CLASS 6/5 J The Diggings Ballarat Colony of Victoria Australia 19 December 1853 Dear mother and father, We were sailing for fourteen long weeks and we have now been at the diggings for three months. I apologise for not writing in so long but I have been busy digging and working out how to pay for my licence that costs 30 shillings per month. We have not yet found gold and our shaft is only about three metres deep. Violence has struck between the police and a group called the Ballarat Reform League (BRL). The BRL elected Peter Lalor as their leader and burned their licenses. The BRL built a stockade and prepared to fight. The soldiers called on the miners to leave the stockade but the miners refused to do so. Inside the stockade the BRL raised a flag. It had a blue background with a white southern cross on it. The Southern Cross is a constellation of stars that can only be seen in the southern hemisphere. I have learnt to see it although in some nights it is difficult to see. The soldiers and miners then started to fight. The fight soon became known as the Eureka Stockade. At least thirty miners were killed and one hundred and twenty eight were taken prisoner. Four soldiers died in the attack. It was horrible. It is so hot here at the diggings, unlike England. It is like sitting in a giant bath. The diggings do not smell very nice either with sweaty men walking around and the women throwing out their rubbish anywhere. I have not met a person who has had a proper bath yet. A lot of people die as well. I had a friend called John. He died down in his shaft. It was not a very good shaft, built down very deep and then sideways a few metres. He invited me in to have a look and then I showed him my shaft. One day he was shouting for his wife and we all thought the he had possibly found gold. All the shouting must have caused the shaft to cave in. Unfortunately he did not survive. The food here is revolting. I have not had a proper meal since I left England. The only food is mutton, damper, sugar, salt and a few other basic supplies. We have tried to make our tent as much like home as possible. We made a small table out of a box and some beds from wood we found at the remains of the stockade. Although we have not yet struck it rich, we hope to soon. I remain your loving son, Mark The Diggings Ballarat Colony of Victoria Australia 21 October 1853 Dear mother, I have finally reached Ballarat by old ship, and you would not believe it but it took me six fortnights to get here. The other people, of which there are about forty thousand, came from all different nations, China, America, Italy, Germany and England) at about the same time as I did. People come by carts drawn by horses or by foot. Everyone is weary and exhausted but hurries like cheetahs to their prey to the nearest good-looking piece of land where they might find their fortune somewhere under their rapidly moving legs. I was one of those people, carrying my cradle, pan, pick and lantern, prepared, impatient and confident that I would find a shiny and valuable rock which was certain to be a lump of gold. Mother, the whole of Ballarat is like a dust storm, so severe that you have to shield your eyes. The only place where you can see well is in your underground shaft using your lantern, but even there it is still hot and suffocating. Another thing that is irritable is the noise of the many people, screaming and talking, so much pandemonium that t is like a bomb blast that can pop your head off. Aside from all that, there is something even more vexing, the police. The police are the worst nightmare of all the miners digging in the Eureka because they, the mighty and the robust, are also very vigilant and pick on poor miners who do not have licenses. This is one of the reasons why so many miners get killed. Also, we have to wear particular clothing which consists of a hat, cotton shirt, socks, boots, underclothes, hardwearing pants, rain protection, a woolen shirt and a handkerchief. Most of us also buy food although some people can't even afford it! I saw an old man who could not afford any food at all and a few days later as I got out of my shaft I heard some alarming news from a young man around twenty. Hr said that the old man had died. I went back down into my shaft, tears sweeping down my face. For food, all of us eat mutton, flour, sugar, salt, tea, butter, potatoes, coffee, biscuits, eggs and milk. We also drink water when we are weary after having been in our sweaty shaft. Mother, Ballarat is very spacious and has lots of people everywhere trying to find gold. I've already told you about the vexing police and now I want to tell you abut the other people's personalities. Some people are courteous and very industrious but others are slovenly, spiteful, idle and they like to rob. The maim form of law and order is that everyone has to have license before they dig a pickful of mud. Everyone lives in tents or huts for houses. There are many diseases around such as whooping cough, scarlet fever and measles, which can lead to a sorrowful and grievous death. Mother, I cannot believe it, I almost had a heart attack. This Saturday morning I unearthed something that would thrill you so much! I discovered a colossal, shiny nugget that weighed five thousand ounces and was worth ten thousand pounds which is more than enough for me! I am returning to England to share it with you. Your hard-working, serene and loving son, Ronald