Peter Lalor: What was his impact on Eureka?~ By Sasha McArdle
Early Life: Peter Fintan Lalor was born on the 5th of February, 1827 in Raheen, Laois, Ireland to Patrick Lalor and his wife Ann Lalor (née Dillon). He grew up in a politically-minded household with his father, Patrick Lalor, leading the resistance of the Leix peasants against the collection of tax for the church and representing Queen's County in the House of Commons and his older brother James Fintan eventually becoming a leader of the Irish Confederation. Peter attended St Patrick's, Carlow College and Trinity College, Dublin and eventually became a civil engineer.
Migrating to Australia: Along with his brother Richard, Peter Lalor migrated to Australia attracted by the gold discoveries. The pair arrived in Melbourne in October, 1852 where Peter Lalor found work as a construction worker on the railway and the brothers also became partners with another Irishman as wine, spirits and provision merchants in Melbourne. In 1853 Peter left for Oven's diggings and in 1854 moved to Ballarat while Richard returned home to Ireland where he became a member of parliament.
The Beginnings of the Rebellion: As the agitation against the goldfield licences continued, a digger James Scobie was murdered outside the Eureka Hotel which ignited more anger and lead to a meeting near the hotel on the 17th of October, 1854 where Peter Lalor was appointed to a committee of people who were leading the rebellion. The meeting frightened the police who stationed officers to guard the hotel, in fear that it would be attacked, which they were correct about. After a youth threw a stone at a lamp in front of the hotel, a spark was ignited and the hotel was burnt down. On the 29th of November, Peter addressed his first public meeting which lead to the creation and first meeting of the Reform League where the Southern Cross flag was flown for the first time and the burning of licences took place. This meeting is regarded as the formal inauguration of the rebellion.
In the following days both sides began preparing for the upcoming event of the Eureka Stockade. The government camp organised for action and infiltrated the stockade with spies while the diggers threw up a barricade behind which, the men drilled and blacksmiths manufactured pikes. Peter had no military expertise and thus appointed a young American to look after the military side while he organised picketing and the procurement of arms, ammunition and other supplies.
Eureka Rebellion:
Peter Lalor did not expect an immediate attack and did not plan to confine defence to the stockade, as a result by midnight on Saturday only about 120 men were left in the stockade, most of them Irish, after the rest (several hundred) had returned to their tents. At about 3 a.m, the troops and police attacked. They quickly stormed the flimsy stockade and its defences, and killed around 30 men with around 100 others being taken prisoner. During the attack Peter was hit in the arm with a musketball which shattered the bone near his shoulder. He was hidden under logs and escaped the bayonets of the attackers. As the attack was ending, he was smuggled from the battlefield and eventually reached the home of Father Smyth, where his arm was amputated at the shoulder by a party of doctors.
Life After the Rebellion: Straight after the rebellion Governor Hotham offered a reward of £200 for information leading to the apprehension of a 'person of the name of Lawlor … height 5 ft 11 ins [180 cm], age 35, hair dark brown, whiskers dark brown and shaved under the chin, no moustache, long face, rather good looking and … a well made man' who at Ballarat 'did … use certain TREASONABLE AND SEDITIOUS LANGUAGE, and incite Men to take up Arms, with a view to make war against Our Sovereign Lady the QUEEN'. However the public favoured the diggers and nothing ever came of Peter's arrest.
Following the steps of his immediate family members, Peter pursued a political career after the rebellion and was elected to both the Victorian Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly. Peter's stance in parliament was puzzlingly inconsistent, though he did speak out for the interests of diggers.
Peter married Alicia Dunne on the 10th of July, 1855 in Geelong. Their daughter, Anne (Annie), was born in Prahran in 1856 and their son Joseph was born at Sandridge (now called Port Melbourne) in 1857.
References
Turner, I. (1974). Biography - Peter Lalor. [online] Australian Dictionary of Biography. Available at: http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/lalor-peter-3980 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2015].
Unknown Author, (1854). Ballaarat. The Argus. — Primary source
Various Authors, (2015). Peter Lalor. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lalor [Accessed 9 Sep. 2015].
Unknown Author, (1854). Ballaarat. The Argus. — Primary source
Various Authors, (2015). Peter Lalor. [online] Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Lalor [Accessed 9 Sep. 2015].