Australian gold rushes
The Australian gold rush started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hammond Hargraves claimed the discovery of payable gold near Bathurst, New South Wales, at a site Edward Hargraves called Ophir.
Eight months later, gold was found in Victoria. Prior to Hargraves' discovery, not much of gold had been discovered in Australia by others including Reverend WB Clarke in 1841 with further finds in 1844. When Clarke reported his discovery to the New South Wales Governor George Gipps, Gipps asked Clarke to: "Put them away, Mr Clarke, or we will have our throats cut!". Gold finds in a convict society were not welcomed at the time. Although the NSW and Victorian governments later rewarded Clarke for his contribution, his financial rewards didn't compare to those for Hargraves. The gold rush made the population of Australia boom from over 400,000 people to over 1,000,000 during 1845 to 1896.
Notable gold finds
Some important early gold finds in the colonies were:
- 1814 - Some convicts who were employed cutting a road to Bathurst were rumoured to have found a quantity of gold.[1]
- 1823, 15 February - The first verified discovery of gold in the colonies was by Assistant Surveyor, James McBrien, who discovered numerous parts of gold in Fish River, about 15 miles east of Bathurst, New South Wales.
- 1825 - A convict flogged in Sydney on suspicion of having stolen gold, which he stated he had discovered in the bush. An anonymous letter to the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald on 20 May 1851 identified the location of the find as "Big Hill".
- 1829 - Mr Jackson Barwise claims he had his attention drawn to gold by a James Ryan. They wrapped the gold up and Mr Barwise took this back to Sydney where he was told to keep quiet or he would be locked up as being insane. This was supposed to be to stop the shepherds running away to find gold.
- 1844 - Mr Alexander Tolmein, sent by Governor Grey to Kangaroo Island to capture a gang of bushrangers, reported that he had when about 20 miles S.S.W. from Melbourne seen a quartz reef with yellow metal in it, which he was afterwards convinced was gold.
- 1846 - The first group of women ever were to discover gold in Southern Gippsland near Koo Wee Rup, Victoria.
- 1848 - Gold specimens found on the spurs of the Pyrenees Mountains, Victoria; exhibited in the shop window of Mr. Robe, jeweller, Melbourne.
- 1848 - Gold found at Mitchells Creek near Wellington, New South Wales, on the Nanima squatting run.
- 1849, 31 January - Gold discovered at the Pyrenees, Port Phillip, by a shepherd.
- 1849, January - Thomas Chapman discovered gold at Daisy Hill, Victoria and sold it to Mrs. Brentani, Collins Street, Melbourne, a nugget which weighed 16 ounces. Afraid of the Melbourne authorities, the discoverer bolted to Sydney in the 'Sea-horse'.
- 1849 - William Clarke, Jr., with William Vicary, found auriferous quartz at Smythesdale, Victoria.
- 1851, January - Edward Austin[2] brought to Sydney a nugget of gold worth £35, which he found in the Bathurst District.[3]
- 1851 - Gold was discovered in Anderson's Creek, Warrandyte, Victoria by Louis Michel, named as Victoria's first official gold discovery.
- 1851 - Gold was discovered in Bendigo, Victoria in what is now a state park.
- 1851 - Sofala, New South Wales.
- 1858- Welcome Nugget found at Bakery Hill at Ballarat. Second largest nugget found in Australia.
- 1865 - Richard Daintree discovered the Cape River goldfield in North Queensland.[4]
- 1872 - A more significant Queensland field discovered at Charters Towers soon moved attention to this area, while in the same year mining began on the Palmer River near Cooktown.
- 1872 - Darwin felt the effects of a gold rush at Pine Creek after employees of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line found gold while digging holes for telegraph poles.
- 1872 - World's largest ever gold nugget was discovered by Bernhard Otto Holterman.
- 1893 - Paddy Hannan and two companions discovered gold, leading to establishment of Western Australia's eastern goldfields in what is now the twin towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder.
Throughout these periods, we notice the change. At first, it was individual or family miners. In the late 1800's, it turns to companies as the majority instead. In some ways this made work easier. Gold mining in a team was much easier than alone. This took away the possibility and romance of finding a gold nugget and becoming wealthy, for all workers were paid the same, even if one team found lots of gold.
Licensing
The first license was issued in Victoria on 21 September 1851. The number of gold licenses issued in N.S.W., was 12,186, of which 2,094 were issued at the Ophir; 8,637 at the Turon; 1,009 at the Meroo and Louisa Creek; 41 at the Abercrombie; and 405 at Araluen, up to 31 October 1851.[5]
Further reading
- Australian Government, Culture and Recreation Portal: [1]
See also
References
- ^ Patricia Clarke (July 2000). "Mrs Macquarie's Earrings". National Library of Australia. http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/nlanews/2000/jul00/story-1.pdf. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
- ^ A4478 Brooch, 'goldfields', gold, commissioned by Edward Austin, maker unknown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, c 1855 - Powerhouse Museum Collection: http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=181196
- ^ Heaton, J.H. 1984, The Bedside Book of Colonial Doings, previously published in 1879 as 'Australian Dictionary of Dates containing the History of Australasia from 1542 to May 1879, p.111
- ^ Sanker, Ian G. Queensland in brisbane in the 1860's:The Photography of Richard Daintree. Brisbane: Queensland Museum. p. 20.
- ^ Heaton, J.H. 1984, The Bedside Book of Colonial Doings, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, published in 1879 as Australian Dictionary of Dates containing the History of Australasia from 1542 to May 1879, p.114
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