The Eureka Stockade
In May 1851, Governor Charles Fitzroy (NSW) decided that there were so many prospectors that authorities could not prevent them digging. He decided that all miners would be required to pay a monthly fee to search for gold. The Victorian government did the same in 1851. Initially the monthly fee for a gold licence was 30 shillings (approximately $176). All miners were required to pay the same amount regardless of their success. Someone who had never found gold would pay the same as the miners who had 'struck it rich'. This was a significant amount of money, particularly for the unsuccessful miners, and there were many more people who were unsuccessful than there was successful miners. The licence granted the miner a 'claim' of 13.5squared meters (approximately the size of your bedroom). A claim in the area in which a miner was allowed to search. They were only permitted to look for gold in their allocated claim area. Miners had to have their licences on them at all times. Traps (goldfield police) were in charge of ensuring all prospectors were authorised to mine, but they were often cruel, corrupt and unfair. If a miner couldn't present their licence when the traps asked for it, the prospector could be fined or arrested. Eventually, the high costs of the licences, the unfair policing and the lack of rights given to the miners led to the Eureka Rebellion in which miners joined together to fight for their rights. This led to many changes for the miners, including introduction of the Miner's Right. Each digger had to pay 1 pound, ten shillings each month, simply for the right to dig. Miners were not able to claim the land they were working, and could be forced by the Gold Commission Police to relocate without compensation. The government hoped that these high fees would force some classes of people to go back to work in the cities. |
Eureka Stockade 2mins 52 secs splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/2153105/eureka-stockade
Task 7:
- Investigate the above page.
- Upload an image of the Eureka flag to your Weebly account.
- Under the flag, answer the following question - 'Why do you think many miners saw the licences as unfair?'
- Investigate the above page.
- Upload an image of the Eureka flag to your Weebly account.
- Under the flag, answer the following question - 'Why do you think many miners saw the licences as unfair?'