Castle Hill convict rebellion
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The Castle Hill Rebellion of 4 March 1804, also called the Irish Rebellion and the Battle of Vinegar Hill, was Australia's only large-scale convict rebellion. It was led by Phillip Cunningham and William Johnston and involved Irish convicts. Martial law was enacted for over a week during which time many dozens, some say up to one hundred and twenty,[citation needed] were killed in the fields and paddocks of today's Rouse Hill / Kellyville, located approximately 40 kilometres west of Sydney.
Many convicts at Castle Hill had been involved in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and subsequently transported to the Colony of New South Wales from late 1799.
The convicts at Castle Hill planned to meet with nearly 1000 convicts from the Hawkesbury and together, around 1500, they would march first on Parramatta and then onto Sydney (Port Jackson). Their dream was that of a New Ireland, not a New South Wales.
First used in New South Wales from midnight Sunday 4 March, 1804 under the auspices of posse comitatus, the militia was the best hope the British had of suppressing the rebelling convicts, who greatly outnumbered the Red Coats. The New South Wales Corps had marched all night and most of the next morning from Sydney in order to catch the rebels outside of Rouse Hill. A short battle was fought which ended the rebellion. Martial law was lifted ten days later.
233 rebels fought and 15 un-named men were killed on the battle-field.
- Nine rebels were executed, including Phillip Cunningham and William Johnston.
- Two were "reprieved, detained at the governor's pleasure."
- Four received "500 lashes and exile to the Coal River chain gang."
- Three received "200 lashes and exile to the Coal River chain gang."
- Twenty-three other rebels were also exiled to the Coal River.
- Thirty-four prisoners were placed in irons until they could be 'disposed' of. It is not known whether some, or all of them, were sent to the Coal River.
- The remaining rebels, as well as other suspects, were allowed to return to their places of employment.[1]
Coal River was the original name for Newcastle, New South Wales.
The believed site of the battle is within eye-sight of the prison town, the 'Castle Hill Settlement Site', recognised in March 1986 as making entry onto the Australian Registry of the National Estate (Place ID: 2964). This has not stopped developers, the local council of Baulkham Hills, and the state government of New South Wales from diminishing this landscape. Of the original 141 km2 (14 124 hectares), in 1799, less than 1 km2 (80 hectares), circa 1815, was preserved at the time and today, less that 0.2 km2 (22 hectares) is conserved as a permanent reminder as Castle Hill Heritage Park (2004), dedicated exactly two hundred years after the uprising and rebellion of 1804.
While there is a sculpture at Castlebrook Cemetery commemorating the battle, there remains debate as to where the battle actually occurred.[2] The bicentenary of the Battle was commemorated with a variety of events.[3]
[edit] See also
- The first Battle of Vinegar Hill in Ireland; this rebellion is sometimes referred to as the second Battle of Vinegar Hill
[edit] On screen
The Australian 1978 TV series Against the Wind included a dramatisation over two episodes of the build up to and ultimate defeat of the rebellion.
[edit] References
- ^ Who fought at the Battle of Vinegar Hill. The Battle of Vinegar Hill. www.battleofvinegarhill.com.au (2004). Retrieved on July 19, 2006. Derived from the book The Battle of Vinegar Hill by Lynette Ramsey Silver, published by Watermark Press, updated and expanded 2002.
- ^ Riley, Cameron (2003). The 1804 Australian Rebellion and Battle of Vinegar Hill. Historical Influences on the Hawkesbury. The Hawkesbury Historical Society. Retrieved on July 19, 2006.
- ^ Program. The Battle of Vinegar Hill. www.battleofvinegarhill.com.au (2004). Retrieved on July 19, 2006.
