Raffaello Carboni and the Eureka Stockade

A flamboyant character, the little Italian with red hair and piercing eyes was always likely to stand out. He became involved with Italian nationalism early in life, escaping after the fall of the Roman Republic (1849–1850) to London, and then to Melbourne after the discovery of gold. By the time of Eureka he had been on or around the goldfields for almost two years, undertaking various roles. The imposition of license hunts and corrupt officialdom reminded him of the fetters left behind in Europe. Carboni, who was fiercely pro-digger, did not fight at the stockade. He was, however, taken prisoner and tried for treason, but later acquitted in March, having been taken ill with dysentery in gaol.

Carboni is primarily remembered now as the author of the main eyewitness account of the events at Ballarat. His book, The Eureka Stockade, was first published a year after the battle. He left Australia soon after, and continued to write plays and poetry, but these failed to achieve commercial success. Carboni was a colourful figure, and his book is noteworthy for its purple prose and its wide-ranging allusions. Even where his interpretations are a little tenuous, his story brings the events in Ballarat to life with a memorable vividness and immediacy.

Carboni sent three copies of a later work, La Santola, the libretto for a light opera, to his friend Peter Lalor, to Sir Redmond Barry, and to W.C. Haines. The copy sent to Lalor, dedicated with Carboni's usual flamboyance, is currently held by the Victorian Parliamentary library. The title page is reproduced below:

The inscription reads in part: 'God bless my old Commander-in-chief of the armed diggers on the extra-memorable Sunday December 2, 1854; Ballarat ... A very, very hearty farewell from Carboni Raffaello, Garibaldi's Captain and now confirmed by Royal Decree in the Italian Army'. The document is dated 8 November 1862.