Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

s CHESTERS () (): John Joseph was an African-American who left the United States for the Victorian goldfields in the 1850s. Very little is known about him and most of his life is a mystery, except for one key event in Australia's history. John Joseph was accused of firing the first shot in the Eureka rebellion in 1854. He was arrested, and the first of 13 men to be tried for treason in Melbourne. It took the jury only 13 minutes to find him not guilty. Over 10,000 people gathered in Melbourne—at a time when Melbourne's population was only 100,000—to witness the jury's verdict. All 13 men were found not guilty. John was carried through the streets on the shoulders of other men, and they all cheered. John Joseph died four years later, and is buried in the Bendigo White Hills Cemetery in an unmarked grave. We do not know if anyone attended or spoke at his funeral. We do not know what became of John after those days in Melbourne.

On Monday 27 February, I was pleased to join the United States Ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, and the US Consul General, Kathleen Lively, for a plaque-unveiling and tree-planting to mark John Joseph's grave as part of US Black History Month. For much of history, stories like John's have been forgotten, erased and silenced because of racism. It is our responsibility to make sure the stories are included in our history. May he finally rest in peace.