Mr Blake is to be congratulated on his first publication. Mr Blake, who is teacher at our school, has just recently published ‘To Pierce the Tyrant’s Heart: the Battle for the Eureka Stockade 3 December 1854′.
To Pierce the Tyrant’s Heart is the epic account of the battle of the Eureka Stockade, an iconic moment in Australia’s history.
On the chilly dawn morning of 3 December 1854 British soldiers and police of the Victorian colonial government attacked and stormed a crudely-built fortification erected by insurgent gold miners at the Eureka lead on the Ballarat gold fields.
The fighting was intense, the carnage appalling and the political consequences of the affair profound.
This book, for the first time, examines in great detail the actual military events that unfolded during the twenty minutes of deadly fighting at Eureka.
Many of the old assumptions about what occurred that day are turned on their heads, raising in their place provocative questions. Were the intentions of the Eureka diggers as pacific as tradition insists? How was it that men supposedly poorly armed and taken by surprise in their sleep were able to deliver sharp and well directed fire against their attackers? How close in fact did the assaulting infantry come failing in their task, and why has the pivotal part in the battle played by the police never been acknowledged? Why has the very significant contributions made to the defence of the stockade by the Americans been all but ignored?
The author argues convincingly that Eureka was not a massacre, as it has been portrayed. Rather, it was a hard fought military engagement.
Eureka was decisive moment in Australian history and in his book it comes alive in a rousing and original manner.
Posted by KAN 
Posted by KAN 
Posted by cb 
Author: Andy Griffiths
Illustrator: Terry Denton
Just Macbeth!
Is this the right book for you! Take the Macbeth test and find out.
Do you love stories about witches, ghosts, time travel, angry garden gnomes and ruthless tyrants?
Do you ever wish that you could be the boss of everyone and everything?
Do you think people who are really bad at karaoke deserve to die?
Do you like the idea of being able to impress people with your knowledge of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays?
Do you giggle when you hear or read the word 'bosom'?
SCORE: One point for each 'yes' answer.
3-5 = You are a ruthless tyrant. You are also very immature. You will love this book.
1-2 = You are either a ruthless tyrant or simply very immature. You will love this book.
0 = You are an immature, ruthless tyrant and you don't even know it! You will love this book.
