Eureka Stockade

Thrown up on the afternoon of Saturday 2 December, the Eureka Stockade was a breastwork of wooden slabs reinforced with carts about four feet high. It hemmed in about an acre of land a short distance from the charred remains of Bentley's Eureka Hotel.

Police Constable Henry Goodenough, an undercover agent for the government, had infiltrated his way into the stockade under the pretence of being a fellow digger. Having witnessed their preparations including drillings, speeches and the search for ammunition, Goodenough reported back to the Camp all that he had learnt regarding the future outbreak. However, at this point the diggers were still hoping that a peaceful resolution could be made, and as a result Peter Lalor had called for a deputation to be sent to Commissioner Rede in the hope of dissolving the stalemate. Stating that the diggers would return to work as normal on the proviso that the prisoners would be released and assurances given by the Commissioners that licence hunts would be abandoned. Father Smyth, Raffaello Carboni and George Black were chosen as the deputees. Their journey proved to be in vain as Rede dismissed their requests.

In an effort to keep the peace Father Smyth, unbeknown to others in the stockade, returned to the Camp still believing that there could be some way of reconciling the dispute with Rede. Once again he appealed to the Commissioner to drop the licence hunts until higher authorities had reached a decision only to have his pleas rejected yet again.

Returning to the Camp Smyth wrote a letter to Hotham in an effort to convince him that further unrest could be avoided should the Governor agree to the demands of the diggers. Hotham replied to Father Smyth informing him that it was his duty to enforce the laws of the Crown and until the Commission had decided otherwise, he would continue with the licence hunts.

Anticipating the likelihood of a battle, approximately 300-400 unarmed diggers had made their way from Creswick, and they now joined the ranks of diggers already at the stockade in support. Father Smyth, alarmed at the determination of the diggers to seek justice both expressed his concern and appealed to them to come to mass the following day. His invitation was met with a less than receptive response from the Catholics who had converged to hear him speak. In fact, the attitude in the stockade that Saturday evening was so relaxed that a lot of the diggers had left the stockade to return to their tents; many of them had been drinking whilst others had gone to bed. Overall approximately 120 men where left within the stockade to act as sentry for that evening. Lalor had retired for the evening with no thought of placing anyone in charge.

A few kilometres away in the government Camp the mood was of a different nature. Busily preparing for their attack on the 'insurgents' the authorities had issued a public notice stating that no lights were to be allowed after 8 pm and should anyone fire any weapons, they would be fired at directly by the police. Commissioner Rede had already notified the relevant bodies in Melbourne regarding the impending attack on the stockaders, maintaining that in order to successfully crush the diggers they should be contained within the stockade.

That evening, paranoid that spies had infiltrated their Camp both Commissioner Rede and Captain Charles Pasley secretly discussed the strategy as well for the upcoming assault on the stockade. By now their men were well armed and trained and a route was devised with the aid of Commissioner Amos. By 3.30 am soldiers and police officers had taken their positions as planned, only 300 yards from the stockade. Captain Thomas had instructed his troops to spare any person who did not show signs of resistance; the troops outnumbering the stockaders two to one.

I

At 4.45 am on Sunday 3 December, the sentry posted to guard the stockade fired a warning shot to alert the other diggers of the attack, however the diggers still asleep were largely caught unprepared for battle with the government forces. The stockade had been successfully surrounded, with Captain Wise's contingent of the 40th regiment covering the northern side of the stockade, a smaller group in position to the west and a larger group moving in from the east.

Lalor, who was first on the scene, made a desperate attempt to assemble his men into some semblance of order. Standing upon a stump, he ordered his men to hold their fire until the troopers had advanced closer towards them. Whilst in this vulnerable stance a couple of bullets had struck him in the shoulder. Advising his men to flee Lalor hid among a pile of slabs. He later had his arm ampuated.

Carboni awoke in his tent outside the stockade hearing the gun shots and as such did not actually participate in the fighting. Frederick Vern fled the scene while James McGill, responsible for organising tactics, had been sent on an errand and was not even present.

Realising the futility of the situation many diggers tried to escape the scene of carnage. The Canadian, Captain Ross, had received a fatal gun shot wound as he stood at the foot of the flagpole where the symbolic Southern Cross flag flew. Minutes later Constable John King made his way to the flagpole and tore down the stockaders symbol of unity and freedom.

Although the duration of the battle was recorded as being twenty minutes, the confusion and chaos that accompanied the carnage lasted until 7 am on the Sunday morning. The authorities, on the advice of Commissioner Rede and Captain Thomas, began the process of rounding up and arresting all those present.

By then, the news of the battle had reached Melbourne and Governor Hotham instructed that proclamations be printed and distributed throughout the city. Meanwhile various reports were written by Captain Thomas, Commissioner Rede, Charles Pasley and Police Magistrate Charles Hackett, in relation to the events that had occurred that day.

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