People's roles, rights and democracy

Law and disorder

When the goldfields were established in the 19th century, it rapidly became apparent that a law-keeping force was needed. Early goldfields settlements existed under a rough mob rule, where problems were settled by what was known as diggers justice. In the majority of cases, this could be resolved relatively peacefully, with moderate punishments, however mob rule could sometimes be violent, especially when passions were inflamed by alcohol and frustration.

Due to the acute shortage of manpower and the availability of what were considered to be suitable recruits, newly emancipated convicts were frequently employed as troopers. This was disastrous in several ways. The troopers were given wide-ranging discretionary powers and could impose harsh penalties. Ex-convict troopers soon found ways of abusing their newly imposed powers, demanding licence inspections at will, harassing diggers over payment of claims and otherwise making their lives a misery over a range of petty matters. See image 1

Licence, please

Of all the conditions imposed upon the diggers on the goldfields, by far the most deeply loathed was the gold licence. Initially created to proclaim one's legal right to dig for gold on a particular claim, the system was abused by over-zealous troopers. Many diggers were arrested if they did not produce their licence on demand.

Frustrations were inflamed further when the newly-appointed Lieutenant Governor of Victoria, Sir Charles Hotham ordered licence checks to be carried out twice a week instead of once a month. For the miners, these conditions and requirements made difficult living conditions intolerable. See image 2

A `fair go'

The Australian tradition of a `fair go' has its roots in the gold rush period. Simmering tensions over the gold licences and the unfair taxation laws imposed on diggers were finally brought to a head by two separate incidents.

The first was the arrest of a crippled Armenian digger, Johannes Gregorious, who had been wrongly accused of assaulting an officer. Many diggers protested bitterly, seeing the arrest and prosecution as unfair victimisation.

The second event, which sparked the Eureka rebellion, was the acquittal of publican James Bentley who had been arrested for the murder of miner James Scobie. Nearly 10 000 miners gathered at Bentley's hotel in protest and the hotel was burnt to the ground.

This led to the famous Eureka Stockade, in which a group of miners took up arms in protest at the unfair conditions of the gold licences and taxation laws. The Eureka Stockade led to 13 arrests but, in a major victory for democracy, at the subsequent trial all 13 miners were acquitted.

The uprising led to the abolition of the miner's licence and the establishment of a fairer system. It marked the beginning of Australia's movement towards a democratic social system and a `fair go' for all.