‘Why Eureka Matters’ with Peter FitzSimons and Professor Clare Wright

Former Wallaby, best-selling author, broadcaster and raconteur, Peter FitzSimons AM, and trailblazing historian and Stella Prize winning writer, Professor Clare Wright OAM, join us to share their thoughts for ‘Why Eureka Matters’.

Marking the 170th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade, the event will begin with Clare and Peter each responding to the question, ‘Why Eureka Matters’. They will then join ABC Ballarat broadcaster Steve Martin for a conversation about Eureka’s significance in the forging of Australia’s democratic traditions, social values and cultural identity, and the importance of keeping its legend and legacy alive.

The event is presented by the Eureka Centre at the Mining Exchange in the historic heart of Ballarat. This special edition of the annual Peter Tobin Oration marks the 170th anniversary of the Eureka Stockade and honours the contribution of the late Peter Tobin OAM to the commemoration of the Eureka Stockade.

A paid bar will open from 5.30pm to 6pm, and resume service following the event at 7.30pm.

Following the event a book signing with Peter and Clare will begin at 7.35pm. Clare’s latest book, Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: The Extraordinary Story of How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy, and Peter’s new book The Legend of Albert Jacka, will be available for purchase, alongside existing titles.

About the speakers

Peter FitzSimons AM is Australia's bestselling non-fiction writer, and for the past 35 years has also been a journalist and columnist with the Sydney Morning Herald and the Sun-Herald. He is the author of a number of highly successful books, including Eureka: The Unfinished Revolution, Breaker Morant, Burke and Wills, Monash's Masterpiece, Kokoda, Ned Kelly and Gallipoli, as well as biographies of such notable Australians as Sir Douglas Mawson, Nancy Wake and Nick Farr-Jones. His passion is to tell Australian stories, our own stories: of great men and women, of stirring events in our history. His latest book The Legend of Albert Jacka brings to life the memory and legacy of Albert Jacka, a shy young lad from country Victoria whose extraordinary efforts at Gallipoli saw him awarded the first Victoria Cross medal in WW1. It is an unforgettable story of bravery and sacrifice.

Professor Clare Wright OAM is an award-winning historian, author, broadcaster, podcaster and public commentator who has worked in politics, academia and the media. Clare is currently Professor of History and Professor of Public Engagement at La Trobe University. She is the author of four works of history, including the best-selling The Forgotten Rebels of Eureka and You Daughters of Freedom, which comprise the first two instalments of her Democracy Trilogy. The final instalment in the trilogy, Naku Dharuk The Bark Petitions: The Extraordinary Story of How the People of Yirrkala Changed the Course of Australian Democracy, will be published in October 2024. Clare hosts the ABC Radio National history series, Shooting the Past, and co-hosts the LTU podcast Archive Fever. In 2020, Clare was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for “services to literature and to historical research”.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Ballarat Mining Exchange, 12 Lydiard Street North, Ballarat Central, Australia