List of notable civilians in the Eureka Rebellion
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This is an incomplete list of notable civilians in the 1851-1854 Eureka Rebellion on the Victorian goldfields. The article is presently being expanded and revised.
Non-combatants at the Eureka Stockade
[edit]The Eureka Stockade encompassed an area of existing mines, and not all residents in the vicinity actively supported the armed struggle. There are a number of recorded deaths and injuries among non-combatants during the Eureka Rebellion. There were also economic losses, such as those suffered by Michael Noonan, who 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.[1] It has been thought that all those killed during the battle were men. However, the diary of Charles Evans describes a funeral cortege for a woman who was mercilessly butchered by a mounted trooper while pleading for the life of her husband. Her name and the fate and identity of her husband remain unknown.[2]
Following the fall of the stockade, Hotham proclaimed martial law on 6 December 1854 with no lights allowed in any tent after 8 pm "even though the legal basis for it was dubious".[3][4][5] There were a number of unprovoked shots fired from the government camp towards the diggings.[6] Unrelated first-hand accounts variously state that a woman, her infant child and several men were killed or wounded in an episode of indiscriminate shooting.[note 1]
| Name | Birth year | Birthplace | Status | Legacy and notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Adams | unknown | unknown | wounded | 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. | [8] |
| Frank Hasleham | 1828 | unknown | wounded | Hasleham was a correspondent for the Geelong Advertiser and Melbourne Herald who supplemented his income by prospecting. He was camping on the Eureka lead 300 yards away from the stockade on an adjacent hill when he was shot through the right shoulder by the mounted police. The trooper rode up to him and then fired. Carboni records that Hasleham lay bleeding in handcuffs for two hours before a friend found a blacksmith to remove the restraints. He was awarded 400 pounds in compensation for his injuries. His brief description of the Eureka Stockade was published in the Argus, 29 December 1854 edition. | [9] |
| Henry Powell | c.1831 | unknown | died of wounds | Powell had come from Creswick on 2 December 1854 to visit a friend, William Cox. Cox's tent was close to the Eureka Stockade. When he emerged after the battle, police officer Arthur Akehurst told him he was being taken prisoner. Akehurst then struck Powell on the head with a sword, slashing his body several times, before mounted troopers rode over him. He gave a statement about these events before his death on 9 December 1854 and was buried two days later. There was a note in the Mount Alexander Mail, 22 December 1854 edition, that his coffin draped in a Union Jack was placed on a cart followed by around six mourners. Powell's was the only inquest into any of the deaths that arose from the Eureka Stockade. His testimony, which was given in the presence of Captain Gordon Evans, was disallowed. Akehurst was held liable by the coroner for wilful and felonious death, being later acquitted by a jury in Melbourne. | [10][11] |
| Llewellyn Rowlands | 1821 | Wales | killed | Rowlands was talking to Benjamin Welch about a quarter of a mile from the Eureka Stockade when they noticed soldiers and prisoners near the Catholic St Alphius chapel. He failed to surrender immediately when asked by a trooper who deliberately dismounted and shot Rowlands through the heart. Buried on 4 December 1854 at Ballarat Old Cemetery. | [12] |
| Jan Vennick | 1823 | Koedijk, the Netherlands | wounded | Sometimes referred to as John Fenwick, Vennick was a non-combatant who was indicted and acquitted of high treason. He shared a tent with Cornelius Peters and Le Fronzis Romeo that was situated 300 yards away from the Eureka Stockade. At the time of the battle, German miner Edward Bloehm roused the three of them. The police surrounded the tent and called on the occupants to surrender. Vennick emerged wearing red trousers gaining the nickname "the captain". He was handcuffed and then struck with a sword, nearly severing his ear and sustaining three blows to the head. At the treason trials, Peters was able to provide Vennick with an alibi, testifying that Vennick was working with him all day on the 2 December 1854 and had been in the tent all night and on the morning when the stockade was overrun. | [13][14] |
See also
[edit]- List of colonial forces in the Eureka Rebellion
- List of detainees at the Eureka Stockade
- List of Eureka Stockade defenders
- List of military leaders in the Eureka Rebellion
- List of notable public officials in the Eureka Rebellion
Notes
[edit]- ^ Thomas Pierson's diary states that:
Charles Evan's diary also mentions that... some not understanding marshall (sic) law did not put out their lights and the soldiers fired into the tents and killed 2 men and one woman and wounded others, although we were half a mile off we heard the balls whistling over our tents.[5]
Among the victims of last night's unpardonable recklessness were a woman and her infant. The same ball which murdered the mother, ... passed through the child as it lay sleeping in her arms.... Another sufferer is a highly respectable storekeeper, who had his thighbone shattered by a ball as he was walking toward the township.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 400.
- ^ Wright 2013, pp. 428–429.
- ^ Carboni 1855, p. 95.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 277.
- ^ a b Pierson, Thomas. "Diaries, 1852 Sep. 30-1864 Apr. 12. [page 248]". State Library of Victoria. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ O'Brien 1992, p. x.
- ^ Evans, Charles. "Diary of Charles Evans, 1853 September 24 -1855 January 21. [page 142]". State Library of Victoria. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 4.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, pp. 255–256.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 420.
- ^ "Henry Powell - eurekapedia". www.eurekapedia.org.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, p. 454.
- ^ Corfield, Wickham & Gervasoni 2004, pp. 519–520.
- ^ "Jan Vennick - eurekapedia". www.eurekapedia.org.
Bibliography
[edit]- Corfield, Justin; Wickham, Dorothy; Gervasoni, Clare (2004). The Eureka Encyclopedia. Ballarat: Ballarat Heritage Services. ISBN 978-1-87-647861-2.