Is it still Miners -v- Troopers in #Ballarat #Eureka ?

 A friend has forwarded the letter below:

 

 Reclaim the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion 

Dawn Service at the Eureka Memorial - #Ballarat

Picture from here

Date: Thu, 11 Dec 2014 05:06:39 +0000
From: anarchistage@yahoo.com
Subject: Lack of respect

We were saddened by the lack of respect shown to the miners and soldiers who were killed during the Eureka uprising on the 3rd December 1854, in Ballarat during the celebrations that were held on Wednesday to mark the 160th Anniversary of the uprising.  It's a pity the City of Ballarat continues to refuse to fly the Eureka flag on the main flagpole of the Town Hall on the anniversary of the Eureka massacre to acknowledge their sacrifice.  We were surprised when we walked from the Eureka Stockade site to the Old Ballarat Cemetery on Wednesday as part of the yearly Reclaim the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion Celebrations that the Eureka flag was not flying over the miners' mass grave and the British flag was not flying over the soldiers' graves.  We were saddened to see neither gravesite had any flowers placed on them (fortunately we had a spare Eureka flag that was attached to the flagpole and some flowers for the miners).  I'm confident if the same disrespect was shown to the graves of those who have died fighting in the name of this country on Anzac Day, there would have been an outcry.  The miners buried in the Old Ballarat Cemetery paid the ultimate sacrifice so we can enjoy many of the rights and liberties we take for granted today.  It's not much to ask the City of Ballarat, a city whose name is synonymous with the Eureka Rebellion, to ensure the Eureka flag is flown over the miners' mass grave and the British flag is flown over the soldiers' graves on the anniversary of the day they died.  Lest We Forget. 

Dr. Joseph TOSCANO / Convenor Reclaim the Radical Spirit of the Eureka Rebellion Celebrations
Level 1/21 Smith Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065
Tel: 0439 395 489

Editorial note:  There are remnants of the Miners -v- Troopers alive and well and, if you speak to some locals, still influential. For instance, there is the Ballaarat Club (please note the old spelling and the name of their restaurant) and the Old Colonists Club.