The Australian colonists : an exploration of social history, 1788-1870

Italian revolutionary Raffaello Carboni reached the Ballarat goldfields in 1853 looking for adventure and wealth. Instead, he found growing unrest among the miners, who were straining against harsh and oppressive government regulations. This unrest came to a head at dawn on 3 December 1854, at the now legendary Eureka Stockade. Here, 120 angry miners revolted against police and soldiers, leaving thirty-five men dead. The courage, resistance to authority and support for democratic freedom displayed by the miners has shaped ideas of Australian nationhood ever since. Raffaello Carboni, an active participant, relates the story behind the myth. His eyewitness account, first published in 1855, vividly and accurately evokes the excitement, drama and horror of the Eureka Stockade, and its aftermath. This new edition of a classic work, supplemented with an introduction by Tom Keneally, is published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Eureka uprising. A social history of the period from 1788 to 1870, from the beginning of British settlement of Australia to the year when the last British soldiers sailed home from the colonies. Newcomers brought with them from the old world their traditional holidays. We see them facing natural enemies in the land, and having their tranquillity shattered by bushrangers as well as rebellious convicts, military officers and gold diggers. With them we hear the sounds of distant war. We meet the men they honoured, and we read of efforts by poets and orators to turn the Australian experience into history. Examines the Australian people, holidays, domestic violence, heroes and the response to international crises and natural elements, over the first 100 years.