[2006]
Lyrics & Music by Johnny B
Album: Songs of Ballarat

The Eureka Rebellion was the 1854 miners' uprising on the goldfields of Ballarat in Victoria (Australia). Mining taxes were too high, very harsh conditions on the Australian goldfields. Most diggers worked from dawn to dusk, six days a week. Besides, the miners felt that they had a right to vote and buy land.

The main source of discontent was the miner's licence, which cost a monthly fee of 30 shillings and permitted the holder to work a 3.6 metre square "claim". Licences had to be paid regardless of whether a digger's claim resulted in the finding of any gold. Troopers (goldfields police) conducted frequent licence hunts, during which the miners were ordered to produce proof of their licences, and this added to the discontent and increasing unrest. Previous delegations for miners' rights had met with a complete lack of action... (continua)