We Are the Rebels: The Women and Men Who Made Eureka

by Clare Wright

The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka is the most talked-about work of Australian history in recent years. Now here is Clare Wright's groundbreaking, award-winning study of the women who made the rebellion in an abridged edition for teenage readers.
Front and centre are the vibrant, adventurous personalities who were players in the Sarah Hanmer, Ellen Young, Clara Seekamp, Anastasia Hayes and Catherine Bentley, among others.
But just as important were the thousands of women who lived, worked and traded on the goldfields—women who have been all but invisible until now. Discovering them changes everything.
Clare Wright is a historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant and radio and television broadcaster.
Her first book, Beyond the Ladies Australia’s Female Publicans , garnered both critical and popular acclaim. Her groundbreaking second book, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka , which took ten years to research and write, won the 2014 Stella Prize.
Clare researched, wrote and presented the ABC television documentaries Utopia Girls and The War that Changed Us . She lives in Melbourne with her husband and three children.
‘It’s hard not to be inspired by this feminist revisiting of gold rush history.’ CBCA Reading Time 
Praise for  The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka
‘This is a wonderful book. At last an Australian foundation story where women are not only found, but are found to have played a fundamental role.’ Chris Masters
‘Brilliantly researched and fun to read. An exhilarating new take on a story we thought we knew.’ Brenda Niall
‘Fascinating revelations. Beautifully told.’ Peter FitzSimons
‘This is a fascinating book for teens that captures the essence of the times while never once feeling like a dry history book.’ Readings
' The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka offers us a full cast of flesh-and-blood women who belong in any telling of the Eureka story, and in any account of Australian goldfields life.' Robyn Annear, Monthly

'Clare Wright’s revisionary history of the Eureka stockade is immediately entrancing. A social history of the Ballarat goldfields in Victoria circa 1854, it recreates the landscape as one of bustling domesticity, commerce, theatre and constantly shifting authority. It is a far cry from the stories and images of my school history books which portrayed a shanty town of tents and men.' Guardian
'Extraordinary...There is so much to be learned from her prodigality of content...not just about the role of women of women in Eureka and on the goldfields...but also about Australian society.' Australian Book Review
'As Wright points out, for too long Eureka has been a masculine myth. Women's presence has never been fully explored. Indeed, their absence has been assumed. Her work fills an enormous gap. Furthermore, The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka supports her claim that women's presence does not just add colour to the picture, it changes the very outline.' Weekend Australian
‘Wright’s use of source material focusing on people, mostly women, whose stories, diaries and writings can take us through the entire journey from immigration to rebellion allows readers to connect with these characters in a way that isn’t often found in history books…Without a doubt the historical legacy of the Eureka Stockade is one which will never be forgotten but thanks in large part to the work of Clare Wright the stories of the women who almost were can stay with us.’ Salty Popcorn

Genres: Nonfiction, History

254 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 19, 2015

About the author

Clare Wright is an historian who has worked as a political speechwriter, university lecturer, historical consultant and radio and television broadcaster. Her first book, 'Beyond the Ladies Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans', garnered both critical and popular acclaim and her second, 'The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka', won the 2014 Stella Prize.

She researched, wrote and presented the ABC TV documentary Utopia Girls and is the co-writer of the four-part series The War That Changed Us which screened on ABC1.

Reviews

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is only in the last few years that I’ve become interested in Australian history. In High School I was more interested in Ancient History than any other type, and Australian history just didn’t seem as interesting as other countries’. Maybe if it had been presented to me like Clare Wright has done in this book, I would have been enthralled.

Clare Wright has done an amazing job of presenting the women and men who made Eureka. She has painted a vivid picture of their lives, their struggles and gave us personal accounts so the figures become as real as they once were and made it feel as if we knew these people.

We Are The Rebels read like a piece of fiction and was just as interesting, if not even more so because it really happened. We Are The Rebels was an engrossing, captivating read. I cannot recommend it enough. If you think Australian history isn’t your thing, I still urge you to give this a try. Wright illustrates this time in our history in an engaging and fascinating way. This is no boring history book. This is the story of the many brave people who helped shape our nation.

We Are The Rebels is a concise edition of The Forgotten Rebels Of Eureka and I’m very interested in reading the extended version. Here’s hoping Wright will present to us many more books like this one, depicting the moments in history that shaped us and especially the role women played, in her enthralling, vivid voice.

[Lee Kofman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wright has a wonderful knack for narrative and character. She brings long-dead people alive with just a few masterful strokes. And her humour shines through, even when she describes tragic stuff. I learned lots of new things about Australian history, but also spent a few sleepless nights so much was I gripped by the individual stories as well.

[Daniel Ahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a really interesting book with lots of information. This text is about the unfairness of women and men rights and also about the Eureka stockade. It was a bit like mystery and informative as it gave us information also telling us a story of the past.

[Sarah H]

Grab you pick axe and dig into this gold rush story. This engaging non-fiction book has been abridged for young adult readers, covering the events leading to the 1854 Eureka Stockade and massacre at Ballarat, and the everyday women present in the history-making events. Wright brings to life the hardship of passage to Australia and living conditions at “tent-city”. She captures the grandeur of the first buildings erected, and emotion of setting and place. At times she makes comparisons to present day living, which highlights the appeal of adventure and sacrifice that so many new Australians endured. The entwining of citizen rights and story crescendo through the book is more captivating that fiction. Wright gives voice to the struggle of women, children, back-breaking labour, heavy taxation and disrespected police. Australian “mateship” is redefined to remember that women were labouring together on the sidelines as much as the men. Mostly the reading pace is slow to focus on the detailed actions and daily life accounts. The character descriptions are vivid and the weaving of quotes from carefully sought primary evidence creates a fresh history perspective. The voice this book lacks is the indigenous one, although Wright does uncover minor historical encounters with the Wathaurung people. Enthusiasts of Dolan’s graphic novel Eureka will also delight with Wright’s book. The 2014 Stella Prize was awarded to Wright’s original writing of this story: The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka. Wright’s research has challenged historical events, and she too will be a “rebel” of our time.

[Roxanne Bodsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compulsory Reading for all Australians. Wright's shorter edition of 'The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka' is so readable and packed with the detail of the lead-up to the Eureka Stockade and its aftermath, the reverberations of which moved Australia from a colonial fledgling state with a mock democracy, to equal rights for all (first the immigrant men and their descendants, then women, then indigenous, but we got there). Why did we not get taught this at school? Because those who hold the power keep trying to claw back the power for the few instead of the many. This was the making of Australia, for all, and we need to keep returning to these values.

Clara Seekamp, editor of the Ballarat Times, wrote in 1855, "What is this country else but Australia? Is it any more England than it is Ireland or Scotland, France or America, Italy or Germany? Is the population, wealth, intelligence, enterprise and learning wholly and solely English? No, the population of Australia is not English, but Australian. Whoever works towards the development of its resources and its wealth is no longer a foreigner but an Australian, a title fully as good, if not better, than that of any inhabitants of any of the geographical dominions in the world. The latest immigrant is the youngest Australian."

[Annette Heslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the topic of this book which held my interest entirely to the end.

Eureka Hill was known as Canvas City with the large amounts of tents and families set up in the area.

Men and Women trying to get rich with the attraction of digging for Gold. Some were lucky, and others not. As quoted in the book - "Most had failed to feed, clothe or adequately house the families they brought with them, or those they quickly started". Page 226.

The savage blood shed by Police and Troopers on that fateful day Sunday 3rd December 1854 where many Men and Women died, fighting for their rights.

[Jay Moran · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book. Such an important topic. Women's stories are so often lost, whilst men's stories are deified.

However, I really struggled to get through it. It lacked the human element I want in my stories - and read more like reading straight off the archive's records. Whilst this helps with accuracy, I was hoping to feel connected to the women. Sadly, it didn't do it for me.

[Wattle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Why I read it: I love history, to the point where I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in it. As part of my degree, we had to fill a certain quota of Australian topics, and considering that the history that is taught here is only since the country was "discovered" by Captain Cook (don't even get me started), a lot of what I was taught overlapped. Interestingly (to me, at least) we never covered the Eureka Stockade.

It's a story one usually learns in Primary School, however at the time it was taught, I was living overseas and not learning under the Australian school curriculum. So it's something I missed out on. I know the basics, but that's it. And when this came up, I couldn't resist it!

Plot: This book is a condensed version of The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka, specifically for teen readers. We learn about the stories of the men of Eureka, but also of the many women that were there at the time. The Eureka Stockade is a pivotal point in white Australian history, ordinary men vs English soldiers = the birth of democracy in this nation! Except women played an important part in all this, and this book brings them under the spotlight.

My Thoughts: I may have a history degree, but I hate history books. Hate them. They are boring and written in formal language and they just remind me of all the essays I've ever had to write. However, every now and then a book comes along that isn't a dry academic text; they are written like a novel, they flow nicely, they are interesting. And We Are the Rebels is one of those (thank goodness, otherwise this review would have taken a downturn!)

I learned a lot of things from this book. I did know that the Chinese were in Victoria during the gold rush, but I had no idea the Americans were too (which really, I should have, it makes sense!) I went to Ballarat as a kid, so I had little trouble picturing it. I'd love to visit again, mainly because I love Victoria as only one born and (mostly) bred there can (so much bias); but also because of that history.

The way this book is written would suit teens down to a tee. It's accessible, not dull and there's no footnotes to distract from the reading flow (I loathe footnotes lol). I do wish there were more pictures though, of the primary sources and even the folk involved. It's the only thing I felt was missing, although I'm not sure if there would be legal issues surrounding that? Perhaps.

It made me think about how everyone kept diaries back then, and made me wonder if technology has somewhat ruined document keeping and primary source material for future generations. As we read old diaries, will they just have our email accounts (and all the crap in them?) If they're not purged? I know it wasn't the book's intention to make me think about that, but it's a thing that filled me with a bit of horror to be honest. Technology is awesome, but it is also fleeting. I still have floppy disks, but nothing to read them on! (Although that's probably a good thing, my boyband phase was during the reign of the disk).

All in all, this book was a really interesting read. I know it barely scratches the surface, but it provides just the right amount of information to keep it interesting, without being too heavy. I would definitely be interested in checking out The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka in the future, as this just felt like a taste; and the history nerd in me needs more ;)

In Brief: A great non-fiction book for teens about an important time in white Australia's history, not too heavy for those that aren't history buffs, but may leave one wanting to do research of their own!

[Kait · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ain't your average boring history book.*

Let me begin by saying that I normally read fiction - historical fiction. There's nothing I like more than delving deep into the lives of those who came before us, but academic history tomes tend to be more impersonal & dry. Not so 'We Are the Rebels' - Claire Wright has created a clear, captivating portal to the time of the eureka stockade, and a very lively portrait of the men and oft forgotten women who wrote such an important chapter of our nation's story.

Wright follows a journey starting with setting sail into the unknown - many never to see home again - and the communities and changes experienced aboard ship - the part about about the English ladies "resigned half unwillingly, tousled, tumbled and blushingly" carried to shore at a stopover with no other way to land than than in the armed of the naked native men was priceless, and the accounts of losing the dear North Star for the new constellation of the southern cross, poignant. Then we see miners, shop keepers, hopefuls of all kinds discovering that "Australian social conventions are an elastic thing and give to the touch." Then we have the women who gave the rebellion a flag, a voice in the paper, and so much more. And inevitably we come to the innocent women who died in the Eureka battle yet was not even reported in the fatalities, who bookends this account. And all the men are there too of course, in lifelike detail, but it's nice to read about my fellow sisters who we were taught so little of at school.

Thoroughly enjoyed, would thoroughly recommend to anyone, especially when for so many of us, the figures of the goldfields are the family this book makes them feel like.

*the review however may be average, I haven't written one in years. :)

[Oliver Hodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a very interesting take on the eureka story, showing the classic elements of the story alongside the women's focus which was supported by a raft of re-examined and newly found evidence. Not that women's history can only be told when there is enough 'hard' evidence, but it makes it easier reading when there is more to go on.
I am always fascinated with australian history how much the story is of the ruling protestants and rebellious catholics and how much of that sectarian story has folded in to the current divide of liberal (protestants and allies) and labor (irish and allies), even when touchstone issues are different these days. I thought Wright did a great job of teasing out social and political complexities, especially with the sections of the book dealing with the influential americans on the gold fields. There were also nice insights into the complexities of the growing Victorian economy and the point that gold was a low tech path to escape from the factories of the industrial revolution to the capital class without inventing something.