The Eureka Stockade

The Eureka Stockade is a documentary work by the Italian-Australian Raffaello Carboni (1817–1875), self-published in Melbourne in 1855 with the subtitle "The Consequence of Some Pirates Wanting on Quarter-Deck a Rebellion." From the perspective of a participant, the book recounts the Eureka Rebellion in the Ballarat goldfields of the colony of Victoria, Australia, in 1854: miners protested the expensive mining license fees and police abuses, formed the Ballarat Reform League, built a wooden stockade as a stronghold, and were attacked by colonial government troops on December 3, 1854. Carboni, then living near the stockade, witnessed the conflict firsthand and was later tried for treason alongside rebel leader Peter Lalor and others. The book not only records the course of events but also includes poems, notices, speeches circulating at the time, and the author's own observations, possessing both historical and literary value. It is the only comprehensive eyewitness account of the Eureka events written by a participant and profoundly influenced the "Eureka legend" in Australia's national memory; however, details such as the Eureka Flag (silk material, diamond-shaped star) do not fully match later physical examinations. The original edition was 126 pages; it has been reprinted many times, with editions from Sydney University Press and an Italian translation.