[Editor: This article, regarding Peter Lalor, and some other leaders of the Eureka Rebellion, was published in The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 1 July 1899.]
Gold-seekers of the Fifties.
After Eureka.
How the leaders escaped.
While the victors of Eureka were removing the dead, the wounded, and the captured from the stockade, Peter Lalor, the diggers’ leader lay under the pile of slabs in which he had been hidden, bleeding from the wound in his arm. A musket-ball had shattered the bone close to the shoulder, and the few who knew where he was lying saw the blood trickling from beneath the pile of slabs even while the soldiers, keen to capture him, were still in the stockade. When the last of them had gone Lalor was helped from his hiding-place, put upon a white horse, and rode away through the bush towards Warrenheip. There he claimed shelter at the hut of a man he knew. The digger was absent, and his wife went to look for him. Lalor, however, doubted her genuineness, and believing that she had gone to communicate with the police, he took to the bush again for shelter. All that night he wandered about, with his crushed arm still swinging useless and untended. He was greatly weakened from loss of blood, and only his indomitable pluck kept him up. Towards morning he determined to seek assistance from Stephen Cummins, an old friend whom he could trust, and who lived with his wife on Pennyweight Hill.
It was on the early morning of the Monday following the fight that Mrs. Cummins drew her husband’s attention to a man walking slowly between the holes on the flat, and said, “That is Peter Lalor; I feel sure of it.” “As I ran down to help him,” Steve Cummins told a friend, “his face was grey and worried. He looked like a frail old man rather than a powerful young one, so greatly had pain and loss of blood during the 24 hours weakened him. I helped him into the hut, where as well as we could my wife and I bandaged the wounded arm. I knew that my hut was no place for him. A reward of £200 had been offered for his arrest, and there were many mean spirits keen to earn it. Our friendship was well known, and I felt sure that sooner or later my place would be searched by the police. I ran at once across the gully to the Roman Catholic Presbytery and told Father Smyth that Lalor was in my tent badly wounded and in need of surgical assistance. I told him my fears as to the police visiting us, and Father Smyth said, ‘He will be safer here, I think. Bring him over after dark.’ So that night we took him across to the presbytery, meeting, fortunately, not a soul upon the road.” Steve Cummins’s intuition had served him well, for next night the police searched his hut, just at the time when he was watching Drs. Doyle and Stewart amputating Peter Lalor’s arm, for the severity of the wound and the delay in treating it precluded any possibility of the arm being saved. Through the ordeal of amputation, as in every other emergency of life, he showed that fine courage which nothing could shake. He was a stalwart who knew no fatigue, as it was ordinarily understood, and long before he became a prominent man in Ballarat it was frequently his custom to walk to Geelong to see his sweetheart, and then walk back to his work again.
A man employed about the Presbytery took the severed arm away as soon as the operation was over, and threw it down an abandoned shaft, but by Father Smyth’s orders it was recovered later and properly buried. The first operation was not complete. A portion of the bullet remained lodged in the stump of the arm, and it was only after a second operation at Geelong that the wound healed properly. When the wounded leader had sufficiently recovered to move about, he and Hayes, one of the fire-eating orators of the Diggers’ Reform League meetings, were taken to a store near Brown’s Hill, where they were safely sheltered until a chance of getting clear away from Ballarat should present itself.
Lalor’s escape was greatly aided by a carrier named Michael Carroll, who died at Geelong within the last few months, and whose son is still living in Ballarat. They used to bring up loads of goods and hawk them on the diggings. “One day,” says the younger Mr. Carroll, who was then but a boy, “we stopped at the hut of an old friend of my father’s, Michael Hayes (not the orator, Timothy), and yarned about old times. There was a piece of green baize hanging at one end of the hut, but I did not guess then that there was anyone behind it. As soon as we left the house it seems Lalor, knowing that my father had come from Geelong, asked if we could be trusted. Mrs. Hayes told him that we could, and we were called back to the hut. On going in we saw that the baize partition had been drawn back, and Lalor was sitting on a stretcher. ‘Do you know who I am?’ he asked. ‘Yes,’ my father said, ‘you are Peter Lalor.’ He asked us to take a letter down to Geelong to Miss Dunn, the school-mistress, the lady whom he afterwards married, and it was arranged that we should take Lalor himself down on the succeeding trip. I remember the great secrecy that was observed, for there were troopers up and down the roads every day, and all over the country, most of them alert for any trace of the Eureka leaders. Nearly every dray on the roads had a small tent fixed upon it, so we cut some whipsticks, and formed a tilt on one of our drays over which we hung a tarpaulin. One Sunday morning I took the tilted cart down to Hayes’s tent, and with several men on the watch, in case of surprise, we took Lalor down by Eureka, and across towards Warrenheip, stopping for a while at Steve Cummins’s tent. We went away out by the Green Hills, having determined to take the back track all the way to Geelong, to travel by night only and camp in the bush during the day.
“Lalor walked most of the way, keeping a bit out from the track in the bush, so that in the event of meeting any mounted troopers suddenly he should not be taken by surprise. It has been said that we met police on the road, who asked us about Lalor, and could have seen him sitting in the dray had they been curious enough to lift the flap of the tarpaulin. That is not so, for the only adventure we had was on the second morning of the journey.
“Lalor was not yet quite recovered from his wound, and had been supplied with some wine for use on the road. As the weather was very hot the wine was finished by the time we reached Lethbridge — then known as the Muddy Water Holes. In the early morning, therefore, my father went across to the Separation Hotel and roused up the landlord to get some more wine. As he was returning to the drays he met two men who had been camped under a tree rolling up their swags, and one of them, named Burns, whom we knew, asked for a ‘lift’ into Geelong. My father put him off with the excuse that he intended to load up with some wood a little further on, but as they passed the dray in which Lalor sat, Burn’s mate caught a glimpse of him. ‘Did you notice who was under that tarpaulin?’ he asked, ‘It was Lalor, the Eureka man. Now, there’s a big reward offered for him, so I intend to follow the drays quietly to Geelong, put the police on to him, and get the reward.’
“Burns was a genuine fellow, with no taste for such dirty work, so he determined to baulk his mate, and to do it the more effectually he pretended acquiescence. ‘It’s a good thing,’ he agreed; ‘don’t say a word about it. We’ll go and have a drink on the strength of it.’ They got a bottle of whisky, and Burns gave his mate such good measure that he was soon hopelessly drunk. Leaving him at the hotel Burns ran across to where we were camped, and said to my father, ‘For God’s sake get Lalor away as quickly as you can. My mate has recognised him, and he’s going to lay the police on to you. I’ll keep him drunk until you get away.’ We were rather anxious after that, especially when going down the main road, but we landed Lalor at Miss Dunn’s place at about one in the morning, and he was afterwards taken to the Queen’s Head Hotel in South Geelong.
“Lalor chatted frequently with my father about the Eureka fight on the way down. It was not easy, indeed, to avoid the subject, for nearly every second tree trunk had the proclamation offering a reward for his capture. I heard him say that on the morning of the riot they would have beaten back the soldiers if the diggers had been able to get into anything like proper formation. He tried to get them into order — those with rifles in the front rank for the long range fighting, the revolver corps next for closer work, and the pike men in reserve for a hand to hand struggle. The men, however, rushed pell-mell from the tents when alarm was given, and were all mixed up together.”
Peter Lalor remained in hiding at Geelong until it was seen that no jury would convict the Eureka rioters, and he then communicated with the Attorney-General, who told him that he was free to go as he pleased. He returned immediately to Ballarat, where he was enthusiastically welcomed, and the diggers, headed by Steve Cummins, collected £1,000 to start him in business.
It is said, indeed, that Lalor went back to Ballarat while the reward for his apprehension, dead or alive, was still in force, and many thought him greatly daring in doing so. He even attended a public land sale to bid for some allotments, and when the land officer asked “What name, sir?” believing a fictitious one would be given, the rebel of Eureka, in a voice that was of itself a challenge, said “Peter Lalor.” He looked up his former mate, John Phelan, and the two bought a farm at Coghill’s Creek, where he remained until the miners of Ballarat elected him a member of the Legislature. Then began the political career which had its climax in his being six times chosen as Speaker of the Assembly of Victoria.
The flight and hiding of Frederick Vern — for whom the Government, believing him to be the real commander-in-chief at Eureka, offered a reward of £500 — was characteristic of the man. He was given shelter by some miners far out in the ranges. On going to work in the morning they used to leave him in the tent, lacing it up outside so as to give the impression that it was unoccupied. Vern hardly knew whether to be pleased or scared by the fact that £500 was offered for his arrest, and only £200 a-piece for the other leaders of the outbreak. It flattered his vanity that he should be singled out for special notice, but alarmed him lest it should lead to his apprehension. Vern, as described in the proclamation, must have been a somewhat peculiar person — “5ft. 10in.; long light hair, falling heavily on the side of his head; little whisker, a large flat face, eyes light grey or green, and very wide asunder; speaks with a strong foreign accent.”
While Vern was in hiding in the diggers’ hut they persuaded him to write a farewell to Victoria, as though addressed from Port Phillip Heads, and with the idea of suggesting to the authorities that he had escaped from Victoria. The plan was pleasing to his self-conceit, and its execution a supreme specimen of what Raffaello called “sky blathering.” “Farewell, my comrades,” he said; “would to heaven I had died with you.” “No fear,” retorted the Italian, with a juster appreciation of his comrade’s weaknesses than his own; “the length of your legs saved you.”
An incident that well nigh cost Vern his life, from fright, closed his occupancy of the digger’s tent. One day four troopers were seen riding up to the place. Vern, in a terrible funk, was hustled under the bunk, and the “possum” rug was pulled down so as to conceal him from view. The troopers stayed chatting for some time, and then left. When they had disappeared Vern was helped out. His face was ashy pale, he trembled violently in every limb, and it was some time before he could speak. Vern afterwards got three months in gaol for inciting miners to riot on the Black Lead, at Egerton, and was finally blotted out of publicity by a footnote to one of his own letters in the “Ballarat Star.” Mr. J. B. Humffray and Mr. Thos. Loader were contesting Ballarat East, and Vern sought to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds. When his game was exposed he accused Mr. Loader’s “myrmidons” of forgery. His letters were compared, their genuineness made manifest, and the editor closed some cutting observations on the incident with “Mr. Vern’s courage has become proverbial, his truthfulness is now deserving of an equally honourable distinction.”
Another of the leaders who escaped was James McGill, a young American. After the diggers had been scattered on the summit of Eureka he started through the bush for Creswick, and, according to his own statement, went with the idea of seizing two field guns which were believed to be on Captain Hepburn’s estate at Smeaton. He soon learned that not only had the last shot been fired in the diggers’ insurrection, but that all his ingenuity would be needed to save himself from capture. Disguised in woman’s clothes lent him at The Springs, he travelled by coach to Melbourne on the Tuesday after the fight, meeting on the road the military reinforcements under Sir Robert Nickle marching to Ballarat. George Francis Train, the weird American, who, though now an old man, still keeps himself under public notice by the wide distribution of his addresses and ideas, was then the Melbourne agent for the famous White Star line, and he sent McGill on board the Arabian disguised in the dress of an officer, and kept him there for some time. Train interviewed Sir Charles Hotham in McGill’s interest, and took the young American out to Toorak to see the Governor, who, surprised at his youth, told him to go about his business and behave himself better in future. The only condition was that he should leave the colony at once, and Train, who had a weakness for dramatic effects, got him smuggled as an invalid to the sanitary station at the Heads, where he pondered by the sad sea waves and netted crayfish till the aquittal of the Eureka prisoners left him at liberty to make a fresh start.
Geelong appears to have been the haven of refuge for which nearly all the fugitives from Eureka made. Esmond was there for some time, as well as Lalor, and it is asserted that the police could have laid hands on both without much difficulty, but they had good friends in the town, and were not molested. Two others of the Reform League leaders for whom a reward was offered — Black and Kennedy — started for Geelong, keeping away from all the recognised tracks. Kennedy, as we have shown in a former sketch, was a Gascon — by impulse. Self-assertive even as a fugitive, he declared that he could find his way to Geelong via the Mount Misery Ranges. Before starting they disguised themselves, each cutting the other’s beard off. On the evening of the first day’s tramp the self-confidence of Kennedy had reduced itself merely to the conviction that they were lost in the bush. After tramping for some time they blundered upon an out-camp of Ballarat rowdies, where Kennedy wished to be mysterious, but Black told the diggers frankly that they had had a row with the authorities, and were flying for their lives. Soon afterwards they separated, Kennedy going bullock-driving, while Black managed to reach Melbourne, where he was for some time concealed by his friends.
It is interesting to compare the actual state of things — these solitary escapees trudging nervously through the gloom of the great gum forests, intent only on their own safety, and the state of affairs which distance, rumour, or imagination had created in Melbourne. For some time it was rumoured that Vern and his associates were building another stockade in the Warrenheip Ranges. It was even declared that hordes of dangerous and bloodthirsty diggers were marching upon Melbourne, intent only on sack and pillage. Meetings were held in the city, and special police sworn in for its defence. There could be no greater contrast than between the rumoured and the real.
It is a singular thing that many of the men who took a leading part in the Eureka riot made a bad end. One was subsequently convicted of felony; one was killed by a fall of ground in a mine; a third fell from his horse near Kingston, and broke his neck; a fourth died in the Melbourne Hospital; a fifth in the Inglewood Hospital; a sixth in the lunatic asylum at Kew; while another committed suicide.
Source:
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 1 July 1899, p. 4
Also published in:
The Ovens and Murray Advertiser (Beechworth, Vic.), 8 July 1899, p. 12 (Weekly Edition)
Editor’s notes:
Assembly = the Legislative Assembly, the lower house of parliament in the various colonies and states of Australia
asunder = apart, divided, separate
baize = a thick soft cloth, resembling felt, usually made from wool, and commonly dyed green and used as a covering on the tops of tables used for games, such as billiards, cards, and snooker
See: “Baize”, Wikipedia
Black = George Black (1817-1879), a gold-miner, and Secretary of the Ballarat Reform League; he was born in Lancashire (England) in 1817, came to Australia in 1852, and died in Kew (Melbourne, Vic.) in 1879
See: 1) H. R. N. [Henry Richard Nicholls], “Mr. George Black [19 April 1879]”, The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.), 19 April 1879, p. 9 (The Institute of Australian Culture)
2) “George Black”, Ballarat and District Industrial Heritage Project (Federation University)
3) “George Black”, Eurekapedia
baulk = (also spelt “balk”) to obstruct, thwart, foil, prevent (the more common usage is: to hesitate or recoil from something, to stop short, to refuse to undertake an action)
carrier = someone who is in the business of transporting, or carrying, freight (general goods, mail, newspapers, etc.); a transport worker
Charles Hotham = Sir Charles Hotham (1806-1855), an officer in the Royal Navy (UK), a Lieutenant-Governor, then Governor, of Victoria (1854-1855); he was born in Dennington (Suffolk, England) in 1806, came to Australia in 1854, and died in Melbourne in 1855
See: 1) B. A. Knox, “Hotham, Sir Charles (1806–1855)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Charles Hotham”, Wikipedia
determined = decided, resolved (can also mean: of firm decision, of unwavering mind, resolute, unwavering; to have decided to do something, especially in the face of difficulties)
digger = a gold digger, someone seeking gold by digging in the ground (usually referring to men); a miner
Diggers’ Reform League = the Ballarat Reform League: an organisation formed in November 1854 with the object of rectifying the grievances of the Ballarat (and Victorian) mining population, including abolishing the Gold License and seeking democratic changes (the group was influenced by the British pro-democracy Chartist movement)
See: 1) “Ballarat Reform League”, Eurekapedia
2) “Ballarat Reform League”, Wikipedia
Drs. = an abbreviation of “Doctors” (singular: Dr.)
Esmond = James William Esmond (1822-1890), a gold-miner, and one of the leaders of the Eureka Rebellion; he was born in Enniscorthy (County Wexford, Ireland) in 1822, came to Australia in 1840, and died in Ballarat in 1890
See: 1) Louis R. Cranfield, “Esmond, James William (1822–1890)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “James Esmond”, Wikipedia
ft. = an abbreviation of “foot” or “feet”; a foot is a unit of length in the British imperial system of measurement (a foot is equal to 30.48 centimetres) (the plural of “foot” is “feet”)
Frederick Vern = a gold-miner, and one of the leaders of the Eureka Rebellion; he (supposedly) came from Hanover (Germany) and (supposedly) had previously been an officer in the military; however, little is factually known about him, and his tales about himself have been regarded as dubious
See: 1) “Frederick Vern”, German Australia
2) “Frederick Vern”, Eurekapedia
3) “Poster, Reward Poster for the capture of Frederick Vern, 11/12/1854 (original)”, Victorian Collections
4) “Frederick Vern”, Wikipedia
funk = a state of fear or panic (may also refer to a coward; may also refer to a state of depression, including the phrase “in a blue funk”)
gaol = an alternative spelling of “jail” (prison)
Gascon = (archaic) a boaster, a braggart; a bully; can also mean: of or relating to Gascony, or the people, dialect, or culture of Gascony (a province of France)
George Francis Train = (1829-1904), a businessman and entrepreneur; he was born in Boston (Massachusetts, USA) in 1829, came to Australia in 1853 (he left in 1855), and died in New York (USA) in 1904
See: 1) E. Daniel Potts, “Train, George Francis (1829–1904)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “George Francis Train”, Wikipedia
hawk = sell (especially door-to-door, or in the street), peddle goods
Hayes = Timothy Hayes (1820?-1873), a gold-miner, and Chairman of the Ballarat Reform League; he was born in Kilkenny (Ireland), circa 1820, came to Australia in 1852, and died at Yarra Bend (Fairfield, Melbourne, Vic.) in 1873, aged 53 years old
See: “Timothy Hayes”, Eurekapedia
Heads = the headlands at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay (Victoria); the section of water between the western headland (Point Lonsdale) and the eastern headland (Point Nepean), at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay, known as “The Rip”, is also referred to as “The Heads”
See: 1) “Rip Tour of Port Phillip Heads”, The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria
2) Adrian Mnew, “Safety Alert: New definition of Port Phillip Heads”, Transport Safety Victoria (State Government of Victoria), 23 December 2015
3) “The Rip”, Wikipedia
in. = an abbreviation of “inch” or “inches”; an inch is a unit of length in the British imperial system of measurement (an inch is equal to 2.54 centimetres)
James McGill = James Herbert McGill (1834-1883), a gold-miner, and one of the leaders of the Eureka Rebellion; he was born in Boston (Massachusetts, USA) in 1834, came to Australia in 1853, and died in Sandridge (Port Melbourne, Vic.) in 1883
See: “James McGill”, Eurekapedia
J. B. Humffray = John Basson Humffray (1824-1891), a gold-miner, and politician; he was born in Newtown (Montgomeryshire, Wales), came to Australia in 1853, and died in Ballarat in 1891
See: 1) Diane Langmore, “Humffray, John Basson (1824–1891)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “John Basson Humffray”, Wikipedia
Kennedy = Thomas Kennedy (1817-1859), a gold-miner, and a delegate of the Ballarat Reform League; he was born in Ayreshire (Scotland) in (approx.) 1817, came to Australia, and died in Kingston (north of Ballarat, Vic.) in 1859, at the age of 42
See: 1) “Thomas Kennedy”, The Institute of Australian Culture
2) “Thomas Kennedy”, Eurekapedia
molested = bothered, disturbed; annoyed; interfered with, tampered with
myrmidon = a follower, henchman, subordinate (especially one who follows orders without any questions or scruples, as sometimes may be applied to soldiers or civil officers, such as bailiffs, police officers, who follow commands, including morally dubious ones, without asking any questions, and without displaying any compassion or pity); a hired ruffian; in Greek mythology, the Myrmidons were a Thessalian tribe (from the region of Thessaly, in eastern Greece), who were (according to the writings of Homer, in the Iliad) soldiers under the command of Achilles, although in a different story (from the writings of Ovid, the Roman poet) their origin was that they were worker ants on the island of Aegina (on the south-eastern coast of Greece) who were transformed by Zeus into a race of people
See: “Myrmidons”, Wikipedia
pell-mell = to move fast in a confused or disorderly manner; disorganised; a disorderly place or situation
Peter Lalor = (1827-1889), a gold miner, leader of the Eureka Rebellion, and politician; he was born in Raheen (Queen’s County, Ireland) in 1827, came to Australia in 1852, led the Eureka Rebellion in 1854, later became Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, and died in Richmond (Melbourne, Victoria) in 1889
See: 1) Ian Turner, “Lalor, Peter (1827–1889)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Peter Lalor”, Wikipedia
pluck = bravery, courage, fighting spirit, a strong determination to succeed (especially in a dangerous, difficult, or against-the-odds situation)
Raffaello = Raffaello Carboni (1817-1875), a gold-miner, author, composer, and interpreter; he was born in Urbino (Italy) in 1817, came to Australia in 1852 (left in 1856), and died in Rome in 1875
See: 1) Jennifer Lorch, “Carboni, Raffaello (1817–1875)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Raffaello Carboni”, Wikipedia
Robert Nickle = Sir Robert Nickle (1786-1855), the commander-in-chief of the British military forces in the Australian colonies; in August 1854 he shifted his headquarters from Sydney to Melbourne as a consequence of the gold rushes; he was born at sea in 1786, came to Australia in 1853, and died in Jolimont (East Melbourne, Vic.) in 1855
See: 1) Ronald McNicoll, “Nickle, Sir Robert (1786–1855)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Robert Nickle (British Army officer)”, Wikipedia
row = a noisy argument, conflict, disturbance, or fight; an argument or dispute; a loud noise, commotion, or uproar
Speaker = the Speaker (presiding officer) of a House of Parliament
stalwart = a stalwart man, a stalwart person, a stalwart character (someone who is a firm, loyal, reliable, resolute, and steadfast supporter of a cause or movement; someone who is bold, brave, courageous, daring, valiant; someone who is dependable; someone who is robust, strong)
succeeding = ensuing, next, subsequent; the following item, something which follows
swag = a swagman’s bundle, being a number of personal belongings rolled up in a piece of calico, tent-fly, or blanket, secured tightly together (e.g. with rope or straps), or placed inside a cloth bag (such as a flour sack); swags were hung from the shoulder, making them easy to carry whilst their owners tramped many miles; a swag was also commonly referred to as a “Matilda”, “drum”, or “bluey” (from the colour of the blankets, which were often blue)
Thos. Loader = Thomas Loader (1830-1901), a businessman and politician; he was born in London (England) in 1830, came to Australia in 1852, and died in Malvern (Melbourne, Vic.) in 1901
See: John Lack “Loader, Thomas (1830–1901)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
tilt = a cloth awning, canopy, or covering (usually made from canvas) used to keep out the elements (the weather), usually being placed on an angle or tilt, and used on boats, carts, stalls, etc.
tilted cart = a cart with a tilt affixed to it
trooper = a mounted policeman, in the Australian colonies (in the modern military, it refers to a rank equivalent to private in an armoured or cavalry unit, or to a member of the Special Air Service)
whipstick = a thin, pliable stick; the handle of a whip
White Star line = (White Star Line) a British shipping company
See: “White Star Line”, Wikipedia
yarn = chat, talk
[Editor: Changed “move about” to “move about,” (inserted a comma), “stopping for for a while” to “stopping for a while”.]
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