Sharon Evans, Big Sky Publishing
New book on the epic battle at Eureka Stockade challenges many of our beliefs around this iconic Australian event.
The Anniversary of the Eureka Stockade rebellion is 3 December 2012.
“Blake knows his stuff. By solid research and sound reasoning he not only establishes a new location for the stockade, but offers a series of maps showing the sequence of the action. This work corrects earlier authors including me again who accepted ‘’contemporary’’ maps as accurate. Blake’s careful research and analysis puts us all straight.” Peter Stanley
On the chilly dawn morning of 3 December 1854 British soldiers and police of the Victorian colonial government attacked and stormed a crudely-built fortification erected by insurgent gold miners at the Eureka lead on the Ballarat Gold Diggings. The fighting was intense, the carnage appalling and the political consequences of the affair profound.
The ferocious battle was over in twenty minutes, and left 22 miners dead, considered a rebellion and by many as the birth of democracy in Australia, is also a minefield of myths.
In his new book Eureka Stockade Canberra author and historian Gregory Blake, for the first time, examines in great detail the actual military events that unfolded during the twenty minutes of deadly fighting at Eureka. Many of the old assumptions about what occurred that day are turned on the heads. He argues convincingly that Eureka was not a wanton massacre of innocents, as it has been portrayed. Rather it was a hard fought military engagement.
The Eureka Stockade was a decisive moment in Australian history and in this book it comes alive in a rousing and original manner. A book that stands out from other accounts as it questions many old assumptions and provides details to dispel folk law. A book to captivate.
Eureka Stockade A ferocious and bloody battle by Gregory Blake | Big Sky Publishing | Paperback | 236pgs | RRP $29.99 | ISBN: 9781922132048 | Ebook format worldwide
