? Who, in fact, were the midwives to that precious delivery? Ten years in the research and writing, irrepressibly bold, entertaining and often irreverent in style, Clare Wright's The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is a fitting tribute to the unbiddable women of Ballarat - women who made Eureka a story for us all. Clare Wright is an historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant and radio and television broadcaster. Her first book, Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans, garnered both critical and popular acclaim and her second, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, won the 2014 Stella Prize. She researched, wrote and presented the ABC TV documentary Utopia Girls and is the co-writer of the four-part series The War That Changed Us which screened on ABC1. 'Lively, incisive and timely, Clare Wright's account of the role of women in the Eureka Stockade is an engrossing read. Assembling a tapestry of voices that vividly illuminate the hardscrabble lives endured on Ballarat's muddy goldfields, this excellent book reveals a concealed facet of one of Australia's most famous incidences of colonial rebellion. For once, Peter Lalor isn't the hero: it's the women who are placed front and centre...The Forgotten Rebels links the actions of its heroines to the later fight for female suffrage, and will be of strong relevance to a contemporary female audience. Comprehensive and full of colour, this book will also be essential reading for devotees of Australian history.' Bookseller and Publisher 'This is a wonderful book. At last an Australian foundation story where women are not only found, but are found to have played a fundamental role.' Chris Masters 'Brilliantly researched and fun to read. An exhilarating new take on a story we thought we knew.' Brenda Niall 'Fascinating revelations. Beautifully told.' Peter FitzSimons ‘The best source on women at Eureka.’ Big Smoke

The Eureka Stockade is the epic account of the battle for the Eureka Stockade, an iconic moment in Australian history. On the chilly dawn morning of 3 December 1854 British soldiers and police of the Victorian colonial government attacked and stormed a crudely-built fortification erected by insurgent gold miners at the Eureka lead on the Ballarat Gold Diggings. The fighting was intense, the carnage appalling and the political consequences of the affair profound. This book, for the first time, examines in great detail the actual military events that unfolded during the twenty minutes of deadly fighting at Eureka. Many of the old assumptions about what occurred that day are turned on the heads, raising in their places provocative questions. Were the intentions of the Eureka diggers as pacific as tradition insists? How was it that men supposedly poorly armed and taken completely by surprise in their sleep were able to deliver ‘sharp and well directed’ fire on their attackers? How close, in fact did the assaulting infantry come to failing in their task, and why has the pivotal part played by the police in the battle been ignored in every retelling of the Eureka story? Why have the Americans, who played a decisive part in the defence of the stockade been all but ignored? The author argues convincingly that Eureka was not a wanton massacre of innocents, as it has been portrayed. Rather it was a hard fought military engagement. Eureka was a decisive moment in Australian history and in this book it comes alive in a rousing and original manner.

Reproduction of the original: The Eureka Stockade by Raffaello Carboni

Early in the morning of 3 December 1854, colonial troopers attacked a group of civilian gold diggers who had thrown up a stockade in defiance and defense. In the years that followed, the truth of what occurred that morning has been obscured by partisans on both sides. John Molony's Eureka vividly recreates the story of Eureka and unravels the myths that have come to surround it. Eureka was first published in 1984 by Viking. A Penguin paperback edition appeared in 1989, but the book has been out of print for several years. The story of Australia's first and only armed rebellion for democratic rights is still relevant today.