Henry Seekamp
Encyclopedia
Henry Erle Seekamp was the journalist
, editor and owner of the Ballarat Times at the time of the Eureka Stockade
in 1854. The newspaper was fiercely pro digger and was used to print the Ballarat Reform League
charter and many of the flyers for the monster mass meetings on the Ballarat
Goldfields, in Victoria
, Australia
.
Seekamp was born in England in 1829, and is reputed to have achieved an 'Arts Bachelor' degree from an unknown University. He arrived in Ballarat in 1853 and tried prospecting and must have met with some success as he was able to buy printing equipment and pay the cost of its freight to Ballarat. In December 1853 he married Dublin widow, Clara Maria Duvall.
Governor Sir Charles Hotham
, shortly after his appointment, pronounced publicly that 'all power proceeds from the people' and at Ballarat, he told the miners: '...I shall not neglect your interests.' But by September 1854 Seekamp was suggesting that despite protestations of giving the diggers a fair go, Hotham had secretly ordered the police to invigorate the search for unlicensed miners. (Ballarat Times, 30 September 1854)
In increasing strident editorial tone the 4 page weekly broadsheet newspaper criticised the Government and supported the diggers movement. On the Ballarat Reform Movement Seekamp wrote:
After the massacre at the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854, Seekamp was arrested in his office the following day and charged with sedition
, for a series of articles that appeared in the Ballarat Times. Many of these articles were written by George Lang, the son of the prominent republican and Presbyterian Minister of Sydney - the Reverend John Dunmore Lang
. The Chief Justice, Sir William à Beckett
, effectively told the jury that it must find Seekamp guilty. He was tried and convicted of seditious libel
by a Melbourne jury on 23 January 1855 and, after a series of appeals, sentenced to six months imprisonment on 23 March. He was released from prison on 28 June 1855, precisely three months early.
During his imprisonment his wife took over the editorial duties on the newspaper, and won support for her outspokenness. He returned to Ballarat after he was released and continued to edit the ´Ballarat Times´. Seekamp was present at the 2nd anniversary celebrations of the Eureka Stockade that were held in 1856.
In 1856 Seekamp wrote a review in the Ballarat Times of Lola Montez
and her erotic Spider Dance and in a notorious incident Montez chased him with a whip. Shortly after Clara and Henry Seekamp moved to Queensland. He died at the Clermont
gold diggings in Queensland
on the 19 July 1864.
Later in life Clara commented on the importance of her husband: "If Peter Lalor
was the sword of the movement, my husband was the pen".
He died at the age of 35'
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, editor and owner of the Ballarat Times at the time of the Eureka Stockade
Eureka Stockade
The Eureka Rebellion of 1854 was an organised rebellion by gold miners which occurred at Eureka Lead in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was fought on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict...
in 1854. The newspaper was fiercely pro digger and was used to print the Ballarat Reform League
Ballarat Reform League
The Ballarat Reform League was formed in November 11 1854 at Ballarat as a protest against the regulation of the gold diggings, specifically the League was formed with the view of abolishing the Miner's Licence and having the miners connected with the death of "John Martin", arrested...
charter and many of the flyers for the monster mass meetings on the Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
Goldfields, in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Seekamp was born in England in 1829, and is reputed to have achieved an 'Arts Bachelor' degree from an unknown University. He arrived in Ballarat in 1853 and tried prospecting and must have met with some success as he was able to buy printing equipment and pay the cost of its freight to Ballarat. In December 1853 he married Dublin widow, Clara Maria Duvall.
Governor Sir Charles Hotham
Charles Hotham
Sir Charles Hotham, KCB, RN was Lieutenant-governor and, later, Governor of Victoria, Australia from 22 June 1854 to 10 November 1855.-Early life:...
, shortly after his appointment, pronounced publicly that 'all power proceeds from the people' and at Ballarat, he told the miners: '...I shall not neglect your interests.' But by September 1854 Seekamp was suggesting that despite protestations of giving the diggers a fair go, Hotham had secretly ordered the police to invigorate the search for unlicensed miners. (Ballarat Times, 30 September 1854)
In increasing strident editorial tone the 4 page weekly broadsheet newspaper criticised the Government and supported the diggers movement. On the Ballarat Reform Movement Seekamp wrote:
- "This league is nothing more or less than the germ of Australian independence. The die is cast, and fate has cast upon the movement its indelible signature. No power on earth can now restrain the united might and headlong strides for freedom of the people of this country ... The League has undertaken a mighty task, fit only for a great people – that of changing the dynasty of the country." (Ballarat Times 18 November 1854)
After the massacre at the Eureka Stockade on 3 December 1854, Seekamp was arrested in his office the following day and charged with sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
, for a series of articles that appeared in the Ballarat Times. Many of these articles were written by George Lang, the son of the prominent republican and Presbyterian Minister of Sydney - the Reverend John Dunmore Lang
John Dunmore Lang
John Dunmore Lang , Australian Presbyterian clergyman, writer, politician and activist, was the first prominent advocate of an independent Australian nation and of Australian republicanism.-Background and Family:...
. The Chief Justice, Sir William à Beckett
William à Beckett
Sir William à Beckett was a British barrister and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria.-Background:Born in London, he was the eldest son of William à Beckett, also a solicitor...
, effectively told the jury that it must find Seekamp guilty. He was tried and convicted of seditious libel
Seditious libel
Seditious libel was a criminal offence under English common law. Sedition is the offence of speaking seditious words with seditious intent: if the statement is in writing or some other permanent form it is seditious libel...
by a Melbourne jury on 23 January 1855 and, after a series of appeals, sentenced to six months imprisonment on 23 March. He was released from prison on 28 June 1855, precisely three months early.
During his imprisonment his wife took over the editorial duties on the newspaper, and won support for her outspokenness. He returned to Ballarat after he was released and continued to edit the ´Ballarat Times´. Seekamp was present at the 2nd anniversary celebrations of the Eureka Stockade that were held in 1856.
In 1856 Seekamp wrote a review in the Ballarat Times of Lola Montez
Lola Montez
Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...
and her erotic Spider Dance and in a notorious incident Montez chased him with a whip. Shortly after Clara and Henry Seekamp moved to Queensland. He died at the Clermont
Clermont, Queensland
Clermont is an agricultural town in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. It is 274 km south-west of Mackay on the junction of the Gregory and Peak Downs highways...
gold diggings in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
on the 19 July 1864.
Later in life Clara commented on the importance of her husband: "If Peter Lalor
Peter Lalor
Peter Fintan Lalor was an activist turned politician who rose to fame for his leading role in the Eureka Rebellion, an event controversially identified with the "birth of democracy" in Australia.- Early life and migration to Australia :...
was the sword of the movement, my husband was the pen".
He died at the age of 35'
External links
- Brief for the Prosecution against Henry Seekamp (Seditious libel) - Public Records Office
- Eureka and the editor: A reappraisal 150 years on by Rod Kirkpatrick