The Eureka Stockade was an important event in Australian history. It was about gold miners fighting for their rights against the Government and the police. The diggers were so furious because they were forced into paying for a Gold license.

It all started because of the Gold licenses the miners had to pay for and how corrupt the police were. They were really angry at the government because of how much it cost. Four days before the battle, some miners burnt their licenses. At their protest meeting, the Eureka flag was flown for the first time. They marched to Eureka, Peter Lalor in the lead.

The miners made a stockade out of pieces of wood. Inside the stockade, the area covered an acre. There they swore an oath. Some diggers got bored of waiting so they left to mine. On the 3rd of December 1854 at dawn, the miners were attacked by surprise. There were about 200 diggers inside. The battle lasted for only 15-20 minutes. Thirty miners were killed or died later of serious wounds. Five soldiers were killed too. Lots of miners were captured and held prisoner. Peter Lalor escaped with a badly injured arm.

Right after the battle the publics’ feelings went against the Government, so they had to make the law fair. The license hunting was reduced so much there was hardly any license hunting at all.

The long term result of this battle was The Gold Fields Royal Commission changed most of the  laws and the gold license was replaced with a miners’ right costing one pound per year. They were also given the right to vote in elections for parliament. Lalor was elected in 1855 to the Legislative Council and became speaker of The House of Assembly in 1880.

I think the Eureka Stockade might have been the birthplace of democracy because the miners fought for their rights and won.