(Vic goldfields history) Monster Meeting - Chewton 1851

[Ag Man]

Most know of the Eureka Stokade in 1884 where 500 miners swore to fight against unfair licensing.

I'd never heard of the The Monster Meeting of 1851 in Chewton(near Castlemaine Vic.) where 15,000 miners attended a mass protest to defy the Victorian Governments unfair Gold License and in doing so they set a path for democracy in Australia.

Read more here http://www.monstermeeting.net/information/

 

[the duck]

Also look up red ribbon day

 

[Ag Man]

Takes a bit of searching to find a hit relating to gold when searching "Red Ribbon Day" but I found it on Wikipedia

 

[loamer]

On 1/12/1851, the Victorian Executive Council issued a proclamation doubling the licence fee and extending it to everyone on the fields - not just the miners. 14,000 diggers held what is called the monster meeting at the place shown on the photographs. If you love your history this is worth reading up on as this was one of the protests that was in a sequence leading up to Eureka. It is worth noting the quote from Mr Booley.

I think it is great the area has not been turned into a money trap for tourists. For those unfamiliar with Chewton, it is very close to Castlemaine and a great prospecting and historically interesting area.
See Chewton website link. http://www.chewton.net/history.htm