The revolt at the Eureka Stockade is Australia's greatest story and deserves far greater prominence, according to ACT Labor MP Andrew Leigh.
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''It deserves to be acclaimed as a founding story, perhaps the founding story, of our nation,'' he said in Ballarat on Tuesday in a speech to mark the uprising's 159th anniversary. ''I defy the pages of our history to uncover a moment of similar transcendence as the Eureka Stockade.''
A small crowd is expected to gather at 4am on Wednesday at the Eureka monument to commemorate the rebellion and massacre.
Dr Leigh, the member for Fraser, said Eureka should have more prominence in Australia's history and national debate, because of its strong elements of democracy, republicanism and multiculturalism.
''Eureka had a more powerful hold on the Australia of my great-grandfather and my grandfather than it does on today's Australia,'' he said.
Australian political leaders, including John Howard, have noted the unique resonance of Eureka in Australian history.
''Organisations of the left and the far right both see Eureka as a militant struggle of protest against the entrenched powers of the status quo, a radical tradition to which only they are the rightful heirs,'' Dr Leigh said.
''The beauty and utility of Eureka exists in the fact that these groups, on opposite fringes of our society, can find vindication in their appropriation of the event's symbolism, but so can we. Our perception and embrace of Eureka is about how we see ourselves, our national fabric, our Australian essence, what we feel about who we are.
''We can elevate the Eureka Stockade to the central legend of the Australian patriotic identity where it will embody the first Australian claim to the global ideals of democracy, freedom, republicanism and multiculturalism, enhanced by our national values of egalitarianism, mateship and, above all, the 'fair go'.''
Dr Leigh recalls rebellion leader Peter Lalor swore an oath under the Southern Cross flag to defend rights and liberties.
''They are as bold and brave a set of words as has been sworn on this continent,'' he said. ''They are words galvanised by expressions of the universal human right to political participation and freedom.''