THE EUREKA STOCKADE
This poster advertised the meeting 'of all the diggers, storekeepers, and inhabitants of Ballarat generally' to be held on Bakery Hill on Wednesday the 29th of November 1854 at 2 o’clock. This mass rally was a major event in the lead up to the storming of the Eureka Stockade on Sunday the 3rd of December 1854. The day of the massacre is commemorated on every anniversary. Ballarat youngsters from an early age learn the story and participate in reenactments. Historic documents held at the Public Record Office of Victoria have recorded the facts, journalists of the day reported on the Eureka Sedition Trials and the triumphant vindication when all those accused were acquitted. Since then, there is a continuing debate about the post-Eureka reforms and what actually brought them about. The very mention of the word Eureka in Ballarat today is enough for people to express strongly held views on one side or the other. It is rather like the American Civil War which has never really ended - people still identify with the cause of their choice.
EUREKA RESEARCH REFERENCES
Blood on the Southern Cross is a sound and light show at Sovereign Hill. This is a must-see experience for visitors interested in the Eureka story.
The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Justin Corfield, Dorothy Wickham, Clare Gervasoni, Ballarat Heritage Services, Ballarat, 2004
The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, Claire Wright, The Text Publishing Co, Melbourne, 2013
History of Ballarat and Some Ballarat Reminiscences From the original edition of History of Ballarat by William Bramwell Withers, first published 1870. Originally twelve weekly parts of History of Ballarat, featured in the Ballarat Star, beginning on the 11th June 1870. Bound volumes of History of Ballarat were sold from early August of the same year. Some Ballarat Reminiscences by W B Withers, first published in serial form in 1895 and 1896. (Digitised by the University of California)
Lucky City : The First Generation at Ballarat 1851-1901, Weston Bate, Melbourne University Press, 1978
M.A.D.E. Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka is a 2013 upgrade of the former Eureka Centre. The Eureka Flag which flew above the Stockade is held here on loan from the Art Gallery of Ballarat.
Soldiers Bleed Too : The Redcoats at the Eureka Stockade 1854, Neil C Smith, Mostly Unsung Military History Reseach and Publications, Gardenvale, 2004
Women of the Diggings Ballarat 1854, Dorothy Wickham, BHS Publishing, Ballarat, 2009