| Alluvial |
The gold that has eroded from ore-bearing quartz. |
| Alluvial mining |
Mining shallow alluvial deposits in and around
stream beds. |
| Ballarat Reform League |
A Chartist political association officially launched
on 11 November 1854 with J.B. Humffray as President, Timothy
Hayes as Chairman and George Black as Secretary. The purpose
of the League was to establish political reform which included
the following aims:
1. A full and fair representation
2. Manhood suffrage
3. No property qualifications of Members of the Legislative
Council
4. Payment of Members
5. Short duration of Parliament |
| Chartists |
An alliance of radical groups in Britain in the
late 1830s and 1840s, united in their support of the Peoples'
Charter. Chartists advocated universal manhood suffrage, annual
parliaments, equal electoral districts and the payment of members
of parliament. The movement flared up at times of crisis in
the 1840s, culminating in the open-air meetings of 1848, which
provoked great nervousness in Whitehall. Chartism was virtually
extinguished as a political force after its failure in 1848,
but the ideals of the Charter were influential in grassroots
politics for many decades. |
| Chief Secretary |
See Colonial Secretary |
| Colonial Secretary
|
Advised by the Executive Council, the Colonial Secretary
was the chief official of government from 1851–55 . The
duties of the Colonial Secretary were both many and varied
and included: legislative matters, naval and military establishments,
foreign correspondence, police, gaols and penal establishments,
proclamations, commissions, and other instruments under the
Great Seal. In the further administrative arrangements notified
by the Governor on 4 October 1859, the Colonial Secretary
was referred to as the "Colonial Secretary or Chief Secretary
to the Government".
|
| Deep Lead Mining |
A method of mining that traces the pathways of
deep reserves of gold buried in underground rivers and streambeds. |
| Delegation
|
A person or a group of people who have been officially
selected or appointed to represent others. |
| Democratic
|
That which displays an egalitarian belief in the
equality and fraternity of all, particularly the right to participate
in collective decision-making. |
| Deputation |
A group of people deputed to speak on behalf of
a larger group. The diggers sent a deputation to Hotham in Melbourne.
Deputations were normally only authorised to speak, to make
a point; they were not normally authorised to negotiate. |
| Deputy Adjutant General |
A regimental staff officer, who assists the colonel,
or commanding officer of a garrison or regiment, in the details
of regimental and garrison duty; also, the principal staff officer
of an army, through whom the commanding general receives communications
and issues military orders |
| Gold Commissioners |
These were office bearers appointed to administer
the diggings. They settled disputes, issued licences and collected
licence fees. |
| Gold Licence |
In order for the government to raise revenue
for the growing colony they imposed a mandatory fee of 30 shillings
a month, irrespective of how much gold they found. |
| Governor |
An official appointed to govern a colony or territory.
The Governor held power directly derived from the Queen to manage
the affairs of the colony. |
| Governor-General |
The Queen is formally Australia's head of state
but is represented by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth
and the Governors of each state. |
| Indictment |
A written charge of felony. The terms indictment
and information seem to have been interchangeable for practical
purposes at this time. |
| Inquest |
A judicial inquiry into the cause of death. |
| Insurgents |
A person or persons rebelling or revolting against
an established authority such as the government. |
| Legislative Council |
The Victorian Legislative Council in 1854 consisted
of thirty members, twenty of whom were elected. The interests
of pastoralists were heavily represented, the Lieutenant Governor
had the authority to appoint ten members of the Legislature,
and up to four for the Executive Council. |
| Letters Patent |
A sealed document by which power and authority
is given to a person to enjoy some right, or to allow some specific
act. |
| Lieutenant Governor |
A deputy governor acting as the chief civil officer of one
of several colonies under a Governor-General. At this time,
Lieutenant Governor Hotham was reporting to the Secretary
of State for the Colonies. Sir George Greyhe also acted as
the Colonial Secretary for the Colony of Victoria. As a nominal
Head of State at the provincial level, the Lieutenant Governor
is empowered with the responsibility of representing the Queen
in the province.
|
| Major General Commanding |
The senior military officer of the colony, under
the direction of Hotham. The post at the time of Eureka was
filled by Sir Robert Nickle. |
| Martial Law |
A temporary rule by military authorities, imposed
on a civilian population especially in time of war or when civil
authority has broken down |
| Miners Right |
A substitute for the Gold Licence after 1855 |
| Moral Force |
A political strategy developed by
Chartist groups who believed peaceful methods of persuasion,
such as holding public meetings, publishing newspapers and pamphlets,
and the presentation of petitions to parliament would convince
those in power to enact polictical reform.
See also Physical Force, Chartists, and Ballarat
Reform League. |
| Physical Force |
In the context of Chartism, this refers to a conviction
that ultimately only armed uprising and the threat thereof will
force those in power to progressive change of the political
system.
See also Moral Force, Chartists, and Ballarat
Reform League. |
| Pike |
A long spear used as weapon – mainly by
the infantry |
| Proclamation |
A formal public statement, particularly
from the Government. |
| Prothonotary |
The principal clerk in certain courts of law. |
| Recognizance |
In legal terminology, a binding promise
to do something, such as an undertaking of good behaviour for
a specified period, or to give evidence at a specified place
on a specified date. |
| Republican |
Indicates support for a form of government, a
republic, in which the people, as a body of citizens, are the
font of authority and choose those who will represent them in
government through elections. In the context of Eureka, this
also had the implication of setting up a form of goverment that
was independent of the British monarchy. |
| Resolution |
A decision by a group (such as the Reform League)
that declared the will of the group. Resolutions tended to be
more statements of feeling or policy rather than of action |
| Rider |
A clause, usually having little relevance
to the main issue, that is added to a legislative bill. An amendment
or addition to a document or record. Also called allonge. |
| Riot Act |
A British law, first passed in 1715,
which authorised magistrates and other officials to break up
"riots and tumults" of twelve or more people. When faced with
a riot, a magistrate was legally required to read the act which
would then indemnify the magistrate and those under his orders
from prosecution for any actions they subsequently took to break
up the riot, particularly any maiming or killing of rioters.
Legally, after the act had been read, the magistrate was supposed
to allow an hour for the crowd to disperse. |
| Sedition |
The act of organising or encouraging efforts
to subvert or overthrow the Government. Sedition was a much
broader crime than treason but less serious: it did not require
participation in acts of insurrection. Threatening the Government,
parading under arms or drilling under another flag could all
be considered seditious. |
| Solicitor General |
The second most senior law officer of the colony,
a post filled at the time of Eureka by Redmond Barry. He was
judge at some of the Treason Trials in early 1855. |
| Squattocracy |
A long-established and wealthy class of landholders
that identify themselves as and behave like an aristocracy. |
| Treason |
The greatest crime under British law, "a higher
offence than a felony". Treason involved levying war against
the Queen with the aim of subverting Her authority or forcing
a change in policy. Preparing an insurrection (such as drilling
armed forces, stockpiling arms and ammunition, and so on) was
also included in this. |
Glossary
