History: John Joseph found Not Guilty at Eureka Trial : Melbourne Indymedia

The American Consul stationed in Melbourne had been able to arrange to have the other Americans that had been arrested at Eureka to be released. No such arrangements were made for Joseph and he found himself facing execution in February 1855. The first of the Treason trials was considered to be such an important trial, that the Attorney General William Stawell represented the Crown and Chief Justice a' Beckett sat on the bench. Two of the barristers that had acted for the prisoners tried for the burning of Bentley's pub, Butler Cole Aspinall and Henry Chapman, volunteered to act for Joseph. The whole of Melbourne eagerly awaited the outcome of the trial.

The first test of the legal process came with the selection of the jury. The Crown challenged the inclusion of Irish jurors, publicans and other questionable persons. Joseph brought the court to a standstill when he called out that he objected to the inclusion of gentlemen and merchants in the jury. It took some time for the laughter in the courtroom to subside and for the jury selection process to continue. No Irishmen found their way into the ranks of the jury, although a number of 'gentlemen' were selected to be on Joseph's jury.

The charge against him stated 'He had made war against our Lady the Queen in order to subvert authority, he had tried to injure her and force her to change her measures and counsels, he had attempted to deprive her of authority in this colony and, finally he had killed and wounded her soldiers and other loyal subjects'. The trial was over in a few days, the jury made up their minds in record time and acquitted John Joseph.

The scenes that occurred next have seldom been witnessed in Melbourne. The courtroom erupted, the cheering at the verdict so affronted Chief Justice a' Beckett , he singled out two members of the audience and jailed them for a week for affronting the dignity of the court. Joseph was placed on a chair and lifted above the crowd, thousands, possibly up to 50,000 people over a quarter of Melbourne's population in 1855 chaired him through the streets of the city.

The Anarchist Media Institute has organised a gathering outside the Supreme Court of Victoria for midday Wednesday the 25th February to give people the opportunity to celebrate the 149th anniversary of this tumultuous week. We encourage our readers to research the history of the countryside, villages, towns and cities they live in and reclaim their radical history. As activists we need to reclaim our history to understand the present and use the lessons of those events to change the future.

AUSTRALIAN RADICAL HISTORY
THE EUREKA SERIES 2004 No. 4
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Eureka rebellion. The Anarchist Media Institute is once again organising activities on the 3rd December 1854 to reclaim the radical spirit of the Eureka rebellion. If we don't reclaim the radical spirit, the 150th anniversary celebrations could degenerate into a soulless exercise that marks the event but doesn't acknowledge the radical spirit behind the rebellion.

Readers of the Anarchist Age Weekly Review will receive or be able to download a poster with details of the events that we have organised to mark the 150th anniversary of the Eureka rebellion. We encourage our readers to distribute these as far and wide as possible. We also encourage you to join us at the Eureka stockade site at 4.00am on Friday the 3rd December and Reclaim the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion.

If you're interested in carrying out your own research into the Eureka rebellion, some of the material I have used to write the Eureka stockade series in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review over the past 2 years includes (in alphabetical order);

EUREKA by John Molony, Melbourne Uni Press 1984, republished 2001, ISBN 0 522849 628
EUREKA AND ITS FLAGS by Len Fox, A Mullaya Book 1973, ISBN 0 85914 004 0
EUREKA REMINISCINES edited by Ballarat Heritage Services 1998, ISBN 0 646 352 385
EUREKA Victorian Parliamentary Papers Votes & Proceedings 1854-'67, collected by Hugh Anderson, Hill of Content Publish '69, Registry No.Aus69-1857
GILBURNIA by Rafaello Carboni, Translated & Annotated by Tony Pagliareo, Jim Crow Press, Daylesford 1993, ISBN 0 909874 19 0
MASSACRE AT EUREKA The Untold Story by Bob O'Brien, Aust Scholarly Publishing '92, ISBN 0909874190
WOMEN OF EUREKA, Laurel Johnson 1995 Historical Montrose Cottage & Eureka Museum, ISBN 0646248677

There are many other accounts published about Eureka including Rafaello Carboni's original account that was published in 1855 that was reprinted in the 1960's. If you have any other books and papers on Eureka that you're willing to send me to review, post them to Joseph Toscano, P.O. Box 20, Parkville 3052, Melbourne, Australia. If the material is too valuable to send via Australia Post, contact me via the Anarchist Media Institute (03) 9828 2856.

See also
Reclaiming the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion in 1854
http://www.takver.com/history/eureka.htm

Eureka on Trial - Public Records Office Victoria website
http://eureka.imagineering.com.au/home.htm