Australia's Version of the Boston Tea Party?

IT WAS Australia's version of the Boston Tea Party when a ragtag band of gold-miners rose against their British colonial masters in protest at unfair taxation, igniting a chain of events that heralded the birth of democracy and independence.

Now a country in perpetual quest for a national identity is seizing on that short-lived rebellion, known as the Eureka Stockade, as the embodiment of Australia's defining moment.

Yesterday was the 150th anniversary of an incident that was largely forgotten until the 1970s but has gradually gained prominence as Australians search for national myths and symbols. It is being marked by a fortnight of celebrations including a dawn march tomorrow, numerous re-enactments, an art exhibition and a music festival.

But the bloody events of 3 December 1854, which culminated in the massacre of 30 miners, continue to be hotly debated. Passions rage about the Southern Cross flag, which, according to legend, was hand-stitched by women on the goldfields from their petticoats and was raised above the stockade in defiance of the British.

Some Australians are calling for it to be adopted as the national ensign, replacing a flag that still features the Union Flag. But there is ambivalence towards the Southern Cross, which has been commandeered, variously, by militant unions, right-wing supremacists and republicans. The Prime Minister, John Howard, a staunch monarchist, refused to allow it to fly above Parliament House this week, and is not attending the anniversary celebrations.

The violence at Eureka goldfield in Victoria, near the city of Ballarat, was the country's first and only armed uprising against colonial tyranny. A group of 120 angry miners made a stand against crippling taxes enforced by an over-zealous police force. They built a ramshackle blockade, raised the Southern Cross and confronted red-coated government troops.

Soldiers stormed the camp two days later, easily overwhelming the poorly armed rebels, who had come from 19 countries to seek their fortune. But victory was achieved, albeit at high cost.

Courts in Victoria refused to convict 13 men charged with high treason. Mining licence fees were scrapped, miners were given the vote and the colony acquired a democratically elected parliament.

The American author, Mark Twain, said: "It Eureka was a strike for liberty, a struggle for principle, a stand against injustice and oppression; another instance of a victory won by a battle lost."

But as Australians celebrate the 150th anniversary, debate is raging about the significance of the event. Some historians have dismissed it as an isolated protest by a self-interested mob. Others say the democratic reforms were already in train and would have taken place regardless of the stockade....