The Eureka Stockade and its flag are often misunderstood and misappropriated. The real story is one of unity
www.abc.net.au
As the 170th anniversary of the Eureka Rebellion rolls around, experts say the true story of the event — and its iconic Southern Cross flag — need to be remembered.

In short:

The Eureka Rebellion was a battle fought between gold miners and government soldiers at Ballarat in 1854.

While the miners were defeated quickly, they won favour with the public and eventually earned more rights, including the right to vote.

What’s next?

The 170th anniversary will take place [on the 3rd of December] and Ballarat locals are watching to see if it is again misappropriated by far-right groups.

  • SalvoEnglish
    3·
    18 days ago

    The problem with the misappropriation is that Right-Wing Australian Seppophiles think that the Eureka Flag is the Australian Flag is the equivalent of Confederate Flag.

    While there was some Racism against Chinese miners, it wasn’t to the extent of the Racism in the Deep South of North America.

    • BakuEnglish
      2·
      17 days ago

      Heh, seppophiles, I’m stealing that

      • SalvoEnglish
        1·
        17 days ago

        Ironically the Rhyming Slang term refers to the Union side of the First US Civil War, but is more often applied to the Secessionists.

        I also prefer using the term than “Columbophiles” because Seppos don’t identify as “Columbian” because there is another country called Columbia.

        They don’t identify as “Septic Tanks” either but the rest of the world identifies them along that line.

    • eurekaEnglish
      2·
      18 days ago

      It’s unfortunate that the article didn’t add some more detail about the long-standing use of the Eureka flag by the labour movement as a symbol of worker’s rights. I’ve seen it a few times among the pro-Palestinian/Lebanese protests and in the CFMEU anti-administration protests.