EUREKA - STORY IN BRIEF Sunday December 3rd 1854 - since then many people - politicians, historians and others - have endeavoured to justify or explain this most remarkable event in Australia's history. By 1854, the easily mined surface gold was gone after the first mass of diggers had picked over and found "the get rich quick" prizes, Gold was still there - far richer than any yet extracted - but it was down deeper. Instead of a few diggers to each claim, more men were brought into the party to help sink the shaft deeper. The average may have been about 100 feet - worked without machinery. On these goldfields where surface mining was still carried on, the population could drift from field to field and even evade the payment of a licence. Ballaarat was different - the leads were deep - the digger population became more permanent and thus easier to check for the possession of the hated licence. Many of the miners took months to sink.their shafts during which time they frequently had to borrow money to buy the licence - without finding a trace of gold. No wonder they were disgruntled. Being semi-permanent the men would meet of an evening and talk over their troubles. the high price of the land, the difficulty in mining gold the dark, hot, wet conditions down below, the smallness of the claim no matter what the depth - the lack of representation in the Government - the high cost of food. The Lieutenant Governor, Sir Charles Hotham, visited Ballaarat in August, 1854, at a time when Victoria was facing a crisis of falling revenue, purturbed at the evasion of paying for a licence, Hotham ordered his Police to inspect licences twice a week. The miners were infuriated at this further interference in their work. The stage was being set: corrupt Magistrate - Police were rough - Goldfield Commissioners who were unable to control the field. OCTOBER. The Miners on the Gravel Pits Lead stopped work in protest against an unjust decision. OCTOBER 8th: A Miner named Scobie was murdered near the Eureka Hotel. The publican Bentley (an ex-convict) was tried and discharged by a corrupt local Magistrate. Now aroused, the men burnt down the Eureka Hotel. Three men were arrested, tried and convicted on 25th November. The local paper, the Ballaarat Times, came out in open support of revolt. NOVEMBER Tuesday 28th: More soldiers in horse vans arrived at Ballaarat. Wednesday 29th - a large crowd of Miners assembled at Bakery Hill to burn licences and pass resolutions. Thursday 30th A stinker of a day, hot offensive, tempers on edge and the Government chose that day to send the Police on another hunt for licences. It is said that they received half the fines imposed on unlicensed diggers as an incentive to their work. The men defied the Police who thereupon fired over the heads of the Miners and took some prisoners; another monster meeting was held at Bakery Hill - the die was cast - Peter Lalor was their leader. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1st - A defensive site was selected, whilst armed men were gathered and organised. SATURDAY DECEMBER 2nd - Of about 12,000 on the Ballarat Goldfield, 1,500 were possibly under arms in the crude hastily erected stockade at Eureka. Most of the Miners went back to their tents for the night, leaving about 100 men behind the fence. Two miles away were the four hundred or more police and soldiers in their camp in the high ground to the west. SUNDAY DECEMBER 3rd Through lack of enthusiasm, a desire to go on a spree or in the belief that nothing could happen on a Sunday, only 150 diggers remained in the Stockade. Nearly all were asleep when the alarm was given of the approach of 400 police and soldiers. Two withering volleys, the order to charge and ten minutes of hand to hand fighting and it was all over. The Southern Cross flag was hauled down, and tents were burned and many prisoners taken. Five soldiers and thirty diggers were killed or later died of wounds. The soldiers' commander, Captain Wise was among those killed, and the Miners' leader Peter Lalor lost his left arm. While it may be wrong to say as did the late H.V. Evatt "Australian democracy was born at Eureka", it is true that the dramatic incident ushered in a period in which was achieved our first major democratic victories.