Unknown Makers Eureka Flag
The Eureka Flag
The most complete summary of the history and legends associated
with the 'Eureka flag' can be found in the catalogue of the Eureka
Revisited Exhibition which was held in 2004 to celebrate the
150th Anniversary of the Eureka Stockade. How it came into the
custodianship of the Art Gallery of Ballarat can be summarized as
follows:
Following correspondence from James Powell, Secretary of the
Art Gallery of Ballarat in 1895 to Mrs J King "for the very
interesting relic as a gift… or failing your family's willingness
to part with it altogether, to lend it for a specified
term.." Mrs King, the widow of Trooper J King, agreed
to lend the flag to the Gallery on the condition that either she or
her son Arthur could get it at any time.
The flag was duly posted to the Gallery but many continued to
believe it was a replica or 'bunting' until the flag itself
was compared with a significant fragment that had with
certainty been cut off on the 3rd December 1854 - the day the
rebellion was suppressed. Comparison of the fibres of the
fragment and matrix put the authenticity of the flag in the Gallery
beyond doubt as they were found to be identical. As was
common practice for interesting 'relics' of this kind before
museums properly understood their role as preservers of heritage
items, mementoes continued to be taken from the flag in the early
part of the 20th Century. The Eureka Flag was conserved and
placed on display in the 1970s before being formally
gifted by the King family in 2002.