Minority groups involved in the Eureka Stockade were placed under the microscope during the 162nd Eureka Day commemoration at the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka on Saturday.
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Australian-Hubei Chamber of Commerce founder and Chinese Community Council Australia president Mike Yang delivered the annual Peter Tobin oration, which had a specific focus on the role of Chinese miners during the Eureka rebellion and the struggles they faced in securing their own rights.
State parliament Legislative Council president Bruce Atkinson also spoke at the ceremony, focusing particularly of the indigenous population within both the rebellion and Australian society as part of the dedication of the Aboriginal flag.
“We haven’t always honoured the contribution of people at this place, to what has been tenets of democracy that have been adopted not just in Victoria or Australia, but around the world,” Mr Atkinson said.
The commemoration on Saturday included a smoking ceremony conducted by Wadawurrung elder Uncle Bryon Powell and an address by City of Ballarat mayor Samantha Mclntosh.
M.A.D.E chairman Kaaren Koomen said while historians in the past had tended to focus on the Eureka Stockade battle itself in 1854, in more recent times historians had taken to exploring the roles minorities played on the goldfields and in the rebellion.
“Australian democracy is made up of contributions from people from the widest, most diverse groups possible, and that's part of the Eureka story,” Ms Koomen said.
“When you think about the Eureka Stockade it was about people fighting for their rights, and around that time the Chinese miners were also fighting for their rights.
“It's important to remember that sometimes these battles aren't won in the short term.”
The M.A.D.E event coincided with the annual Reclaiming the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion events, which included a dawn ceremony at Eureka Park at 4am and the reaffirmation of the Eureka Oath at Bakery Hill.
An effigy of outspoken senator Pauline Hanson was burned at the dawn ceremony.