Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Claims for compensation
Claims for compensation

Claims for compensation

Printer
Date25 January 1856
Object number00018465
NameParliamentary paper
MediumInk on paper
DimensionsOverall: 337 x 215 mm, 1.1 kg
ClassificationsEphemera
Credit LineANMM Collection Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis Parliamentary paper contains copies of the petitions from Ballarat citizens claiming losses as a result of the riots at the Eureka stockade. A number of Ballarat residents filed compensation claims for losses they incurred such as the destruction of homes and businesses. The committee approving these payments was chaired by Peter Lalor. The Eureka stockade 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 gives an official view of the impact and aftermath of the Eureka stockade. It is representative of the tension between miners and the Australian colonial government during the 1850s.