The Eureka Flag Fragment: A Symbol of Rebellion

The Eureka Stockade Flag - A Fragment of Australian History, The Eureka Stockade, also known as the Eureka Rebellion, took place at the Eureka Diggings in Ballarat, Victoria, on the 3 December 1854. The rebellion was instigated by goldminers who were fed up with being ill-treated by the authorities and the high mining licence fees they were forced to pay. Two meetings were held at which a band of diggers burnt their mining licences in protest, the second of these was at Bakery Hill on 29 November, 1854, where the Southern Cross Flag, which has since become known as the Eureka Flag, was first flown. Four days later, around 500 diggers marched to the Eureka Diggings and barricaded themselves into an acre of the goldfield, where they took an oath on the Eureka Flag, swearing to stand by each other and fight 'to defend their rights and liberties.' Although the diggers spent two days gathering firearms and pikes to defend the stockade, when the authorities launched their counterattack the diggers were outnumbered and lost the battle, which was over in twenty minutes. The Eureka flag was torn down and souvenired by the victors. Although the diggers lost on the day, the Gold Fields Commission of March 1855 that followed the Stockade actually resulted in all the demands of the diggers being met. The rebellion resulted in the deaths of at least 27 people, the majority of whom were rebels. Trooper John King, took down the flag during the battle and retained it in his family for forty years before lending it to the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery in 1895, which has now loaned it to the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka. Pieces were cut off and given to visiting dignitaries, which resulted in a loss of approximately 30% of the flag. The authenticity of the flag and the fragment offered here have been the subject of debate over the century but in 2010 textile conservators from Artlab Australia analysed the fibres and came to a positive conclusion, for which the test results are available and a copy accompanies this lot. The piece is 39 x 85 mm (approx.). The majority of the original Eureka Flag (shown below) is preserved for public display at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka, and is considered a symbol of the birth of the Australian nation and as a symbol of rebellion closely associated with the struggle for democracy and unity. It is listed as an object of State Heritage significance on the Victorian Heritage Register and was named as an icon by the National Trust in 2006. The proceeds of the sale of this piece of the Eureka Flag will be used to support the on-going work of Mal Boystown Orphanage (Mbo) in Malbazar, West Bengal, India. Details of their fine work at: https://sites.google.com/site/malbifund/