EUREKA FLAG
The Eureka Flag was first used at Ballarat in Victoria, Australia, in 1854 by a group of disenchanted miners defending their rights and liberties from the scant protection of a log stockade (now known as the 'Eureka Stockade') on Eureka Hill. They were protesting against oppressive methods of Gold License fee collection, corruption among goldfields officials, and the brutality and cursory attitude of troopers enforcing the laws. Their dawn stand against troopers, police and cavalry resulted in the deaths of 22 miners and 6 soldiers, and the taking of 114 prisoners. The incident known as the 'Eureka Rebellion', and the stockade where some 150 poorly equipped and ill-trained miners stood their ground against representatives of a corrupt and greedy system, is a major part of Australia's history.
Nowadays the Eureka Flag has become a symbol of strength, protest and/or Republicanism in Australia.
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