Loyalism and the Eureka Rebellion

Historians have noted various manifestations of loyalist sentiment throughout the 1851-1854 Eureka Rebellion on the Victorian gold fields. Among the examples that have been cited include a letter from the Mayor of Melbourne to the Lieutenant Governor concerning US Independence Day in 1853, the Bendigo Petition and Red Ribbon Movement protests, the inaugural meeting of the Ballarat Reform League, the Eureka Jack Mystery, and the public protest in Melbourne following the Battle of the Eureka Stockade.

US Independence Day 1853
The strength of loyalist sentiment among Victoria's ruling elite is evident in the following reply to Lieutenant Governor Charles La Trobe from the Mayor of Melbourne. The American consul had sought permission from the local authorities to mark Independence Day in 1853 with a gun salute. It states that:

"Batman's Hill appears to me the most unobjectionable for that purpose.

I am, however, decidedly of the opinion that such demonstrations, in a British colony, are decidedly objectionable, and will tend to foster a feeling which should not be encouraged or even countenanced."

Bendigo Petition and the Red Ribbon Movement
On 3 August 1853, La Trobe received the Bendigo petition that called for the universal mining tax based on time stayed on the goldfields to be put on hold and for the miners to have the franchise. The following day, there was a meeting held at Protestant Hall in Melbourne to hear a report from the delegation that met with La Trobe. There was "loud disapprobation and showers of hisses" from the crowd at the mere mention of the lieutenant governor. Manning Clark notes that George Thompson of the "moral force" faction just came back from another meeting in Bendigo when talk of "moral suasion" and "the genius of the English people to compose their differences without resort to violence" became instead an emphasis on "loyalty". Thompson pointed at a Union Jack and jokingly remarked, "if the flag went, it would be replaced by a diggers' flag".

On 12 August 1853, a Bendigo "diggers flag" was unfurled at View Point, Sandhurst. According to reports, the miners paraded with the flags of many nations, including the Union Jack, the US and Irish flags, the saltire of Scotland, the Union Jack, and French and German revolutionary flags. The miner's delegation had returned from Melbourne with news that La Trobe had refused their demands. Throughout the winter of 1853, the Red Ribbon Movement was active in the gold field settlements. Supporters were asked to wear red ribbons in their hats and to hand over only 10 shillings for the licence fee. The plan was to allow the sheer numbers in custody to result in an administrative log jam. Clark states that:

"... ten to twelve thousand diggers turned up wearing a red ribbon in their hats. The old cabbage-tree hat of the Sydney radicals and republicans are now decorated with the red of revolution. Foreigners of all descriptions boasted that if the demands of the diggers were not instantly granted, they would lead them on to blood and victory. In alarm, George Thompson called three cheers for the good old Union Jack and asked them to remember that they were pledged to what he called 'necessary reform, not revolution'. William Dexter, waiving the diggers' flag, roared to them about the evils of 'English Tyranny' and the virtues of 'Republicanism'."

Lieutenant Governor Hotham's reception
La Trobe's successor as lieutenant governor, Sir Charles Hotham, took up his commission in Victoria on 22 June 1854. There were public ceremonies in Melbourne, and in August, Hotham and his wife were well received in Ballarat during a tour of the Victorian goldfields.

Inaugural Ballarat Reform League meeting
On 11 November 1854, over 10,000 people attended a meeting at Bakery Hill, where the Ballarat Reform League was formally established. According to the Ballarat Times when the proceedings were due to commence, the "Union Jack and the American ensign were hoisted as signals for the people to assemble".

Eureka Jack Mystery
The disputed first report of the Battle of the Eureka Stockade also mentions that a Union Jack was flown beneath the Eureka Flag, which was also captured by the foot police. One theory has it that the "Eureka Jack", as it is known, was an eleventh-hour response to divided loyalties in the rebel camp.

Eureka protest in Melbourne
Loyalist sentiment appears to have been at a low ebb among the ordinary colonists at a public meeting held on 5 December 1854 in Swanston Street, Melbourne. Following the fall of the Eureka Stockade, it attracted a crowd of around four thousand people. Several pro-government motions were proposed and greeted by howls of anger. The seconder of one motion that called for the maintenance of law and order was drowned out when they framed the issue as "would they support the flag of old England...or the new flag of the Southern Cross".

Lieutenant Governor Charles Hotham was undeterred and had 1,500 special constables from Melbourne and Geelong sworn in. However, only one recruit from Ballarat was found.