1258: The Battle of the Eureka Stockade

History Daily

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🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

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Summary

December 3, 1854. The Battle of the Eureka Stockade in Victoria, Australia results in dozens of deaths—and gives birth to democracy Down Under.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	There are more ways than ever to listen to History Daily ad-free.
0:04.1	Listen with Wondry Plus in the Wondry app.
0:06.0	As a member of NoisorPlus at noisor.com or in Apple Podcasts,
0:10.6	or you can get all of History Daily plus other fantastic history podcasts at IntoH 4 a.m. on December 3, 1854, in the British colony of Victoria, Australia.
0:32.9	Sleeping in his tent, Peter Lawler, tosses and turns under a threadbare blanket.
0:39.4	Peter is a 27-year-old prospector. Most nights, he sleeps soundly after a hard day's work in the goldfields. But Peter's
0:45.3	got more on his mind now. He's not just a miner anymore. Peter recently took command of a group of
0:51.1	disgruntled prospectors who are in a standoff with government officials.
0:55.5	Tensions between the two sides have now reached the point that Peter and his men have decided to fortify their camp in the small mining town of Eureka to defend against any government attack.
1:06.5	Peter's eyes snap open as an alarm rings out.
1:09.8	Throwing his blanket off, Peter grabs his pistol and races out of the tent.
1:13.6	He climbs up the ramshackle stockade that surrounds the camp and peers over the top.
1:18.6	The sun is barely out, but Peter can see hundreds of uniform soldiers marching toward him.
1:25.6	Peter checks his weapon as other miners emerge from their tents and
1:28.9	take up defensive positions beside him. Peter tells his men to hold fire to resist the urge to pull
1:34.7	the trigger until the enemy is so close that every shot will count. But then somewhere along the line,
1:40.5	a single shot shatters the quiet of the morning. Peter can't tell who fired first.
1:46.1	A bugle sounds, and the colonial soldiers unleash a volley of bullets. Peter raises his pistol,
1:52.6	and with a defiant roar he fires back, the battle of the Eureka Stockade has begun.
2:05.2	Peter Lawler and the other miners will face overwhelming odds.
2:09.9	Untrained and outnumbered, the fight against the colonial forces will be a brief one,
2:12.7	but the legacy of their defiance will outlive them, and in the future many will trace the birth of Australian democracy to the dramatic events of the Battle
	...

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