Eureka and its Flag by Len Fox (Secondhand Book)

SECONDHAND BOOK

Early on Sunday morning 3 December 1854 the miners encamped at the stockade at Eureka rallied beneath the Southern Cross flag to defend themselves from the attacking police and troops. After a brief battle the flag was torn from the masthead and was carried in triumph to the military camp by the jubilant troops. It was displayed at the trial of the Eureka prisoners in Melbourne and then passed into the possession of trooper John King.

For the next forty years the flag dropped from public view until it came into the possession of the Ballarat Art Gallery where, after a brief period on public display, it was placed in safekeeping in a cupboard and forgotten.

The Eureka flag was clearly an important part of Australian history, worthy of care and honour. But it was also a rebel flag, and because of this, conservative authorities tended to view it with suspicion. As a result, ninety years after Eureka it appeared to have been lost. To most Australians its design and whereabouts were unknown.

Sydney journalist Len Fox was attracted to the story of the flag in 1944 and his researches into its whereabouts, and subsequently its authenticity, spanned nearly thirty years of patient study of all the known facts. Eureka and its Flag is the result of his researches.

In addition to detailing the evidence establishing the authenticity of the King flag, as it became known, Mr Fox has outlined the influence the Southern Cross has had as a symbol in Australia’s search for nationhood and independence.

Specifications:

Condition: Good – slight staining to cover, yellowing.

Publisher: Mullaya Publications

Year: 1973

Format: Paperback

Pages: 42pp

ISBN: 0859140040

$13.00

1 in stock