Readers are drawn into the greatest Australian legend outside of
wartime, the Eureka Blockade
Australia's answer to the Boston Tea Party and to the French people's
storming of the Bastille was the Eureka Blockade. It was the moment when
the diggers sense of outraged justice united them into a force that
changed the course of Australian history. It is the greatest Australian
legend outside of wartime, and one that has enormous resonance in the
21st Century as Australians continue to discuss what their formal
relationship with Britain should be. Karl Marx followed it closely and
wrote about it extensively, while Mark Twain described it as "the finest
thing in Australasian history. It was a revolution--small in size; but
great politically; it was a strike for liberty, a struggle for
principle, a stand against injustice and oppression." Peter FitzSimons
brings the whole story to life in his trademark fashion, making the
reader feel like they're there as the mighty Eureka flag is first raised
and rebels swear allegiance to it; as the British redcoats first launch
their attack, and as the digger-rebels fight back in kind.