Support for the Eureka rebels amongst the local population of Victoria was widespread. Massive meetings took place in Melbourne, where more than 10,000 people attended mass meetings in the city streets and were outspoken in their support of miners at the Eureka Stockade. Resolutions were accepted insisting on change.
The 13 Eureka Rebel ‘leaders’ who were tried for treason were all acquitted by the court jury. A commission that enquired into conditions on the goldfields saw to the Miner’s Licenses being abolished and replaced by a Miner’s Right of one pound a year. This entitled the holder of the right to vote in Victoria’s Legislative Council elections, as the vote was available to those who paid the £1 per year for the Miner’s Right.
A number of Chartist objectives were achieved as a result of the Colonial Government’s back down:
| 1 | Manhood (sic) suffrage | 1855 with Miner’s Right 1856 under new Constitution but attached with residency and literacy qualifications, limiting the universality of the franchise. |
| 2 | Secret Ballot | 1856 First in the world |
| 3 | Frequent Parliaments | 1859 Not annual as Charter demanded but no longer than 3 years. |
| 4 | Payment of members | 1869 So that workers could represent workers (exclusive of female workers at that time) |
