Putting aside Hrothgar's point, and it's a valid one, about whether the events at Eureka were really about freedom at all, I want to mention another aspect of Eureka.
There was a TV documentory aired recently, and it's my view that there will be more like this one, about the the Eureka Stockade being an Irish rebellion. The Irish, it was said, had better reason than most to fight for liberty. Some of the words used in this documentory were actually straight out of the American constitution.
Certainly Lalor and others were Irish BUT - The facts are that, the men involved were a very mixed bunch of from not only the British Isles but also from America and Europe where there had already been a number of freedom movements. (A war in the case of America) In fact the man who gave the speech that lead directly to the events at Eureka was German. Lalor and his deputation were all for waiting.
At the time the greater percentage of gold miners, in the area, were actually Cornish. The Eureka flag was designed by a Cornishman and is based on the Cornish flag. The Cornish motto is "One and All" - a fitting idea for a trade union. (Not that I am suggesting that Eureka was a Cornish plot either). The miners' petition that lead up to the events at the Eureka Stockade was signed by hundreds of miners who had come from all over the world. To suggest that the idea of freedom is somehow an Irish idea alone is nonsense. To suggest that the idea of men and women, fighting together for fair conditions in the workforce is an Irish idea alone is also nonsense.
I do wish that the fashion for Irishness would go away. With apologies to Great-great Grandma Sarah. Joy