Editing Eureka Rebellion (section)

====First gold commissioner arrives in Ballarat====
[[File:Forest Creek Monster Meeting.jpg|thumb|''Great Meeting of Gold Diggers Dec 15th 1851'' engraved by Thomas Ham and drawn by D. Tulloch, 1851]]
[[File:MonsterMeetingFlag.svg|thumb|Recreation of the original Monster Meeting flag raised in 1851 at Forest Creek]]

In mid-September 1851, D. C. Doveton, the first local gold commissioner appointed by La Trobe, arrived in Ballarat.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=187}} At the beginning of December, there was discontent when it was announced that the licence fee would be raised to 3 pounds a month, a 200 per cent increase, effective 1 January 1852.<ref>''Victorian Government Gazette'', No 22, 3 December 1851, 825.</ref> In Ballarat, some miners became so agitated that they began to gather arms.{{sfn|Bate|1978|p=67}} On 8 December, the rebellion continued to build momentum with an anti-mining tax banner put on public display at [[Chewton, Victoria|Forrest Creek]].{{sfn|Hocking|2004|pp=56-57}}

After remonstrations, particularly in Melbourne and [[Geelong]], on 13 December 1851, the previous increase was rescinded. The [[Forest Creek Monster Meeting]] took place at [[Mount Alexander]] on 15 December 1851. This was the first truly mass demonstration of the Eureka Rebellion. According to high-end estimates, up to 20,000 miners turned out in a massive display of support for repealing the mining tax.{{sfn|Hocking|2004|p=51}} The only pictorial evidence concerning the flag on display at the meeting is an engraving of the scene by Thomas Ham and David Tulloch that features only part of the design.{{sfn|Hocking|2004|p=51}} 

Based on the research of Doug Ralph, Marjorie Theobald and others have questioned whether there was an iconic Digger's flag displayed at Forest Creek that spread to other mining settlements.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://monstermeeting.net/the-flag | title=The Flag }}</ref><ref>https://monstermeeting.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Was-There-One-True-Diggers-Flag.pdf</ref>

Two days later, it was announced that La Trobe had reversed the planned increase in the mining tax. The oppressive licence hunts continued and increased in frequency, causing general dissent among the diggers.<ref>''Victorian Government Gazette'', No 25, 24 December 1851, 871.</ref> There was strong opposition to the strict prohibition of liquor imposed by the government at the goldfields settlements, whereby the sale and consumption of alcohol were restricted to licensed hotels.{{sfn|Bate|1978|pp=32-34}}{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|pp=10-11}}

Despite the high turnover in population on the goldfields, discontent continued to simmer throughout 1852.{{sfn|Withers|1999|p=47}} La Trobe received a petition from the people of [[Bendigo]] on 2 September 1862, drawing attention to the need for improvements in the road from Melbourne. The lack of police protection was also a major issue for the protesting miners. On 14 August 1852, a fight broke out among 150 men over land rights in Bendigo. An inquiry recommended increasing police numbers in the colony's mining settlements. Around this time, the first gold deposits at the Eureka lead in Ballarat were found.{{sfn|Withers|1999|p=47}}

In October 1852, at Lever Flat near Bendigo, the miners attempted to respond to rising crime levels by forming a "Mutual Protection Association". They pledged to withhold the licence fee, build detention centres, and begin nightly armed patrols, with vigilantes dispensing summary justice to those suspected of criminal activities. That month, Government House received a petition from Lever Flat, Forrest Creek and Mount Alexander about policing levels as the colony continued to strain due to the gold rush. On 25 November 1852, a police patrol was attacked by a mob of miners who wrongly believed they were obliged to take out a whole month's subscription for seven days at Oven's goldfield in Bendigo.{{sfn|MacFarlane|1995|p=188}}

In 1852, it was decided by the UK government that the Australian colonies should each draft their own constitutions, pending final approval by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Imperial parliament]] in London.{{sfn|Clark|1966|p=308}}