The Bendigo Petition was an attempt by miners in the colony of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

(now part of the Commonwealth of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

) to demand reasonable limits to taxation and improved access to land from Governor La Trobe, a representative of the British Government. In particular the miners requested reform of license fees applicable to miners on the gold fields. The Bendigo Petition built on the earlier demands enunciated by miners at the Forest Creek Monster Meeting of 1851. The

Anti-Gold Licence Association The Anti-Gold Licence Association, was formed in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia on 6 June 1853. The Association's protest became known as the Red Ribbon Rebellion, since at meetings in June and July thousands of miners gathered, wearing red ribbons ...

was formed by G E Thomson, Dr Jones and Edward Brown at

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

on 6 June 1853. Over 23,000 signatures were gathered for the Association's petition. An additional 8000 signatures from the nearby McIvor (Heathcote) diggings were lost as a result of the robbery of a gold escort in July 1853. By 1 August the petition, 30 metres long, was sent to the Governor in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. The petitions demands included: # To direct that the License Fee be reduced to 10 Shillings a Month. # To direct that Monthly or Quarterly Licenses be issued at the option of the applicants. # To direct that new arrivals or invalids be allowed on registering their names at the Commissioners Office fifteen clear days residence on the Goldfields before the license be enforced. # To afford greater facility to Diggers and others resident on the Goldfields who wish to engage in Agricultural Pursuits for investing their earnings in small allotments of land. # To direct that the Penalty of Five Pounds for no possession of License be reduced to One pound. # To direct that the sending of an Armed Force to enforce the License Tax be discontinued. Most of the petition's demands, including the reduction in the licence fee, were rejected.

References

* * * * * *{{cite news , first=Mary , last=Delahunty, Victorian Minister for Arts , url=http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/798c8b072d117a01ca256c8c0019bb01/ff2fdd4bdb06fdc5ca256f02007ab32e!OpenDocument , title=The Road to Eureka: Miner's Petition returns to Bendigo , work=Media Releases , publisher=Minister for Arts , date=2004-09-01 , accessdate=2006-12-19 , url-status=dead , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070901150258/http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/798c8b072d117a01ca256c8c0019bb01/ff2fdd4bdb06fdc5ca256f02007ab32e%21OpenDocument , archivedate=1 September 2007 , df=dmy-all 1853 in Australia Bendigo Victoria (Australia) gold rushes History of Victoria (Australia) 1850s in Victoria (Australia) Riots and civil disorder in Victoria (Australia) Australian gold rushes Rebellions in Australia Protests in Australia 19th-century reform movements 1853 documents