On the 3rd of December, 1854 at dawn on Bakery Hill, mounted police and troopers attacked the miners in their Eureka Stockade.

This battle came about because the miners did not want to pay licence fees and also because James Bently killed James Scobie and the police let him get away with it. The miners were very angry so they built a stockade made out of wood.

The battle was all over in 15-20 minutes. Five soldiers were killed and 30 miners were killed or later died of their wounds. Many diggers were taken prisoner but Peter Lalor escaped with his left arm badly injured.

The immediate result of this rebellion was a public reaction against the government. Licensed hunting became almost non-existent, and the Victorian jury acquitted all but one of the 13 miners charged.

The long term result was the Gold Fields Royal Commission led to reform of the laws and gave the miners almost everything they had asked for. The gold license was abolished and replaced with a miners’ right costing one pound per year. Possession of this gave the diggers a right to mine gold and vote in the elections for Parliament. Lalor was elected unopposed in 1855 to the Legislative Council and he became speaker of the House of Assembly in 1880.

I believe that this event was the start of Australian democracy because the miners fought for their rights and won.