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THE EUREKA STOCKADE - PART 2

© Joanna Skinner

Bentley and his cohorts were sentenced to three years hard labour on the roads for the manslaughter of James Scobie. The three diggers charged with burning down the Eureka Hotel, Westerby, Fletcher and McIntyre, were sentenced to six, four and three months in prison.

When this news reached the diggings in late November 1854, the diggers were further incensed. They felt the three were justified in their actions over the death of Scobie, when originally the murderers were found to have "no case to answer". In fact, the majority of the diggers had taken part or approved of the burning of the hotel.

The diggers had reached the end of their tether after years of fighting the injustice and outright corruption of the licence system. The constant harassment by the police to show their licences, which many could not afford further fueled their anger and now this.

The drink-inflamed hotheads amongst them wanted to wage immediate armed rebellion against those they saw as their oppressors. They cited the American Revolution against the British. Many of the diggers were Irish with a long standing hatred for the "English oppressor" because of their experiences back in Ireland, particularly the Potato Famine of some ten years before.

Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and three men, George Black, the editor of Gold Diggers Advocate, J. B. Humffray, a Welshman and Tom Kennedy, a fiery Scot were selected as a delegation to see Governor Hotham about their grievances and to ask for the release of the three imprisoned diggers. The first two wanted no bloodshed. Kennedy was one of those who wanted to take up arms, but was persuaded to try the peaceful way first.

The delegates met with Governor Hotham, the Colonial Secretary, John Foster and the attorney-general William Stawell on 27 November 1854. Among their requests was political representation for the diggers. This and the request for the release of Westerby and the others were denied outright. The delegates finally left emptyhanded apart from a vague undertaking to look into some of their grievances.

The diggers were not just Irish who had fled poverty and oppression. Though the majority were Irish, there were those from all over the British Isles and Europe. Some where just trying find their fortunes and overcome generations of poverty, but just as many fled poverty and oppression in their homelands and were determined to fight what they saw as oppression in their new.

In the meantime, the government in Melbourne had decided to deal with these troublesome diggers at Ballarat once and for all. It would be "government by artillery". While the three man delegation was still in Melbourne a detachment of the Fortieth Regiment marched into Ballarat from Geelong, lead by Captain Wise who had enjoyed a good relationship with the diggers and their families in the past.

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