Anastasia's Petticoat © 2003 Phyl Lobl

audio

The miners of Eureka have long been brought to fame,
Its time the wives who stood by them were honoured with the same.
Many were prepared to die but weren't allowed to fight,
They sewed Eureka's flag instead, the flag of blue and white.

CHORUS
And the stars, the petticoat stars, fly beyond the battle.
Of that December morning when hot blood stained the wattle.

The miners push for justice came in 1854,
They stumbled into trouble, then into civil war.
Anastasia felt it right that she should also join the fight,
Though a white lawn petticoat seemed too slight an offering for the cause.

Henry Ross had planned the flag he hoped would prove to be,
A flag to unify all those who scorned the licence fee.
Armed with scissors thread and thimble miners wives worked on that symbol,
Sewing with their hearts a-tremble, stitching for the cause.

On Bakery Hill the flag first flew, brave against the cloud,
It gave the speakers heart and hope when they addressed the crowd.
Mid calls for solidarity for justice and for liberty,
The petticoat stars shone constantly dancing for the cause.

It led the marchers down the road that ran from Creswick town,
To flower on the stockade pole till King had it torn down.
With Ross soon dead from musket shot, the troopers used the flag for sport,
They dragged it through the mud and thought they’d killed the miners cause.

The stars, the petticoat stars, fly beyond the battle,
Of that December morning, when hot blood stained the wattle.
The stars, the petticoat stars, fly beyond the battle,
Of that December morning, when hot blood stained the wattle.

Written & Sung by Phyl Lobl 2003-4
Arranged and accompanied by Michael Roberts

Written for the 150th anniversary of the Eureka Uprising, this song tells the story of the Eureka Flag. Henry Ross, a miner who migrated from Canada was credited with designing the flag but credit for the sewing of the flag has gone to a group of women. One of those women, Anastasia Withers, was said to have sacrificed a white lawn petticoat to fashion the stars. Perhaps when Australia does become a Republic a simple solution to the flag question would be to reclaim the Eureka flag from the various groups who have since utilised it and it can become a fitting symbol for a southern democracy.