List of detainees at the Eureka Stockade
This is an incomplete list of the around 120 prisoners who were detained by the colonial forces around the time of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat in Victoria, Australia. A group of thirteen accused rebels were then committed to stand trial for high treason, with all either being acquitted or had the indictment withdrawn.
Released without charge
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (July 2024) |
| Name | Birth year | Birthplace | Legacy and notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Adams | unknown | unknown | Adams lived in the vicinity of the Eureka Stockade and was wounded by gunfire three times whilst trying to get his family to safety. He was taken prisoner and spent a week convalescing at the government camp hospital. Adams would later unsuccessfully claim 937 pounds in damages for loss of property and false imprisonment. | [1] |
| Michael Noonan | 1839 | unknown | Noonan lost his store and received 70 pounds in compensation. His spouse was also assaulted at the time of the battle, and he was detained for five days after being arrested while standing near the St Alphius chapel. | [2] |
High treason committal hearings
[edit]It was reported that during the committal hearings for the 1855 Victorian high treason trials, the following detainees had been discharged for either "no evidence against the prisoners, or they were only proved guilty of living in the neighborhood of the stockade, and giving no information as to its erection".[3] A group of thirteen rebel prisoners were eventually committed to stand for trial for high treason at the Supreme Court in Melbourne.
8 December 1854 hearing
| Name | Birth year | Birthplace | Court order | Legacy and notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Adams | 1829? | unknown | discharged | Adams was a storekeeper in Ballarat who was taken prisoner and discharged at the committal hearings. May have been the same "Charles Adams" who was a miner at the Black lead and died in December 1861 aged 32. | [4] |
| Nicholas Allaire | unknown | unknown | discharged | Allaire was in Ballarat at the time of the battle and was discharged at the committal hearings. | [5] |
| Thomas Barry | unknown | unknown | discharged | Barry was in Ballarat at the time of the battle and was discharged at the committal hearings. | [6] |
| Henry Bazley | unknown | unknown | discharged | Bazley was in Ballarat at the time of the battle and was discharged at the committal hearings. | [7] |
| Thomas Bisk | unknown | unknown | discharged | Bisk was in Ballarat at the time of the battle and was discharged at the committal hearings. | [8] |
| Thomas Box | unknown | unknown | discharged | Box was arrested in Ballarat on 3 December 1854 and discharged at the committal hearings. | [9] |
| Charles Brown | unknown | unknown | discharged | Brown was in Ballarat at the time of the battle and was discharged at the committal hearings. | [10] |
| Edmund Burns | unknown | unknown | discharged | Burns (or Burn) was arrested inside the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854. He later made a compensation claim for his tent, which was set on fire during the battle. | [11] |
| John Cahill | |||||
| George Davidson | |||||
| John Delamere | |||||
| Nicholas Edwards | |||||
| Patrick Gilhooly | |||||
| Joseph Gray | |||||
| Francis Kent | |||||
| Martin Kinnear | |||||
| Joseph Hindon | |||||
| Isaac Hinds | |||||
| Richard Humphreys | |||||
| Martin Kinnear | |||||
| Robert Leslie | |||||
| Joseph Macknon | |||||
| Dugald Magennis | |||||
| Kennedy O'Brien | |||||
| Matthew Orr | |||||
| Joseph Penrose | |||||
| John Powell | |||||
| Peter Priaulx | |||||
| Hen. Robilliard | |||||
| John Quin | |||||
| Alexander Ross | |||||
| Martin Ryan | |||||
| Walter Ryley | |||||
| Wm. James Steer | |||||
| Arthur Smith | |||||
| Thomas Ferdinand Tighe | |||||
| George Thompson | |||||
| Henry Trynon | |||||
| Robert Winkfield | |||||
| Andrew White | [12] |
11 December 1854 hearing
| Name | Birth year | Birthplace | Court order | Legacy and notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Anderson (a Swede) | unknown | Sweeden | discharged | Anderson was arrested on 3 December 1854 and discharged during the committal hearings. | [13] |
| James Ashburn | |||||
| William Avondale | |||||
| James Barclay | |||||
| Edmund Bohen | |||||
| Michael Butler | |||||
| William Develin | |||||
| Chas Doolan | |||||
| William Galloway | |||||
| Michael Gleeson | |||||
| Patrick Hickey | |||||
| Jeremiah Hogan | |||||
| John Kelly | |||||
| Michael Kennedy | |||||
| Patrick Kennedy | |||||
| John Leadow | |||||
| John Lynch | |||||
| Daniel Macartney | |||||
| Patrick Meade | |||||
| Michael Meagher | |||||
| John Pardy | |||||
| Samuel Penny | |||||
| Cornelius Peters | |||||
| James Sexton | |||||
| William Somerville | |||||
| William Stafford | |||||
| Herman Steinman | |||||
| Joseph Walker | |||||
| William Wickley |
High treason trials
[edit]The 1855 Victorian high treason trials took place between 22 February – 27 March in the aftermath of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade. The Goldfields Commission recommended a general amnesty for all on the runs from the fallen Eureka Stockade. Instead, thirteen of the rebels detained were eventually indicted for high treason. The juries all returned a verdict of not guilty by a jury, and the indictment against Thomas Dignum was withdrawn. On 23 January, the trial of Ballarat Times editor Henry Seekamp resulted in a finding of guilt for seditious libel, and a month later, he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of six months. The trials have been described as farcical, and the colonial secretary would rebuke Lieutenant Governor Sir Charles Hotham over prosecuting the Eureka rebels for the lofty offence of high treason.[14]
The defendants were originally to be tried in the same order as they were listed in the indictments. However, due to the pre-trial legal chicanery and the unavailability of witnesses, Joseph, an African American, was the first accused man to go on trial. The jury deliberated for about half an hour before returning a verdict of "not guilty." The Argus reported that "A sudden burst of applause arose in the court," but it was instantly checked by court officers. The Chief Justice condemned this as an attempt to influence the jury, as it could be construed that a jury could be encouraged to deliver a verdict that would receive such applause; he sentenced two men (identified by the Crown Solicitor as having applauded) to a week in prison for contempt.[15] Over 10,000 people had come to hear the jury's verdict. According to Richard Allan's account published in the Ballarat Star, upon emerging from the courthouse, Joseph "was put in a chair and carried around the streets of the City in triumph with the greatest demonstrations of joy".[16]
| Name | Birth year | Birthplace | Verdict | Legacy and notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| James Beattie | |||||
| James Macfie Campbell | |||||
| Raffaello Carboni | |||||
| Thomas Dignum | |||||
| John Joseph | |||||
| Timothy Hayes | |||||
| John Manning | |||||
| William Molloy | |||||
| John Phelan | |||||
| Henry Reid | |||||
| Jacob Sorrenson | |||||
| Michael Tuohy | |||||
| Jan Vennick |
See also
[edit]- List of colonial forces in the Eureka Rebellion
- List of Eureka Stockade defenders
- List of military leaders in the Eureka Rebellion
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 4.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 400.
- ^ The Argus, 12 December 1854.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 3.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 8.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 40.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 43.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 57.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 68.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 81.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 87.
- ^ The Argus, 11 December 1854.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 15.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, pp. 193–195.
- ^ "SUPREME COURT". The Argus. Melbourne. 24 February 1855. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2023 – via Trove.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 10.
Bibliography
[edit]- Corfield, Justin; Wickham, Dorothy; Gervasoni, Clare (2004). The Eureka Encyclopedia. Ballarat: Ballarat Heritage Services. ISBN 978-1-87-647861-2.