What if the violence at Eureka Flats had escalated into armed resistance and eventually revolution? Say Rede's attack on the Eureka Stockade goes poorly, and the victory swells the ranks of the Ballarat Reformist League? By the end of November they were already organizing regiments and swearing oaths of loyalty to the Eureka flag, and there were thousands of angry miners in the region.
A little bad luck for the british, and what if they manage to take Melbourne? A fledgling republic could appeal to the US for assistance, and America has just finished a war with Mexico and has a large army on the pacific. Is this scenario too absurd to consider, or shall we all play at hypotheticals for a while?
I admit, my knowledge of Australian History is shaky, so I don't know the size of the British military forces in that part of Australia, but I think there were enough angry miners to at least succeed for a while, and many of them were FROM North America.
