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Second report from the select committee of the legislateive council on the Ballarat (sic) outbreak peptition, together with the proceedings of the committee and minutes of evidence
Second report from the select committee of the legislateive council on the Ballarat (sic) outbreak peptition, together with the proceedings of the committee and minutes of evidence

Second report from the select committee of the legislateive council on the Ballarat (sic) outbreak peptition, together with the proceedings of the committee and minutes of evidence

Printer
Date14 March 1856
Object number00018464
NameParliamentary paper
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 337 x 215 mm, 0.01 kg
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis Parliamentary paper is the second report compiled on the Ballarat miners’ rebellion in 1854. It contains the meeting minutes and committee proceedings in response to a compensation petition from Ballarat citizens. The rebellion resulted in the loss of homes and commercial infrastructure near Ballarat. The conflict at the Eureka stockade between the colonial government and miners has been immortalised in Australian folk history and is a favourite topic of poets, novelists, journalists and filmmakers.HistoryExpensive gold licenses and variable returns from mining created resentment towards the Victorian colonial government during the 1850s. In 1854 this tension reached a climax as diggers refused to pay for their license fees. On 3 December 1854 violence erupted as miners exchanged fire with troops from within a stockade at Ballarat, Victoria. A group of Americans called the Independent California Rangers Revolver Brigade fought alongside the digger's army. During a 20-minute battle 25 miners and one soldier were killed. As a result of the conflict a number of properties and businesses were destroyed. These losses formed the basis of the compensation claims by residents in Ballarat. Some of the storekeepers who lost their property after the riot were successful in receiving compensation. The conflict also resulted in the abolishment of the miner's license fee which was replaced by an annual £1 fee called a Miner's Right. The Parliamentary papers of the colony of Victoria contain major reports by members in the Parliament committees, offices and organisations. They offer an insight into the official view of the government at the time. SignificanceThis paper provides an insight into the official view of the government during the Australian gold rush period of the 1850s. It highlights the riots of the Eureka stockade and the tension between miners and the Australian colonial government.