Peter Lalor
Born: February 5, 1827, Laos Died: February 9, 1889, Richmond Definition Democracy: A government elected its constituents, and representing its constituents. Ballarat, Victoria. Gold was first discovered here in 1851.
Bakery Hill, Victoria where Peter Lalor's speech was delivered.
Replica of the Eureka Flag. The original was first unfurled on Bakery Hill and Lalor asked the miners to swear an oath by it. It is said to represent justice, democracy and nationalism.
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Bakery Hill Speech - Emma Bury
Peter Lalor, Ballarat, 1854 The Bakery Hill Speech was delivered to the miners at Ballarat in 1854, during a period of unrest over the unfair treatment of the miners. It became a significant turning point in Australia's democratic history. Unrest on the gold fields Since the discovery of gold in Ballarat in 1851, conditions on the goldfields were very harsh. Traders sold overpriced equipment, the cost of mining licences was excessively high, miners were subjected to frequent surprise checks of their mining licenses and the judicial process was dishonest, all of which increased dissatisfaction and unrest. Licences were 30 shillings a month, which was a lot of money at the time. Regardless is you found gold or not, you had to pay for them as soon as you got to the goldfields. Compared to squatters who paid 10 pounds a year and had title to about 100,000 acres, could vote and basically controlled the legislative council in Melbourne, the diggers had it pretty bad. Arising from the unrest the Ballarat Reform League was created. Their charter sought to overturn some of the oppression and sought suffrage, the right to stand for parliament, equal electorate districts, all of the things that are so plain in our constitution today. It is a document that is the real birth right of our parliamentary democracy because it clearly states the basic democratic political principles. On the 29th November a huge meeting at Bakery Hill was held where a list of demands was prepared for Governor Hotham. Fired up by the rallying for political rights, a lot of the miners burned their licences. The next morning the government called for another licence check, which enraged the miners even more. Lalor’s Speech On November 30th 1854, the miners gathered again and in the absence of the leader of the Ballarat Reform League, Irish born Peter Lalor stepped in and delivered his speech calling to workers to stand up for their rights and liberties. This speech was known as the Bakery Hill speech and Lalor was designated Commander in Chief after it. Lalor mounted the stump and proclaimed: “Liberty! Fellow diggers, outraged at the unaccountable conduct of the Camp officials, in such a wicked license-hunt at the point of the bayonet as the one this morning, we take it as an insult to our manhood and a challenge to the determination come from the monster meeting yesterday. Now I call on you to fall into divisions of eighty men according to your weapons, and to choose your captains from the best men among you. It is my duty now to swear you in, and to take with you the oath to be faithful to the Southern Cross. Now hear me with attention. The man who, after this solemn oath does not stand by our standard, is a coward at heart. I order all persons who do not intend to take the oath to leave the meeting at once. We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other, and fight to defend our rights and liberties." "Comrades, assist me to pray for the safety of these men. Bless these men that go to fight for their rights and liberties. May Heaven shield them from danger. I charge you to commit no violence to the peaceably disposed. I will shoot the first man who takes any property from another except arms and ammunition and what is necessary for us to use in our defence. Now fall in comrades, and march behind our standard to the Eureka.” This speech ultimately led to the Eureka uprising on December 3rd 1854. 120 Ballarat miners led by Lalor built a wooden fort at the Eureka diggings over December 1 and 2 and took up arms to fight. On December 3 soldiers from the fourth regiment and police officers attacked the stockade. Peter Lalor saw injustice and believed it would be right to take a stand. Many people followed his words and fought for a voice, equality, rights and a fair go – what they thought they deserved. While the miners did not win the battle at Eureka, it gained the governments attention for their cause. Harnessing the case for Democracy The most important thing in the speech is the oath “We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other, and fight to defend our rights and liberties." The act of raising a new flag of the Southern Cross and of swearing an oath by this flag really constitutes the ritual of revolution. Many see it as a moment of the real beginning of a sense of Australian independence and identity from Britain. The oath was made by Lalor and taken by miners. It was like a battle cry calling on all to fight for their rights and justice. He reinforced this reason to fight when he brought up the recent acts of the soldiers and licence hunts. Not only was the speech persuasive, it was also very inspiring. The speech told them about the future rights that they would have if it all went to plan and it inspired people to want and value their freedom even more than they had. In the oath he made sure that everyone was included regardless of race and religion and this made them feel special and a part of the situation. Instead of just taking the oath on behalf of the miners he knew that making them feel included would create a strong bond between them. He always mentioned "their rights" and used words words like "we" and "you". Peter Lalor led the rebellion that is most commonly known as the Eureka Stockade, and the birthplace of Australian Democracy. Even though the battle was lost, the war for greater equality for the miners was won, a crucial stepping stone towards democracy for the country. The miners demands included the abolition of the license and gold commission, the vote for all males and representatives on the legislative council. Although the Stockade failed to achieve its objective, it did gain the attention of the Government and lead to significant Government reforms including replacing the miner’s licenses with an affordable annual miner’s licence. Within a few months, the miners elected him as a member of parliament for Ballarat, which was one of the things they had been fighting for – political representation. Peter Lalor was one of the first members for the goldfields. Lalor's Bakery Hill Speech harnessed the cause for democracy, resulting in the Eureka Stockade and ensuing the democratic changes. Bibliography
Rickard, T. (2014). Peter Lalor [Internet]. Weebly, no place of publication. Available from: http://sssteureka.weebly.com/peter-lalor.htmlAccessed 4 May 2015 No author. no year. Bakery Hill Speech [Internet]. Weebly, no place of publication. Available from: http://sssteureka.weebly.com/bakery-hill-speech.html Accessed 8 May 2015 No author. (2015). State of the Goldfields [Internet]. Public Record Office Victoria, no place of publication. Available from: http://prov.vic.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/eureka-on-trial/state-of-the-goldfields Accessed 1 May 2015 Chim, E. (2014). Bakery Hill Speech [Internet]. Weebly, no place of publication. Available from: http://dsmee.weebly.com/bakery-hill-speech.html Accessed 1 May 2015 No author. (2010). Eureka Stockade [Internet]. Australian Government, no place of publication. Available from: http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/eureka-stockade Accessed 27 April 2015 No author. No year. The Eureka Rebellion [Internet]. Angelfire, no place of publication. Available from: http://ausnatinfo.angelfire.com/2eureka.htm Accessed 27 April 2015 |