Bentley. Robert. Mithdat. Robert. Eugeine. webmasterhp. secretary. Editor. ByronB. admin. scienceeditor. bud. Lannigan. Hanrahan. Anderson. Mary. public. History. familynews. James. Fran. Maurice. Frederick. Reporter. newsreport.
The miner's oath is empty rhetoric to most Australians, the Bracks/Brumby Victorian government has paved the road to hell with misguided and ignorant good intentions. Bracks and Brumby have done their best to destroy democracy in Victoria by such actions as making deals with the Police Union against the Westminster doctrine of the separation of powers. Bracks and Brumby banned free speech on religion.
Any racial jokes, like Irish jokes could now be illegal. An Irishman walks into a bar... "Six months jail". Bracks has banned Catholics speaking about Islam. How would you like to have Sharia law imposed and be unable to criticize it under Section 8. Catholics have been banned from speaking about Islam. If you cannot act yourself to stand together to defend our rights and liberties, please support those who do stand against the Bracks' governments constant moves to abolish our rights and liberties. All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to stand by and do nothing.
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The English had been using Australia as a dumping ground for English criminals, but by the early 1800's many of the prisoners transported to Australia were political prisoners from Ireland with political aspirations for freedom from English rule.
The were Irish Rebellions at Vinegar Hill. The name Vinegar Hill would later be used in the "Vinegar Hill" Convict revolt in Sydney in 1804 and also at the Eureka Stockade "Vinegar Hill" was the password.
In 1838, The big wind of 1839 flattened Ireland. The big wind of 1839 Houses with thatched roof as most homes had at the time, were destroyed by this hurricane wind.
Conditions were never very good in Ireland, especially for Roman Catholics. In 1778 there was a local movement to repel the Norman (French) invaders and assert Irish rights. Gardiner's Relief Act permitted Catholics to lease land if they took an oath of allegiance.
In 1792 the Catholic Relief Act removed restrictions on what professions Catholics could work in and also lifted educational restrictions, they were given the right to vote in 1793, but had to be large landowners, which very few of them were.
In 1816 there was a partial failure of the potato crop and a further failure in 1822. The Catholic association was formed in 1823 to campaign for political and other rights.
The resounding electorial win of an Irish Lawyer, Daniel O'Connell who stood for County Clare in 1828 made the English Prime Minister and Duke of Wellington fear a violent insurrection in Ireland, if O'Connell did not take his seat in parliament. Before O'Connell was elected, there was no political representation of the Irish. Some of this religious prejudice goes to changes introduced by Henry VIII to change and rewrite the Bible so that the monarch is God's representative on Earth, not the Pope of Rome. The zealous religious conflicts often ended with a puritanical Cromwellian hatred and domination of Catholics. Some Catholic monarchs like "Bloody Mary," gave reasonable cause for a hated of Catholics who followed the Papal authority. "Bloody Mary" executed many who opposed her.
Many English Protestants opposed granting any sort of rights or equality to Catholics, but the 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act allowed Catholics to hold most offices except Regent (King or Queen), Lord lieutenant and Lord Chancellor. The Irish however had more immediate concerns. In 1836 there was another potato famine.
The Great Irish Famine of 1846-50 took as many as one million lives from hunger and disease and convinced many that it was time for social change. The Potato Famine of 1846-1850. It began with heavy rains which rotted the potato crop causing a blight of the entire potato crop that left acre upon acre of Irish farmland covered with smelling black rot. As harvests across Europe failed, the price of food soared.
In 1848 during the Great Famine, there was an uprising in Tipperary which was easily suppressed and the leaders were transported. During the 1850s there were many demonstrations by Catholics for tenants rights, the Feinians started an insurrection which failed.
Michael Tuohy, another County Clare man from Scariff, (10km from where the Hanrahan's came from) also remembered the famine of 1847 and 1848 and helped to bury many of the unfortunate victims who died of starvation. To the end of his days Michael Tuohy, had a bitter hatred of the tyrants who, through misgovernment, brought such terrible suffering on his fellow-countrymen. He never failed to impress on his listeners the fact that while his people were starving, shiploads of produce were leaving Ireland so that the absentee landlords might get their pound of flesh.
As well as Irish political prisoners being sent to Australia, some landlords paid for their tenants to emigrate, sending thousands of Irish to Australia. Irish immigration averaged 268,469 per year during the famine. But emigration was a risk filled venture, ship owners often crowded hundreds of desperate Irish onto rickety vessels called "coffin ships." In many cases, these ships reached port only after losing a third of their passengers to disease, hunger and other causes. Michael had lived through difficult times for Catholics politically and the Great famine ( probably by fishing ) though the worst of the famine was mostly over by the time Michael emigrated. The English government heavily taxed alternative foods. The Corn Laws ensured that bread was very expensive even for the starving Irish, until Peel was able to repeal the Corn Laws and bread was more affordable. English feudal landlords were also reported to be squeezing people off their land for more profitable pursuits.
The environment of the mother can determine the later health of the baby before birth. Interestingly from a generational point of view, the effects of a famine can persist for many generations. There is a little known and bizarre second generational effect of famine. From a World War Two study of 40,000 births during the "hungry winter" for the Dutch. A large scale study showed that babies born in a famine (even if they were of average weight) later went on to have unusually small babies themselves. According to Matt Ridley, the first couple of generations after a famine suffer the worst heart disease rates. He suggests there is a thrifty and affluent genotype triggered in in-vitro. According to this theory the second and third generations after emigrants to Australia born during a famine year, might have had higher rates of heart disease, but by the fourth and fifth generation this effect would be gone.
The relationship between genetics and health extends beyond the physical. Mental health of an adult has been demonstrated to be responsive to the environment of the baby in-vitro. Exposure to some viri during critical tri-mester periods, for the baby's growth, can affect their mental health as adults!
A statistical analysis of the ages achieved by the second and third generation compared to averages for descendants from other "affluent" countries might show this famine generational effect?
Many Irish travelled to Australia on the £1 emigration scheme.
Some of the reports of the gold rush had stirred optimism world wide in the remote land of Australia. A ballad of the time, mentions Australian madness by reports of picking up lumps of gold in the streets.
Thomas Anderson may have been born somewhere in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Anecdotal stories from his son William Hilton Anderson say that he first settled for some years in Tasmania, we are not sure if he was the Thomas who emigrated on the ship Emigrant departing from Sligo?
Thomas Anderson 1850 migrated from Plymoth on 9 August 1850 to Morton Bay, He is recorded as being in Hospital in September following the trip with John who we assume is the brother mentioned in the passenger manifest.
Passenger list of the 1850 voyage of Emigrant
Thomas Anderson aged 18 and John Anderson aged 28
Thomas Anderson aged 18 is recorded as a passenger on the ship Emigrant (with brother John aged 28) on 8th August 1850. This ship Emigrant was registered in Liverpool, England. The ship Emigrant sailed from Plymouth on 17 April 1850 chartered by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commission, bound for Moreton Bay, with 276 passengers on board. There was typhus on the ship. There were 19 deaths on the Emigrant and 26 passengers buried on Stradbroke Island where the vessel was put into quarantine.
People travelled from all across Australia to pay tribute to the passengers and crew of the ill-fated ship the Emigrant which left Plymouth, England, in 1850 bound for Australia.
Unfortunately for many of the 260 passengers and crew men on board, this journey would turn out to be their last.
Four weeks after departing, typhus broke out on board. There were 18 deaths during the voyage to Australia and a further 26 passengers died while quarantined at the newly commissioned quarantine station at Dunwich.
In total 44 died of a total complement of 260. A Diary of the 1850 voyage of the Emigrant by Sarah Kempe.
In the Liverpool Shipping Register held by the Merseyside Maritime Museum, the final entry for the Emigrant is "Sold to Foreigners 1854". No details of the sale are recorded in the Register. A gathering of descendants of passengers of the barque Emigrant that arrived in Moreton Bay in August 1850, was held at Dunwich, Stradbroke Island on Saturday 10 August 2002. A bronze plaque naming those passengers who died during the voyage from Plymouth and those who died in quarantine on Stradbroke Island was unveiled by the Redland Shire Mayor, Don Seccombe. Over 100 descendants of passengers and crew of the Emigrant were present.
Family names of those who died on the Emigrant are BRIMBLE, BLOXAM, BURBEROW (Matron), CONNOR, CHAPPLE, CHARLTON, CUNNINGHAM, FRITH, FURPHY, GLEESON, GORMAN, HALLETT, HAYWARD, LANCASTER (Seaman), LODER, MEARA, SLATTERY and WATERSON. Family names of passengers buried on Stradbroke Island are BALL, BRIMBLE, CANNING, COLEMAN, CONNOR, CUMMINS, DWYER, FARMER, FRITH, GORMAN, HALLETT, HECTOR, HUISTON (HEUSTON), REAL, ROWE, SALLISBURY, SYNOTT (SYRETT), TROWBRIDGE, WADE and WATERSON. Also buried there are the ship's Surgeon Superintendent, Dr MITCHELL and the former Resident Surgeon of the Moreton Bay General Hospital, Dr BALLOW who volunteered for the task of tending the stricken passengers of the Emigrant. A letter describing the voyage written by Sarah Kempe, wife of the ship's captain, was published in The Emigrants' Penny Magazine Vol I , Plymouth, 1850.
A gathering of descendants of passengers who arrived on the Emigrant was held at Dunwich in August 2000, the 150th anniversary of the ships arrival.
"Miles Barton" arrived in Melbourne on 23rd July 1854 out of Liverpool on 4th May 1854.
Liverpool has a long standing public image as an Irish city, so much so that it is often jokingly referred to as the Capital of Ireland, at the time. The majority of emigrants took a steerage passage, and went out at the cheapest rate. Out of the 153,902 who left the port of Liverpool in 1849, the number of first and second class cabin passengers was only 4639.
Unassisted Immigration to Victoria Passenger Lists Search for passengers on the "Miles Barton". Public records online for Victoria
Details of "Miles Barton" Length 175ft, beam 35ft, depth 22ft. Registered tonnage 963 tons. For comparison the "Polly Woodside" at the maritime museum in South Melbourne (weight 648 tons) is about a third smaller than"Miles Barton". "Miles Barton" was a new ship at the time, built in 1853 by Mr BEAZLEY of Liverpool.
Before 1850, and the advent of fast clipper sailing ships the voyage went from England across the Atlantic to Rio and then south to Capetown, instead of going directly down the African coast. The trip seemed less direct in order to catch the trade winds in the roaring 40s. The earlier ships had to call into port more often. The earlier voyage of Cook.
On her maiden voyage she went out to Melbourne in 82 days. In 1854, the record was 63 days for the trip from Liverpool to Melbourne in the "Lightning". "Miles Barton" followed up this first performance of 82 days with 2 trips of 76 days each. Captain Kelly 4-5-1854 and Master Darlinghurst. It was a medium sized ship of the time and could legally carry 137 statute adults excluding the Master and crew. Many of the early "coffin ships" carried far more passengers than they were allowed to. The provisions of the ship were for a voyage of "40 days" and it would have had to stop in a port somewhere to re-provision on the voyage; probably Capetown, either that, or the passengers almost starved, eating only dried biscuits soaked in water to soften them up, as was reported on many other ships.
The sailing ships built especially for the Liverpool to Melbourne run were far more spacious and well-appointed than the previous generation of ocean-going vessels, and most of the emigrants had uneventful journeys to their new homeland. Some were not so lucky.
Carr Alfred Yates Dr. (1816 - 1894) became a member of the Royal college of Surgeons in England in 1842 and practiced as a surgeon in London before he arrived in Australian on the ship Araminta on 4th October 1852 on which 25 passengers died.
The Geelong district surgeon W.H. Baylie, who inspected the ship Araminta said "it was the dirtiest ship he had ever seen abroard. The migrants were "swarming with lice" Baylie recommended that Dr. Carr was never again given charge of a migrant vessel, so Carr headed for the goldfields.
Dr. Carr was also the medical Doctor heavily involved in the events at the Eureka stockade. He was very active among the miners and addressed the crowds at Bakery Hill, but secretly he had another agenda to spy for police. He was the coroner at the inquest into the death of the a miner called Martin who was misrepresented to be James Scobie. He was sworn in as a special constable by the police and was eventually paid £124 for his services a few years later when Peter Lalor was in parliament awarding compensation payments, maybe in this case to try and buy Carr's silence. He was almost shot as a police spy. George Glendinning who owned the Ballarat Hospital with Dr Carr stated that "Carr became very unpopular and distrusted as he was considered an agent of the government and therefrom lost his private practice in great measure"
The earlier ships before 1850 had even longer voyages and many perished on the voyage, like the loss of the "Guiding Star" with 500 souls onboard. The Argus, an early Melbourne newspaper during 1852 and 1853, reported tragic stories such as; the ship "Theodore" (1,063 tons) from Liverpool, brought 439 immigrants. Twenty-four children died from various diseases. The ship "Persian" 619 immigrants-thirty-four deaths from fever and dysentery- this vessel went into quarantine when it reached Melbourne. The "Anne Mylene" arrived at Portland with 276 immigrants with 20 deaths, chiefly of children. The "Ticonderoga", 90 days out from Liverpool anchored at the Heads, on April 3rd 1853. News of the fearful conditions on the "Ticonderoga" was brought to Williamstown by Captain Wylie who reported that the vessel had left Liverpool with 714 immigrants on board. Typhoid fever and scarlatina, had spread among the passengers and 100 deaths had occurred during the voyage.
From Liverpool alone, during July, 1852, 68 vessels, with 26,000 passengers, were dispatched by the British Government to Australia. "MILES BARTON" (4/5/1854 - 23/7/1854) from Liverpool, took 79 days which is a quick journey, a few days faster than her maiden voyage and faster than most ships, for example the "Glenmanna", which took 110 days from Liverpool.
It is certain that conditions on "Miles Barton" were reasonably crowded, but less so than some earlier voyages of a few years before. "Miles Barton" was registered to carry 137 Passengers, excluding the crew of up to 100. The passenger manifest records only some of the names and the total passengers from each country.
At least "Miles Barton" had a fast trip! But, there were about 100 too many people on-board, above the number that "Miles Barton" was designed to carry and it could only carry provisions for four months for a total crew of around 237. They would have to STOP for provisions more frequently with more people onboard, or they starved on the trip? WARNING: The passenger list scan is old, worn, difficult to read and is almost 1MB in size. It was not ever completely filled out.
"Miles Barton" Passenger List Scan
A daily diary of the Voyage to Australia of Thomas S. Lyle and family 31st December 1852.
Many were Consigned to the deep along the way...
The odds would seem stacked against most blokes, finding a wife. There were only about 200 single women in Ballarat in 1854. The odds of finding a bride were very low. Conditions could be depressing, drinking at sly grog tents was a panacea. In earlier Australian history, rum had been the preferred currency. Every sailor in the Royal British navy, was issued with a pint of rum a day, enough to get half a dozen people over .05 blood alcohol content every-day.
Politically and legally, women were treated as second class citizens. By 1854 there were 4,023 women on the Ballarat goldfields, compared to 12,660 men, - 208 women were in paid employment. The majority of these were domestic servants, 8% were storekeepers and others were needlewomen, dressmakers, milliners and shoe-binders. Only 5% of all women were single. Even the BALLARAT REFORM LEAGUE was asking for "manhood" suffrage, not universal suffrage for women as well! Australia was a pioneer in universal suffrage, but half a century later. Women were not considered on the goldfields, they did not even need to buy a miners licence to mine gold. Conditions for women must have been very bad indeed? What was the infant mortality rate, medical records were not kept until 1867!
Quoting Carboni, conditions on the goldfields. "Mud water was one shilling a bucket! Got dysentery very bad. Too many mosquitoes. Went to live with the blacks for a vacation. Picked up pretty soon bits of their yabber-yabber". Hard work by day, blazing fire in the evening, and sound sleep by night at the music of drunken quarrels all around. On the police Carboni states that, "Some of the traps were civil enough; aye, they felt the shame of their duty, but there were among them devils at heart..."
The Irish especially had historical reasons to resent English oppression more than most. From struggles and rebellions in Ireland, many Irish rebels were sent to Australia. The were many rebellions by convicts and decades later, by miners. The seeds of dissent were always there against English rule, even in England itself with the Chartist movement members among the miners, or in France, with the revolution of 1848.
The year before the Eureka Stockade, a large peaceful protest was held in Bendigo, against miner's licence fees and English rule. Even the English and Irish diggers could not agree, hundreds of them had an all in brawl in Ballarat on 9th and 10th December 1853. It took a year for the strong emotions in the peaceful Bendigo protest to turn into angry contempt against brutal police authority, harsh English colonial government taxing, and no political representation.
Deep lead mining was a much more dangerous venture than panning. There were lumps of gold left, but 60 to 90 ft under the ground. Many hard working hungry and sick miners did not find gold. Many died in accidents "fall down shaft", "fall of earth" and "drowned. Conditions politically were worse in Australia than British feudal rule of Ireland! In Victoria, one third of the government was nominated by the English Governor and the other two thirds were elected by wealthy landowners.
A Miner's Licence allowed a miner to work a 12 foot square claim for 30 shillings a month ( a large sum at the time? ).
This discount was available of three months for two pounds.
Travel to buy the claim could involve two days walking.
The police would conduct licence hunts on the goldfields, chasing miners everywhere and jailing them for not having a miner's right and extorting up to five pounds for their release on bail. The gold commission and police authority, were both brutal and corrupt. The harsh Gold Commissioner, Robert Rede later presided over the hanging of Ned Kelly in 1880.
Both the miners on trial for treason and later Ned Kelly, had the same judge Redmond Barry, the miners were acquitted, but a 30 thousand signature petition to request Ned's release had no effect on the hanging judge, Redmond Barry, a philandering and harsh judge by some accounts. As Geoffry Blainey commented, we wouldn't remember Ned Kelly, if he ended up as Beechworth Mayor!
Charles Hotham, the governor of Victoria did not keep his promise to the miners and ordered police to step up the licence hunts to twice a week to recover revenue. After the arrests and convictions of miners for assault as well as the first acquittal of James Bentley. Police had illegally seized the Eureka Hotel to spy on the gathered miners. If Lalor spirited Scobie out of Ballarat as Catherine Bentley recounted, Bentley is an innocent man framed to cover up for the murder of a miner killed in a claim jumping war called Martin. An angry mob burnt Bentley's hotel to the ground. In this angry mob were police spies among the miners and the hotel itself was taken over by police who had custody of when it was destroyed. An account of the burning of Bentley's Hotel by William Gay. William Gay's description of Bentley's hotel fire.
A crowd of many thousands of miners at Bakery Hill first flew the Eureka Flag. :Peter Lalor promoted his cause to became the leader of the miners and they all burned their Licences (except Carboni) and swore an oath of allegiance to the Flag.
During the day, there were estimated to be about 1,500 miners in the stockade, but on the night of the attack there were under 100. Reinforcements had been called from Melbourne and an attack was expected after they arrived. Instead the 300 or so police and soldiers stationed nearby did not wait for reinforcements, but made a surprise attack. On or about the time between 3.00 am and dawn on Sunday December 3rd 1854, 276 police and soldiers attacked the miners. 27 miners were either killed immediately, or died soon after, and a further 12 were wounded, but survived. Five police were killed and 12 wounded. Many of the surviving stockaders were taken prisoner and many hid in the bush after martial law was declared following the Stockade.
In the aftermath of the battle, the traps started bayonetting anyone in the area. The brutality of police brought the population to support the miners who they previously regarded as rogue elements. Some groups are still demanding an apology from the police for their brutal role in the killing of unarmed miners. Time for an apology. This is not likely given the insanity of today's corrupt Victorian police culture, instead of an apology they deny any wrong doing by police. After the Eureka battle was over, innocent bystanders were killed, see Michael Tuohy's account for example of blood thirsty scoundrels. The police also set fire to the miner's tents and destroyed all they could find. After the battle was over and won, police brutality murdered unarmed men and women. Many elements of society considered the miners to be lawless elements, until the police violence caused the population to turn against them. The miner's were acquitted by a jury as they had the public's support. There were protest meetings to support the miners in Geelong Melbourne and Ballarat. Public support was overwhelming.
Thirteen of the miners (including Carboni)were tried for treason in Melbourne in 1855, all were acquitted to great public acclaim. Pressure for reform forced change. The miners licence was reduced to a small fee, Police numbers were dramatically cut and electoral reforms followed.
Short History of Australia
Australian History Hugh Capel's website picture and story archive pre 1901.
Genealogical research
Australian rebellions
Trinity College Eureka resources
Encyclopaedia of revolutions of 1848
The Eureka Stockade by Tom O'Lincoln
Reclaiming the Radical Spirit of the Rebellion
Memories of the Stockade
SBS Eureka Links
Defending Victoria website pictures Ballarat Stockade:
Outline of the events at Eureka Harvey's book :
Link to genealogical Society website:
New in late 2004
The Eureka Encyclopaedia
Hot off the Press
Packed with Eureka Stockade research
Corfield J, Wickham D, Gervasoni C,
Ballarat Heritage Services 2004.
PO 2209 Ballarat VIC 3354.
Email Ballarat Heritage Service
Anderson Hugh (editor.)
Report on Condition of the Goldfields
Red Rooster Press, Melbourne, 1978.
Blake Les.
Peter Lalor: The Man From Eureka
Neptune Press, Belmont, Vic., 1979.
Currey. C.H.
The Irish at Eureka
Angus and Robertson Sydney, 1954.
Desmond O'Grady.
Raffaello! Raffaello!: A Biography of Raffaello Carboni
Hale and Iremonger Sydney, 1985.
Despatches From Sir Charles Hotham
Public Record Office, Melbourne, (1981?).
Eureka: Rebellion Beneath the Southern Cross
Rigby, Melbourne, 1977.
Fox Len.
Eureka and its Flag
Mullaya Publications, Canterbury, Vic., 1973.
MacFarlane Ian.
Eureka: From the Official Records
Public Record Office of Victoria, Melbourne, 1995.
Potts E. Danieland Annette Potts.
Young America and Australian Gold
University of Queensland Press St. Lucia, Qld., 1974.
Raffaello Carboni.
The Eureka Stockade
Currey O'Neil Blackburn Vic., 1980.
Full text of Carboni online
Riddley Matt.
Nature via Nurture.
Fourth Estate Harper Collins London 2003
Ross R.S.
Eureka:Freedom's Fight of '54
Fraser and Jenkinson, Melbourne, 1914.
The original copy of the 11.11.1854
Meeting resolutions
Public Record Office in Laverton Victoria: "27 Nov. 1854:
Bakery Hill Ballaarat Resolutions
(VPRS 4066, Unit 1, File 69).
Turner Ian.
Peter Lalor
Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1974.
Weston Bate.
Lucky City: The First Generation at Ballarat 1851-1901
Melbourne University Press, Carlton Vic 1978
Withers William Bramwell.
The History of Ballarat
From the First Pastoral Settlement to the Present Time
Queensberry Hill Press, Carlton, Vic., 1980.
First-hand accounts of the Eureka rebellion(EDP1:158)
