The editors of this book boldly proclaim that Eureka is Australia’s greatest story, having gathered together some of the country’s finest historians to prosecute such a case.

In 1895 Mark Twain wrote “Eureka was the finest thing in Australian history, a revolution, a strike for liberty, a struggle for a principle and a stand against injustice and oppression”.

Whilst before and after Twain there has been many Interpretations of Eureka. Now in the 21^st century there appears to be greater interest in getting to know the story of Eureka and determining its real meaning and importance.

Contributors to this publication include: Emeritus Prof. John Molony, Prof. Frank Bongiorno, Prof. John Uhr, Prof. Paul Pickering, Prof. Clare Wright., Dr. Anne Beggs-Sunter, Andrew Leigh MP and others

Some of the key issues and questions concerning Eureka addressed by these presenters, include:

• Was the Eureka Stockade Battle a massacre or just another example of cautionary British justice?
• Was democracy first born at Eureka?
• What lessons have we learnt from the Eureka story and particularly the pertinence of the Ballarat Reform League Charter, the Eureka Oath and the iconic Eureka flag to our democracy then and now? 
• Is the Eureka story told too rarely today and is it just a Victorian story or should it be recognized and celebrated as a national story that gave birth to our democratic soul?
• Was Eureka Australia’s first multicultural statement?
• Who owns the Eureka story? - the People or the Pollies? the Unions or the Right- Wing National Front?

This Eureka symposium and its publication was initiated by Eureka Australia (then Eureka’s Children) and its Canberra Chapter and jointly supported and hosted by the Australian National University’s Research School of Humanities and Arts and the Centre for the Study of Australian Politics.

I encourage anybody who has an interest in our Australian democracy and the Eureka story to read this excellent publication by well-known historians who have taken a fresh and well researched look at Eureka. Their collective argument that Eureka is Australia’s Greatest story is very strong.

Phillip Moore