Peter Lalor
Peter Lalor was born on 5 February 1827. He was the youngest of a family of eleven. Peter was the son of Patrick Lalor, a middling tenant farmer and anti-tithe Member of Parliament for Queen's County in the 1830s. Peter's elder brother, James Fintan Lalor, was also involved in the unsuccessful Young Ireland uprising in 1848.
Peter and his brother Richard immigrated to Australia from Ireland in 1852, Richard and Peter first worked on the construction of the Melbourne to Geelong railway line and moved onto the mines, starting off in the Ovens Valley. Richard soon returned to Ireland, and Peter moved on to Ballarat.
The conditions on the Australian goldfields were extremely harsh. Over-priced equipment from traders and to add to that, excessively high cost of mining licences, increased dissaturfaction and unrest, especially when the miners were issue to frequent, surprise checks of their mining licences. November 30, 1854 Peter Lalor was unofficially "elected" to be the voice for the diggers. Lalor mounted the stump and proclaimed “Liberty”, and called on the men to arm themselves and to organize for self-defence.
“We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other to defend our rights and liberties."
Peter Lalor led the rebellion which is most commonly known as the Eureka Stockade, and the birthplace of Australian democracy. The Eureka Stockade failed to achieve its objective, but it gained the attention of the Government. A Commission of Enquiry was managed and changes were made. These included the replacing the miners licences with an affordable annual miner's licence. Peter Lalor and John Basson Humffray were the two elected in November 1855 to represent Ballarat. Lalor enjoyed a long Parliamentary career, finishing in his appointment as Speaker in 1880.
Peter Lalor was born on 5 February 1827. He was the youngest of a family of eleven. Peter was the son of Patrick Lalor, a middling tenant farmer and anti-tithe Member of Parliament for Queen's County in the 1830s. Peter's elder brother, James Fintan Lalor, was also involved in the unsuccessful Young Ireland uprising in 1848.
Peter and his brother Richard immigrated to Australia from Ireland in 1852, Richard and Peter first worked on the construction of the Melbourne to Geelong railway line and moved onto the mines, starting off in the Ovens Valley. Richard soon returned to Ireland, and Peter moved on to Ballarat.
The conditions on the Australian goldfields were extremely harsh. Over-priced equipment from traders and to add to that, excessively high cost of mining licences, increased dissaturfaction and unrest, especially when the miners were issue to frequent, surprise checks of their mining licences. November 30, 1854 Peter Lalor was unofficially "elected" to be the voice for the diggers. Lalor mounted the stump and proclaimed “Liberty”, and called on the men to arm themselves and to organize for self-defence.
“We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other to defend our rights and liberties."
Peter Lalor led the rebellion which is most commonly known as the Eureka Stockade, and the birthplace of Australian democracy. The Eureka Stockade failed to achieve its objective, but it gained the attention of the Government. A Commission of Enquiry was managed and changes were made. These included the replacing the miners licences with an affordable annual miner's licence. Peter Lalor and John Basson Humffray were the two elected in November 1855 to represent Ballarat. Lalor enjoyed a long Parliamentary career, finishing in his appointment as Speaker in 1880.
By Tamara Rickard
Last Updated: 17 Sep 2014
Last Updated: 17 Sep 2014