Peter Lallier Research Paper

Peter Lalor was the leader of the Eureka Stockade in 1854. He was born on February 5th of 1827 in Queen’s County, Ireland. His name ‘Lalor’ originated from the ‘O’Lalour’s, who fought against the English invasion of Ireland in the 1500’s. His family owned and leased almost 1000 acres of land and it provided prosperity until the Great Famine in 1845. His father led the resistance of peasants against the taxes collected by the Church and represented Queen’s County in the House of Commons.
Peter Lalor had 10 other brothers, all very successful. Three of them went to America and two went to Victoria, including Peter Lalor. They were pulled there by the gold discoveries and were pushed from Ireland to Australia because of the gold rush and their desire for gold.

Many people said he thought of himself as a merchant, rather than a digger because he bought over 800 pounds of tobacco and spirits.
The Eureka stockade came about when the gold diggers or workers, didn’t agree with the licences that the government endorsed. The diggers noticed the miners’ licences were there to tax them, as the fees had to be paid whether gold was found or not. It was not fair to diggers that weren’t successful. The rebellion commenced in 1854, with Peter Lalor’s help. Around 25,000 people arrived from different nationalities to dig at the gold fields. Governor Hotham rose to leadership in June, setting up licence checks and more licence laws. A dispute between a Scottish digger and a group of men, led by James Bentley, was heard of which stirred thoughts of concern between the diggers. They decided to meet on October 17th to burn down Bentley’s hotel and receive justice. The three diggers that burnt the hotel to the ground were arrested and convicted for arson. 10,000 diggers met to petition the release of the three diggers, on November 11. They also demanded the abolition of the diggers licence which lead to an outcome. On November 29, a bigger meeting was organised. The