Henry Seekamp

Henry Seekamp
Lola Montez and Henry Seekamp as published in Melbourne Punch,1856
Born1829
England
Died19 January 1864 (1864-01-20) (aged 34)
OccupationAustralian journalist
Known forSeditious libel

Henry Erle Seekamp (1829 - 19 January 1864) was a journalist, owner and editor of the Ballarat Times during the 1854 Eureka Rebellion in Victoria, Australia. The newspaper was fiercely pro-miner, and he was responsible for a series of articles and several editorials that supported the Ballarat Reform League while condemning the government and police harassment of the diggers. After the Rebellion was put down, he was charged, found guilty of seditious libel, and imprisoned, becoming the only participant to receive gaol time.

After an embarrassingly public squabble with visiting actress Lola Montez and the court case that resulted from it, he sold The Times and left Ballarat.

He died eight years later, aged only 35.


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