John Hynes
One of the Miners killed at Eureka
A gt gt grandson of Michael Hynes, brother of John.
John HYNES (spelt HAYNES on the Eureka Memorial in Ballarat) was one of the miners killed in the stockade on 3 Dec 1854 and the nature of his death was recalled by Michael CANNY, another stockade veteran in a report to 'The Argus' on 3rd December, 1904 which is reproduced in the book 'Eureka Reminiscences' by Ballarat Heritage Services.
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Mr Michael Canny, Ascot Street, Ballarat, was severely wounded in the Eureka Stockade fight, and has a clear recollection of what happened.
"My brother Patrick, who is now a farmer at Bungaree, and I were in the stockade fight. I was a young fellow of 18 or 19. When the fight began Teddy Moore, John Hines, my brother and I were standing behind a dray turned up on its heels, with the shafts in the air. It was bright moonlight, and we saw the redcoats blazing away at us. I had my own rifle and fired several shots. I saw Captain Wise fall, and a couple of soldiers take him by the shoulders and drag him behind a mullock heap. Teddy Moore and John Hines fell dead beside us. Then my brother was hit with a bullet, which splintered his shin bone, and he was stretched out. I had my rifle ready for another shot when a bullet pierced my right arm, went in at my side, and out under the breast-bone. It did not hurt, but the blood spurted out, and scared me, I threw the rifle down and went over the stockade fence like a deer, and ran like a racer over the hill towards Pennyweight Flat where our tents were. In the early morning light I could see two troopers coming towards me. There were a cluster of tents near by with a break-wind of brushwood round them. I ran for them and crawled under the brushwood until the troopers passed, and then made for my tent. My sister-in-law was in the neighbouring tent and she brought a cloth and a bucket of water, and I pulled off my shirt, and kept bathing the wound in my side with water to try and stop the bleeding. Someone carried word to Dr Carr that I was wounded, and he came along during the morning and dressed the wound. My brother was taken with the prisoners, and went to the camp hospital, where he remained six or seven weeks. We were in a great state of terror for days after the fight. All sorts of rumours were flying about that we were going to be all shot and the tents burned. On the morning Sir Robert Nickle came on to the field with over 800 men, and the field guns, two or three days after the fight, I was lying in the bunk with only my shirt and trousers on. As I saw the troops filing along the road I thought, like a young fool, that the end was near. Bare-headed and bare-footed as I was, I bolted for the bush, towards Warrenheip. My feet gave me more pain than my side, so I ran breathless into the scrub. I went back in the afternoon to the tent hardly able to walk, my feet were so badly cut. I had a bad time for months with the wound in my side. It was nearly a year before it properly healed, and I was able for work again. We lost our claim, windlass, buckets, ropes, and tools and nearly 2000 slabs which went to build the stockade, when it was burnt by the soldiers. Before I left the stockade I saw Lalor stagger and drop his gun, and stoop quickly to pick it up with the other hand, but I did not know till afterwards that he was then wounded."
'The Argus', Saturday 3 December, 1904
John HYNES, who was obviously well educated wrote a letter to his family back in Ireland from the Ballarat Diggings in March 1854, nine months prior to his death in the stockade at Eureka. A summary of John's family can be located from the following link:
24 March 1854