One significant event of the gold rush years was the infamous
uprising later known as the Eureka Stockade. It was the
culmination of a couple of years of dissatisfaction regarding
gold licenses, and ended in the closest thing to revolution that
Victorians (or, indeed, any Australians) would ever know. It
also spawned the Southern Cross flag (basically the Australian
version of the Confederate flag), which many see as the
unofficial symbol of Australia (workers’ unions have used the
Southern Cross in protests during the last couple of decades).
On the 15th of August 1851, not long after diggers began finding
gold in Victoria, La Trobe formally declared their actions
illegal, as all minerals were British property. However, knowing
that a gold rush could not be stopped, he announced that a
license system would be introduced, which would give miners the
right to mine a small claim. From the 1st of September onwards,
miners could dig an 8ft x 8ft claim for 30 shillings a month,
with revenue going to administration