[Editor: This poem by John Neilson (1844-1922), regarding the Eureka Rebellion, was published in The Labor Call (Melbourne, Vic.), 1 December 1938.]
The Men of the Fifties
By John Neilson, 1844-1922.
First published in the “Ballarat Courier,” 1905.
(Copyright.)
The hero was camped in the river bend,
The stockmen gathered around fire;
The night was cold, and the roaring flame
Went leaping and bounding higher and higher.
The drovers’ shadows danced and played
Like Titan shapes on the clumps of pine,
A yellow star in the shadows grey
Went down on the level desert line;
And the night breeze wafted across the plains
The clink of the horses’ hobble-chains.
Some half a dozen of careless souls,
With hearts as light as the desert air,
Bearded and bronzed, ’twas often theirs,
With merry hearts, on scanty fare,
To ride when the heaven seemed brass o’erhead,
And the hot sand burned beneath the tread.
One of the stockmen musing said (his voice sunk soft and low)
“Why do my thoughts go back to-night to the days of long ago?
I’m an old man now,” and he faced the group, while the light on his features played —
“One of the men of the fifties, boys, who fought at the old Stockade.”
“Ah! those were the times! I see them now, for the years are backward rolled,
When everyone seemed young and strong, and the glamour of the gold
Lit up men’s eyes and the eager quest, though often, alas in vain,
Made pulses beat at fever heat and fired the coolest brain.”
“Few are my mates of the fifties that are alive to-day.
Their cheeks are furrowed, their steps are slow, their locks are thin and grey.
Yet they were the men of the brawny arms who fielded the pick and spade
With Humffray, Lalor, Ross, and Vern, entrenching the old Stockade.”
“They met, those fervent spirits, in Freedom’s sacred name,
With banner spread they dared to stem the tide of wrong and shame.
The gathered sons of many lands, the rugged rank and file,
The sturdy Scot, the fiery sons of Erin’s Emerald Isle,
The swart Italians mustered there, sons of heroic sires,
Within their breasts they felt the glow of the old Roman fires.
The Chartist, whose Utopian dreams the world had laughed to scorn,
Saw Freedom’s standard on the hills and Plenty’s golden horn.
Fond dreamers those, who would not learn from History’s bitter lore,
They saw the light that never yet was seen by sea or shore.”
The early dawn was grey in the east,
The hills were a dim outline in the dark;
A muffled sound fell on the ear,
And someone whispered “Hark!”
We listened a while, then all was still,
We shaded our eyes to pierce the gloom,
When sharp and sudden a warning shot
Rang like a knell of doom.
“Stand to your arms!” stout Lalor cried,
“Yonder they come!” And clearly then
We heard the beat of the horses’ feet,
And measured tramp of marching men
Steadily stepping with head erect,
The horsemen riding on either wing,
I saw their leader wave his sword
With bearing of a king.
Onward they came in a thin red line,
I prayed that something might intervene.
My fingers hung on the trigger-guard
As I looked on the men of our English Queen.
A shot rang out from the palisade,
An officer fell as we heard the sound,
The rifle-smoke in the morning air
Went creeping along the ground.
The bugle sounded sharp and clear,
The rifles spat in a sheet of flame,
And whistling shrill through the white smoke-shroud,
The flying bullets came,
Snipping the splinters from the wood,
Tearing their way through flesh and bone;
While we the battle still made good
And fairly held our own.
Again we heard the bugle’s sound,
And saw the redcoats coming near,
With rush of feet, and levelled steel,
And Britain’s battle cheer.
With musket-butt and thrust of pike
We met them at the palisade;
With shot and steel they bore us back
And carried the Stockade.
You’ve read how the diggers broke and fled,
The battle lost, but the cause was won;
How Lalor escaped with a price on his head,
And how, when the evil days were done,
The vote of the miner sent him forth
Their chosen man, and none but he
Whose shattered arm had held aloft
The flag of their democracy.
He strove in the House for truth and right,
Reckless of odds and undismayed,
The same true heart who led the fight
That morn at the old Stockade.
The slain are buried and long at rest,
Their weapons are rusted with long disuse;
They lie where the great peacemaker, Death,
Has joined their hands in endless truce.
It fell to their lot as it falls to all
Who strike for freedom, and strike in vain,
To set men free and wrest the thrall
From fettered spirit or shackled brain;
The cross, the gibbet, the knotted thong,
The world metes out to the good and the just;
To those who would battle with shame and wrong,
The rifle bullet and bayonet thrust,
And cruel words that wound like swords,
Or sneers that pierce like bayonet stabs,
And jeers for the noble hearts who fell
Bleeding behind the slabs.
The bell-bird sings in the leafy wood
Her Springtide song to the fervid noon;
The dark swan glides with her downy brood,
Where rushes nod in the cool lagoon,
High overhead in the azure sky
The eagle soars on his sunlit plumes,
While wild birds rainbow-tinted fly,
Where yellow gold of the wattle blooms.
But the dead are deaf to each joyous sound,
Their eyes are closed to the gladsome light,
While life speeds on in its ceaseless round
Of birth, and bridal, and burial rite —
While sorrow sighs and pleasures call,
And laughter and love and mourning meet,
The spires of the “golden city” fall
In clear-cut shadows across their feet.
And ever like ocean’s distant boom,
The battery’s dash, and the stamper’s pound;
The white fleece twines on the flying loom,
The great steam hammer shakes the ground.
Out bright in the hush of the silent hour,
When skyward floats the vapour grey,
Between the dying of the moon
And the dawning of the day
The jewelled bars of the South Cross pass,
Through trailing mists and the night winds sigh,
And whisper amid the rustling grass,
Where the men of the fifties lie.
Source:
The Labor Call (Melbourne, Vic.), 1 December 1938, p. 7
Previously published in:
The Ballarat Courier (Ballarat, Vic.), 1905 [the exact date is not known; this newspaper was not available for that year on the Trove site at the time when this post was created]
Editor’s notes:
arms = armaments, firearms, weapons
azure = the blue of a clear unclouded sky
battery = a machine which uses a heavy metal vertical arm, or multiple arms, to stamp down upon and crush ore, so that minerals could be extracted; the building in which such machines are located (also known as a “stamp battery” or a “stamper battery”)
Chartist = an adherent of the Chartist movement (Chartism), which advocated a People’s Charter, promoting major democratic reforms (the movement originated in England in 1838, and spread to the rest of Great Britain, as well as to the British colonies)
cross = a structure made with an upright piece of timber (embedded in the ground) and a transverse piece of timber (attached across the upper section of the upright piece), which was used in ancient times to execute people by attaching (binding with rope, or nailing) their arms to the transverse timber, and similarly attaching their feet to the lower part of the upright timber, and then leaving them there to die; especially a reference to the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified (this method of killing is known as crucifixion) upon the hill of Calvary; a depiction, replication (usually small), or representation of the cross on which Jesus was killed (such depiction, when including the body of Jesus upon the cross, is known as a crucifix; very small crucifixes are commonly worn as attachments to necklaces, very large crucifixes are commonly found in Christian churches); objects in the shape of a cross (or artistic representations of a cross) are commonly used as symbols of Christianity
digger = a gold digger, someone seeking gold by digging in the ground (usually referring to men); a miner
down = the down feathers (also known as “plumules”) of birds, being the small soft fine feathers that cover and insulate the body of a bird (very young birds have only down feathers, until such time as their ordinary feathers grow); down feathers are utilised as a thermal insulator and padding, and are used in bedding (duvets and featherbeds), cushions, jackets, pillows, and sleeping bags
downy = of or relating to down (the small soft fine feathers that cover and insulate the body of birds); having the feel, texture, or nature of down; something consisting of down; covered in or filled with down; of or relating to a material which resembles down
Erin’s Emerald Isle = Ireland (also known as the “Emerald Isle”)
fare = food and drink; the type of food served at a cafe, dinery, or restaurant (e.g. traditional French fare); a range of food and drink
fervid = hot (especially extremely hot); burning; glowing; radiating energy (can also mean: fervent, impassioned, very enthusiastic)
fettered = chained, restrained, restricted, with a fetter attached (a fetter is a chain, manacle, or shackle placed around a prisoner’s ankle)
fifties = in the context of the 19th century, the 1850s
gibbet = a wooden structure with an upright post, with an arm projecting at a right angle (like an upside-down L), which was used for the public hanging of the bodies (often in chains) of executed criminals (as a warning to others to obey the law), and they were also used to hang criminals whilst still alive (in cages or metal enclosures designed to embrace and confine a human body), so that they would suffer public contempt, ridicule and scorn, until such time as they died (and then remained on display); any instrument of public execution (including executioner’s block, guillotine, hanging gallows, impalement stake, or related scaffold); “to gibbet”, or “gibbeting”, refers to deliberately exposing someone to public contempt, ridicule, and scorn
See: 1) “Hanging and gibbeting: A medieval torture of unbearable pain & humiliation”, The Archaeologist, 4 November 2022
2) Andy Wright, “the incredibly disturbing historical practice of gibbeting”, Atlas Obscura, 11 October 2016 (updated 26 October 2017)
3) “A look back at the disturbing practice of gibbeting”, All That’s Interesting, 24 October 2021 (updated 16 November 2021)
4) “Hanging gibbet”, COVE (Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education), 20 November 2019
5) “The gibbet & hangings”, COVE (Collaborative Organization for Virtual Education)
6) “Gibbeting”, Wikipedia
golden city = Ballarat (Victoria), known as “the Golden City”, being a city which is famous for the massive amounts of gold which have been extracted from the area
House = in a political context, a reference to Parliament House; also, in the context of Australian colonial or state politics, the Legislative Assembly (the House of Assembly); or, in the context of the Australian federal politics, the House of Representatives
Humffray = John Basson Humffray (1824-1891), gold-miner, politician; he was born in Newtown (Montgomeryshire, Wales), came to Australia in 1853, and died in Ballarat in 1891
See: 1) Diane Langmore, “Humffray, John Basson (1824–1891)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “John Basson Humffray”, Wikipedia
knell = the sound of a bell which has been rung slowly (i.e. in a solemn manner), especially for a funeral, or to announce or mark a death; a sound or sign which announces, indicates, foretells, or warns of the death, end, extinction, or failure, of a person, group, movement, civilisation, etc.; a mournful, ominous, or warning sound
knotted thong = a thong (a narrow strip of leather) used as part of a whip; for example, a knotted thong which is part of a “cat of nine tails” (also known as a “cat o’ nine tails”, or simply “the cat”), being a short whip with nine endings (tails) used to whip offenders as a punishment (especially used in the prison system and in the armed forces)
Lalor = Peter Lalor (1827-1889), a gold miner, leader of the Eureka Rebellion, and politician; he was born in Raheen (Queen’s County, Ireland) in 1827, came to Australia in 1852, led the Eureka Rebellion in 1854, later became Speaker of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, and died in Richmond (Melbourne, Victoria) in 1889
See: 1) Ian Turner, “Lalor, Peter (1827–1889)”, Australian Dictionary of Biography
2) “Peter Lalor”, Wikipedia
lock = a lock of hair; a small group or tuft of hairs (such as a curl, ringlet, or tress of hair); a small bunch of hair from someone’s head which has been cut off, usually being tied or bound together, and retained as a keepsake or memento; locks (plural) can refer to all of the hair on top of someone’s head
mete = to dispense, distribute, allot, or apportion by measure (often regarding something unpleasant, such as to order a punishment; hand out bad, cruel, harsh, or unfair treatment; dispense justice); the word is usually used in conjunction with the word “out” (e.g. “the judge will mete out justice to the criminals”, “he meted out some severe punishments”, “the universe metes out justice”); (archaic) measure out, to measure
morn = morning
palisade = a high fence, made of stakes, posts, poles, or logs (usually pointed at the top), which has been built to protect an area against attacks or intrusions (such as palisade erected around a town)
Plenty’s golden horn = a cornucopia (a horn of plenty; a horn of abundance); a large horn-shaped container; in Greek and Roman mythology, a cornucopia was the horn of the goat Amalthea (who nurtured the infant Zeus), which was endlessly overflowing with fruit, grain, nuts, and flowers, or which provided whatever its owner desired; artistic depictions of cornucopias are used a symbol of abundance, fruitfulness, and nourishment; the word “cornucopia” derives from the Latin “cornū” (“horn”) and “cōpia” (“abundance” or “plenty”)
See: 1) “Cornucopia”, Wikipedia
2) “cornucopia (n.)”, Online Etymology Dictionary
3) “cornucopia”, Wiktionary
redcoat = (plural: redcoats) a reference to soldiers in the British army, who wore red coats as part of their standard uniform (especially prevalent during the 17th to 19th centuries); “red-jackets”, or “redcoats”, may refer to the British army in general
Ross = Henry Ross (1829-1854), miner, one of the leaders of the Eureka Rebellion (in some historical documents, he was referred to as Charles Ross); he was severely wounded during the battle of the Eureka Stockade (3 December 1854), and died two days later; he was born in York, Upper Canada (now Toronto), in 1829, and died in Ballarat, Victoria, in 1854
See: 1) “Charles Ross”, Eurekapedia
2) “Henry Ross at the Eureka Stockade”,
3) “Henry Ross (1829-1854)”, WikiTree
4) “Henry Ross”, Wikipedia
slab = timber slabs (outside pieces cut from logs when squaring them for lumber), used for the walling of “slab huts” (huts made from timber, with wooden slab walls)
South Cross = Southern Cross (the Southern Cross constellation)
stamper = a battery stamp: a machine which uses a heavy metal vertical arm, or multiple arms, to stamp down upon and crush ore, so that minerals could be extracted; the building in which such machines are located (also known as a “stamp battery” or a “stamper battery”)
Stockade = the Eureka Stockade, the site of a battle (in Ballarat, Victoria, in 1854) fought between rebel miners (also known as “diggers”) and government forces (army and police)
stand to your arms = be ready with your arms (i.e. armaments, firearms, weapons) to fight; to “stand to” is to stand to (or stand by) for action, being a military situation of alertness whereby military personnel are take their positions, with weapons ready, and be prepared for action, for battle, or to resist an attack; to wait in readiness for action
swart = dark in color (as an adjective, “swarthy”)
thin red line = a line of soldiers; British soldiers (wearing the “redcoat” uniform of earlier years)
’twas = (archaic) a contraction of “it was”
Utopian = [1] of or relating to a Utopia: an envisioned paradise, i.e. an imagined country or place, or state of affairs, in which everything is ideal or perfect; derived from a fictional island depicted in Utopia (1516), a book written by Thomas More (1478-1535), which describes Utopia as being a perfect society (with a perfect government, legal system, and social conditions), a perfect place to live in, where people are happy and content
See: 1) “Utopia”, Wikipedia
2) “Utopia (More book)”, Wikipedia
Utopian = [2] someone who believes in, or advocates for, an envisioned Utopia or paradise; a negative reference to someone who advocates for a scheme or plan for social and/or political improvement (with the implication that such a scheme or plan is badly-designed, impractical, or poorly thought-out)
Vern = Frederick Vern, a gold-miner, and one of the leaders of the Eureka Rebellion; he (supposedly) came from Hanover (Germany) and (supposedly) had previously been an officer in the military; however, little is factually known about him, and his tales about himself have been regarded as dubious
See: 1) “Frederick Vern”, German Australia
2) “Frederick Vern”, Eurekapedia
3) “Poster, Reward Poster for the capture of Frederick Vern, 11/12/1854 (original)”, Victorian Collections
4) “Frederick Vern”, Wikipedia
wing = a side or flank of a military force (usually expressed as the “left flank” or “right flank”)
[Editor: Changed “While birth” to “Of birth” (it appears that the word “While”, at the start of the line, was transposed, as the lines both before and after the “birth” line also start with that word; unfortunately, this perceived correction cannot be confirmed until a copy of the original publication of the poem has been seen).]
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