Some amongst you may be wondering why I would write about the Southern Cross, the Eureka Flag, and why it represents such an important part of our Aussie heritage: Freedom.
Wanna know why?
Because from the little bit of history I did learn at school, the Eureka Stockade was the most inspirational for me. sit back, relax, and I’ll tell you a story about a minority group of Aussies…
Seems that back in 1851, a bloke by the name of Lietenant-Governor La Trobe whacked an unfair tax on the goldminers and by mid 1854, the bloke that replaced him ordered the coppers to harass the miners and perform twice-weekly licence checks. Is this story starting to sound familiar yet?
By late November, the miners had had a gutfull of the corrupt government and their equally corrupt law enforcers and called a protest meeting on Bakery Hill in Victoria to discuss what they were going to do about it.
To piss off the Governor and prove their point, the miners burnt their licences. Then for the first time, probably as a “fuck-you” to the officials, the Southern Cross was raised up an 80 foot flagpole.
Unfortunately the government used the early version of the tactics they still use to this day if you disagree with them… send in the storm troopers. Crush those who dare to protest!
This, of course, was interpreted by the troops and police as the right to go wild – sadly, five days after the flag was raised, the troops attacked the stockade and many of the miners were killed, and that kind-of effectively put a stop to the uprising.
The mongrel bastards stole the flag, too!
But…
The miners did force the government to establish a Gold Fields Commission, where they obviously got all the rights they asked for… I mean, look at the mining companies today – they say jump, and the government asks how high?
So what’s this got to do with Grunt Files and my interest in the Southern Cross? Well, I kinda liked the fact that the miners stood around the flag and pledged to stand together and fight to defend their rights and liberties.
The Southern Cross has always been seen by Aussies as a symbolic representation for all those who have fought against tyranny and oppression. In short, the Southern Cross represents the rebellious nature of Aussies when facing a massive injustice.
The Southern Cross reminds me that, as a car enthusiast and as an Australian, I have rights and the government has an obligation to assure me that i am granted these rights.
I remember, too, that a mob of miners more than 160 years ago, died fighting for their rights and the rights of all generations of Australians to follow…
If we stand as one, united in our cause, there will be a future for the street machine generation of tomorrow – our kids, blown v8, cruisin’ beneath the Southern Cross…