"By and by there was a result, and I think it may be called 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."
- Mark Twain
Today is the 159th anniversary of the Eureka Rebellion, an event which directly led to the introduction of universal male suffrage in Victoria, kick-starting the growth of democracy in the Australian colonies and later the Australian Federation.
I have always found it baffling that Australia, one of a tiny number of countries which has maintained a democratic tradition for over a century, chooses to ignore this day while celebrating the arrival of the first fleet and the Gallipoli landing, both events that were conceived by, and in the in the interests of, another nation.