Raffaello Carboni

Born in Urbino in 1817, he was educated in Italy and became involved in the nationalist movements associated with Mazzini and Garibaldi. Restless and widely traveled, he spent time in Rome and London before heading to Australia during the gold rush years.

On the Ballarat goldfields, his gift for languages and strong political instincts made him a notable figure among the miners at the time of the Eureka Stockade in 1854. He witnessed the uprising firsthand, was later charged with treason, and was acquitted.

He is remembered chiefly for The Eureka Stockade, published in 1855, which remains the major eyewitness account of that dramatic event. Beyond that book, he was also known as a composer, interpreter, and man of many talents whose unusual life linked Italian revolutionary politics with a defining episode in Australian history.