11 November also a chance to reflect on democracy

SUNDAY, 11 November is Armistice Day, and while we remember and honour those who served their country heroically, let us also remember that this day is the 164th anniversary of the ratification of the Ballarat Reform League Charter.

In terms of the legacy of Eureka, eminent historian the late Professor John Molony said, “The influence of the Ballarat Reform League Charter on the development of Australian democracy was decisive. The constitutions of all the 19th-century Australian colonies, which later became the states that formed the Australian Commonwealth in 1901, contained the fundamental rights outlined in the Ballarat Reform League Charter, as did the Constitution of the Commonwealth itself.”

As quoted from the history archives of that meeting in 1854: At a meeting held on Bakery Hill, in the presence of about ten thousand men, on Saturday, 11 November 1854, the following were adopted as the principles and objects of the “Ballarat Reform League”:

That it is the inalienable right of every citizen to have a voice in making the laws he is called upon to obey; that taxation without representation is tyranny.

That being, as the people have been hitherto, unrepresented in the Legislative Council of the Colony of Victoria, they have been tyrannised over, and it becomes their duty as well as interest to resist and, if necessary, remove the irresponsible power which so tyrannises over them.

That this colony has hitherto been governed by paid officials, upon the false assumption that law is greater than justice, because, forsooth, it was made by them and their friends, and admirably suits their selfish ends and narrow-minded views. It is the object of the League to place the power in the hands of responsible representatives of the people to frame wholesome laws and carry on an honest government.

That it is not the wish of the League to effect an immediate separation of this colony from the parent country if equal laws and equal rights are dealt out to the whole free community; but that if Queen Victoria continues to act upon the ill advice of dishonest ministers and insists upon indirectly dictating obnoxious laws for the colony, under the assumed authority of the Royal prerogative, the Reform League will endeavour to supersede such Royal prerogative by asserting that of the people, which is the most royal of all prerogatives, as the people are the only legitimate source of all political power.

Political changes contemplated by the Reform League:
I. A full and fair representation.
2. Manhood suffrage.
3. No property qualification of members for the Legislative Council.
4. Payment of members.
5. Short duration of Parliament.

This meeting was one of a series of increasingly large gatherings held through October and November in 1854, which were addressed by a variety of Ballarat miners, many with experience of chartist movements in England and Scotland. For many miners the solution to the unjust licensing system and corrupt administration lay in securing parliamentary representation for themselves. The language of this charter is strongly reminiscent of similar documents produced in England in the late 1840s.

Professor Molony also said that, “Wherever Australians to this day enjoy the rights and freedoms granted to them by their constitutions, they can look back to Eureka, to the Ballarat Reform League, and to the charter of Bakery Hill as the wellsprings of their democracy.”

The facts of Eureka are beyond dispute. It was an event of national significance and international importance and it was the wellspring of Australian democracy.

We all must remember that Eureka isn’t just a story – it was a seminal moment in our history, whose enduring legacy is evident in our democratic systems and institutions.

Eureka is a calling to ensure we stay true to its democratic principles and build on its multicultural heritage.

The event may have occurred 164 years ago, but the aspirations of justice, democracy and the right to dissent still have currency today.

Democracy is not just a word; it is not just history; it evolves as we change, reflecting our goals and aspirations. And it calls on all of us to protect the civil rights of all members of our community. This is the story we need to tell and interpret.

Eureka was about the struggle for basic democratic rights – nothing more and nothing less. It was not about a riot; it was about rights.

That is why Eureka is Australia’s founding story. On 3 December this year pause to remember the men women and children of Eureka, and the legacy they left for our democracy – fairness and a fair go for all.