Bendigo Petition
The Bendigo Petition was an attempt by miners in the colony of Victoria (now part of the Commonwealth of Australia) to demand political representation and reasonable limits to taxation from Governor La Trobe, a representative of the British Government. In particular the miners requested reform of license fees applicable to miners on the gold fields. The Bendigo Petition built on the earlier demands enunciated by miners at the Forest Creek Monster Meeting of 1851. The Anti-Gold Licence Association was formed by G E Thomson, Dr Jones and Edward Brown at Bendigo on 6 June 1853. Over 23,000  signatures were gathered for the Association's petition. An additional 8000 signatures from the nearby McIvor (Heathcote) diggings were lost as a result of the robbery of a gold escort in July 1853. By 1 August the petition, 30 metres long, was sent to the Governor in Melbourne. The petitions demands included: Most of the petition's demands, including the reduction in the licence fee, were rejected.