Anti-Gold Licence Association
Encyclopedia
The Anti-Gold Licence Association was formed in Bendigo, Victoria
, Australia
on 6 June 1853.
On 1 August Governor La Trobe
was presented with a petition of more than 5,000 signatures, now known as the Bendigo Petition
.
At a meeting at View Point, Bendigo on 12 August ten to twelve thousand diggers turned up wearing red ribbons around their hats. The miners objected to the high charge for the Miner's Licence
and resolved to pay no more than 10 shillings in licence fees and, if this reduction was refused, to pay no more fees. All miners supporting the resolution would continue to wear red ribbons in their hat as a symbol of defiance. In response to the agitation at Bendigo, all available military forces in the colony were sent to the Bendigo gold field. On 27 August Bendigo miners demanded a reduction in the licence fee and in September only 400 of the 14,000 miners renewed their licences. On 30 August Governor La Trobe announced the abolition of the licence system to be substituted by export duty and a small registration fee. The Victorian Legislative Council rejected La Trobe's proposal and his promise was not enacted and the licence system continued.
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on 6 June 1853.
On 1 August Governor La Trobe
Charles La Trobe
Charles Joseph La Trobe was the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria .-Early life:La Trobe was born in London, the son of Christian Ignatius Latrobe, a family of Huguenot origin...
was presented with a petition of more than 5,000 signatures, now known as the Bendigo Petition
Bendigo Petition
The Bendigo Petition was an attempt by miners in the colony of Victoria to demand political representation and reasonable limits to taxation from Governor La Trobe, a representative of the British Government. In particular the miners requested reform of license fees applicable to miners on the...
.
At a meeting at View Point, Bendigo on 12 August ten to twelve thousand diggers turned up wearing red ribbons around their hats. The miners objected to the high charge for the Miner's Licence
Miner's Licence
The Miner's Licence was the colonial government's response to the Australian gold rushes and the need to provide infrastructure including policing. The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Charles Fitzroy invoked a sixteenth-century lawsuit, R v Earl of Northfartland which was decided in 1568, to...
and resolved to pay no more than 10 shillings in licence fees and, if this reduction was refused, to pay no more fees. All miners supporting the resolution would continue to wear red ribbons in their hat as a symbol of defiance. In response to the agitation at Bendigo, all available military forces in the colony were sent to the Bendigo gold field. On 27 August Bendigo miners demanded a reduction in the licence fee and in September only 400 of the 14,000 miners renewed their licences. On 30 August Governor La Trobe announced the abolition of the licence system to be substituted by export duty and a small registration fee. The Victorian Legislative Council rejected La Trobe's proposal and his promise was not enacted and the licence system continued.