BALLARAT, VIC. — The Eureka Hotel at Ballarat was opened by its owner, James Bentley, in July 1854. Also known as Bentley’s Hotel, it stood on the northeast corner of Eureka Street and Otway Street. It was a popular place for the diggers on the goldfields to gather after a hard day’s prospecting.
James Scobie was an unassuming gold miner who came to Australia from Scotland after being convicted of forgery; he was sentenced to 10 years’ hard labour and transported to Norfolk Island aboard The Blundell in March, 1844. The ship arrived at Norfolk Island, and James Bentley spent 12 months there before being sent to Van Diemen’s Land.
In 1854, Catherine and James Bentley applied for approval to establish a hotel in Ballarat at the corner of Eureka Street and Otway Street, Ballarat East, and in May, a “grand building covering half-an-acre was built in an area where the gold diggers were housed in tents and log huts. The hotel could sleep about 80 people, had a bowling alley, three bars, a billiards room and a Bagatelle room with two large Waterford crystal chandeliers.”
After getting into a fight at the Eureka Hotel, Scobie died on October 7, 1854. An inquest into his death absolved the hotel owner, Bentley, and his staff of any wrongdoing.
The miners, however, felt justice had been thwarted and held a meeting outside the hotel on October 17, 1854. Tempers flared and a riot ensued. The hotel was burnt to the ground by the diggers. As a result of this, more troopers were sent from Melbourne, and miners were subjected to more frequent licence checks and more frequent clashes between miners and troopers.
Ten men were arrested over the destruction of the hotel ten days later, but the charges against seven of those arrested were dismissed.
Another inquest into Scobie’s death was held a month later, on November 18, during which Bentley and two of his staff were found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to three years’ hard labour in the road-gangs.
The hotel was supported by prominent men in the area, including Police Magistrate and Senior Sergeant of Police at the goldfields official’s camp, John D’Ewes. Records show D’Ewes, along with many members of the police and authorities at the camp, accepted bribes from James Bentley and other miners. Police corruption was rife.
The general dissatisfaction generated by these events was a catalyst in the events leading up to the Eureka Stockade of December 3.
