The Southern Cross is a 1930 Australian play by Louis Esson about the Eureka Rebellion.
[1] The Melbourne Argus said "It catches very well the atmosphere of the Eureka Stockade, and the delineation of Peter Lalor makes one's heart warm towards that stalwart.
"[2] The Bulletin felt "the people in 'The Southern Cross' are too sketchily drawn and seem imperfectly understood.
"[4] According to Leslie Rees "Esson's play too literally follows established facts; it is a purely objective presentation of the main events leading into the stockade fight... one does not feel that the author has included anything of himself, except some technical skill.
Even apart from this, Esson's version takes a very narrow view of the whole episode, suggesting none of the political undertones and ramifications, the growth of the Reform League, with its list of Chartist demands, and so on.