Three Diggers: A Tale of the Australian Fifties (1889)

Between 1851 and 1854 tension was building on the Australian goldfields between the miners and the authorities. In December 1854, 1,000 men gathered at Eureka, just outside Ballarat, in Victoria, to fight for their rights; they were over-run by troops from Melbourne and 22 were killed, but juries refused to convict the rebel leaders and their grievances were eventually remedied. First published in 1889, Three Diggers is set against this backdrop and chronicles the adventures of three participants in the gold rush : Jack Wainwright, Harry Coates, and Michael O'Donnoghue, who get caught up in the events in Ballarat in the months leading up to the stand-off at Eureka.