Who was Samuel Lazarus?
Samuel Lazarus (c1835-?) was born in Liverpool, England. He emigrated to Victoria as a young man in the 1850s and worked at a number of jobs, including running a confectionary business on Sydney Road, Brunswick. When he began writing his diary, he had just sold this business and, after trying several other enterprises in and around Melbourne, bought a tent big enough to hold 600 people, with the intention of setting up an auction house on the goldfields.
By the end of 1853 the Criterion Auction Mart was well established on Commissioner's Flat directly beneath the miner's camp at Eureka. During this period Lazarus was also a partner in a printing office, and even tried his luck at digging for gold in Avoca. Much later in 1880, Lazarus again witnessed an important moment in Victorian history - as foreman of the jury that convicted Ned Kelly.
Lazarus' diary entries
Lazarus was more often an observer rather than a participant in the events leading up to, and including, the Eureka uprising. Only 19 years' old at the time, he was a meticulous, yet judicious observer. While his sympathies were mostly with the diggers, he was also able to objectively assess both the events and diggers' demands. When writing about a petition demanding the release of men charged over the hotel violence, he states: 'No man in his senses can believe for a moment that the Governor will recognise the word "demand" in a petition - it is easy to guess the result'.
Eureka uprising
During 1853 miners on the Victorian goldfields were becoming increasingly angered by the government's Mining License Fee, and the system by which the fees were collected. In mid-1853 a petition signed by over 5000 Victorian goldfield diggers listing the miners' grievances was presented to Lieutenant-Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe. Most of the grievances were rejected.
In October 1854, tensions were brought to a head when miner James Scobie was beaten to death by a local publican, James Bentley. Despite the strong evidence against him, Bentley was not charged. After an angry mob burnt Bentley's pub down, troops were called in to reassert government authority.
In the ensuing weeks tension between the authorities and the miners continued to increase, culminating in the pre-dawn attack of the Eureka stockade by police and British troops on 3 December 1854. At least 20 miners died, and many more were injured. | 
