The Ballarat Reform League was formed in November 1854 at Ballarat as a protest against the regulation of the gold diggings, specifically the League was formed with the view of abolishing Miner's Licences and having the miners, arrested in connection with the death of James Scobie and the riot at Bentley's Hotel, released.^[1] See also: 1853 in Australia, other events of 1854, 1855 in Australia, and the Timeline of Australian history. ... Location of Ballarat in Victoria (red) Ballarat Base Hospital For the electoral division in the Australian House of Representatives, see Division of Ballarat. ... The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria in Australia between approximately 1851 and the early 1860s. ... The Miners Licence was the colonial governments response to the Australian gold rushes and the need to provide infrastructure including policing. ...

The first president was John Basson Humffray until 30 November. The miners then chose to use physical force rather than moral force to push their claims and elected Peter Lalor as their leader and built the Eureka Stockade. John Basson Humffray (1824-91) migrated to Victoria in 1853, at Ballarat from November. ... The Hon. ... The original Eureka Flag (Ballarat Fine Art Museum) The Eureka Stockade was a miners revolt in 1854 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, against the officials supervising the gold-mining region of Ballarat due to many reasons, including heavily priced mining items, the expense of a Miners Licence, and unfair treatment. ...

The movement was supported by Henry Seekamp, editor of the Ballarat Times. Henry Erle Seekamp (1829 - July 19, 1864) was the journalist, editor and owner of the Ballarat Times at the time of the Eureka Stockade in 1854. ...

Timeline

• Tuesday, 17 October: At the spot where James Scobie was killed 5,000-10,000 diggers gathered to protest the acquittal of the prime suspect, James Bentley, the owner of the Eureka Hotel. Bentley fled for his life as the hotel was burnt down.
• Sunday, 22 October: Ballarat Catholics met to protest the treatment of Father Smyth's servant.
• Monday, 23 October: A mass meeting to protest the selective arrest of McIntyre and Fletcher for burning down Bentley's Eureka Hotel attracted 10,000 miners and supporters. It was decided to form a Digger's Right Society, to maintain their rights.
• Tuesday, 1 November: 3000 diggers met once again at Bakery Hill. They were addressed by Kennedy, Holyoake, Black and Ross. The diggers were further incensed by the arrest of another seven of their number, for the burning down of the Eureka Hotel.
• Saturday, 11 November: A crowd estimated at more than 10,000 miners gathered at Bakery Hill, directly opposite the government encampment. At this meeting the "Ballarat Reform League" was created, under the chairmanship of Chartist John Basson Humffray. Several other Reform League leaders including Thomas Kennedy and Henry Holyoake had been involved with the Chartist movement in England. Many of the miners had past involvement in the Chartist movement and social upheavals in England, Ireland and Europe during the 1840s.

The Ballarat Reform League used the British Chartist movement's principles to set their goals. The meeting passed a resolution "that it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he is called on to obey, that taxation without representation is tyranny". The meeting also decided to secede from the United Kingdom if the situation did not improve. October 17 is the 290th day of the year (291st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... October 22 is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 70 days remaining. ... October 23 is the 296th day of the year (297th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... November 11 is the 315th day of the year (316th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 50 days remaining. ... Chartism is also an alternative term for technical analysis Chartism was a movement for social and political reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century. ... John Basson Humffray (1824-91) migrated to Victoria in 1853, at Ballarat from November. ... Chartism is also an alternative term for technical analysis Chartism was a movement for social and political reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... Chartism is also an alternative term for technical analysis Chartism was a movement for social and political reform in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century. ...

Demands

The demands of the Ballarat Reform League encompassed:

• Manhood suffrage (the right for all men to vote, but not women or Aborigines)
• Abolition of the property qualifications for members of parliament
• Payment of members of parliament
• Voting by secret ballot
• Short term parliaments
• Equal electoral districts
• Abolition of diggers and storekeepers licenses
• Reform of administration of the gold fields
• Revision of laws relating to Crown land.

Throughout the following weeks, the League sought to negotiate with Commissioner Rede and Governor Hotham, both on the specific matters relating to Bentley and the men being tried for the burning of the Eureka Hotel, and on the broader issues of abolition of the licence, universal suffrage and democratic representation of the gold fields, and disbanding of the Gold Commission. Voting is a method of decision making where in a group such as a meeting or an electorate attempts to gauge its opinion—usually as a final step following discussions or debates. ... Elections Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voters choices are confidential. ... Captain Sir Charles Hotham, RN, KCB, was Governor of Victoria, Australia (22 May 1855 - 31 December 1855) Categories: People stubs ...

Commissioner Rede's response to these disputes was perhaps an ill-judged one, but stemmed from his military background and has been attributed by many historians (most notably Manning Clark) to his belief in his right to exert authority over the "rabble." Rather than hear the grievances, Rede increased the police presence in the gold fields and summoned reinforcements from Melbourne. Manning Clark in his study in about 1988 Charles Manning Hope Clark AC (3 March 1915 – 23 May 1991), Australian historian, was the author of the best-known general history of Australia, his six-volume History of Australia, published between 1962 and 1987. ... Melbournes CBD has grown to straddle the Yarra River in three major precincts. ...

On Monday November 6 a delegation from the Ballarat Reform League: John Humffray, George Black and Thomas Kennedy; met with Governor Hotham. They attempted to negotiate the release of the miners arrested after the attack on Eureka Hotel, and presented the demands for universal suffrage as well as abolition of the miners and storekeepers licenses. The only concession Hotham was willing to make was one digger's representative elected to the Legislative Council. The delegation rejected this, and returned to Ballarat empty handed. November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... Captain Sir Charles Hotham, RN, KCB, was Governor of Victoria, Australia (22 May 1855 - 31 December 1855) Categories: People stubs ...

See also

• Anti-Gold Licence Association formed at Bendigo in 1853 which also protested the regulation of the gold fields and the licencing system
• Victoria Public Records Office The 4 pages of the Charter, both images and transcript.
• Eureka Centre "Home of the Eureka Rebellion Ballarat Victoria Australia 1854"

The Anti-Gold Licence Association was formed in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia on 6 June 1853. ...

References

1. ^ A Brief History of Ballarat. ballarat.com (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-22.