Just as Americans revere Old Glory, Australians have long treasured the frayed and torn Eureka flag — raised by rebellious miners during an uprising against British colonial rule in 1854 and an early symbol of democracy Down Under.

Now there is more of it.

A scrap of the Eureka flag — five stars representing the Southern Cross and joined on a deep blue background — has resurfaced 159 years after it was torn down, trampled and bayoneted by colonial troopers who crushed the Eureka Stockade rebellion in the southern state of Victoria.

The revolt by gold miners in the town of Ballarat echoed other uprisings elsewhere in the former British empire during the late 18th and 19th centuries. Outraged by brutal police and bureaucratic harassment, the miners briefly raised the Eureka flag behind makeshift barricades before the rebellion was brought to a bloody halt....