The gold rush

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The Australian GOLD RUSH
By Christine Morrison
9D
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Contents

• Introduction
• First discoveries
• Gold Fever!
• New Arrivals
• Finding Gold
• Life on the Goldfields
• The Eureka Stockade
• New wealth
• Facts
• Bibliography

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Introduction

• Since the earliest civilisations, the rare
  heavy metal, gold, has always been valued and
  prized. Its discovery in Australia played a
  significant role in Australian history. Many
  townships and cities that exist today owe their
  beginnings from the gold rush that eventuated.
  The migration of new people to Australia in the
  quest for gold, not only brought great diversity
  in customs but also increased population. Even
  though the great rush for gold has dispersed
  today, many people still search for gold in order
  to strike it rich, including myself!

Gold panning with my Mum at Warburton Vic.
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First Discoveries

• Many other people had discovered gold
  previously but the first recorded discovery of
  gold in Australia was made by surveyor, James
  Mcbrien at Bathurst, N.S.W. in 1823. He was
  surveying a road along the Fish River and noticed
  particles of gold on the creek bed. Following
  this, there were a number of other discoveries,
  however, these discoveries were kept secret as
  the early Governors feared that it might cause a
  convict revolt and that free workers would leave
  their farms and jobs to search for gold, which
  would be disastrous for the colonies.

1)Where was the first recorded gold found?
The first discovery of gold was made at a creek
near Bathurst,N.S.W.
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• Edward Hammond Hargraves(1816-1891) was
  born in Britain and settled in N.S.W. in 1832
  where he worked as a grazier but when he heard
  of the discovery of gold in California, America,
  he decided to join the gold rush that was
  happening in 1849. He returned to Australia
  having found very little but was convinced that
  Australia had lots of gold. He also had gained
  knowledge of how to prospect for gold and this
  gained experience would prove helpful. By the
  1840s,the situation had changed in N.S.W. and
  transportation of convicts had ceased and the
  possibility of a convict revolt was not a
  problem.

A portrait of Edward Hargraves.
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• Governor Fitz Roy, in order to commence a
  gold industry, gained permission from the British
  Government to appoint a geologist to search for
  mineral deposits in his colony. A prize was also
  offered of 500 pounds for the first person to
  find gold. Edward Hargraves went to search for
  gold on horseback near Bathurst and met up with
  John Lister and together they found a few specks
  of gold at Lewis Ponds Creek, a tributary of
  Summerhill Creek, on the 5th of February 1851.
  Hargreaves went back to Sydney to claim the prize
  for finding the first gold in Australia but
  meanwhile Lister and two neighbours, James and
  William Tom, found nuggets of gold. Word quickly
  spread and within a week there were over 400
  people digging and in May 1851 there were soon
  thousands. The rush had begun

2)Who was Edward Hargraves?
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Gold Fever!

• This first goldfield was named Ophir
  after the city of gold in the Bible. Other
  goldfields were established on the Turon River at
  Sofala and Hill End causing the rush to grow. As
  people flocked to the goldfields, the government
  sent soldiers to the goldfields in order to
  maintain order and according to the law, the
  government owned all gold in N.S.W., so miners
  were forced to buy a licence to mine for gold.
  Many people left other states to go to N.S.W. and
  in particular the Victorian Government feared
  that workers would leave Melbourne and so in
  June 1851,an award was offered also for anyone
  who found gold in Victoria.

Map showing first goldfield -Ophir
Map showing early Victorian goldfield areas.
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In July 1851, a timber James Esmond dug gold
from the creek at Clunes, then Louis John Michel
found gold at Warrandyte. Another discovery was
found soon after by blacksmith, Thomas Hiscock
near Ballarat and all three received awards for
their findings.

• People rushed to these areas for the
  chance to get rich quickly and people went from
  one goldfield to another as reports of new
  findings were made known. Men left their jobs,
  homes and families to rush to the goldfields in
  N.S.W. and Victoria. The fever spread to
  Queensland, and then finally to all the colonies
  of Australia.

3)When did the Australian Gold Rush Begin?
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Map of main early goldfield areas of Australia
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New Arrivals

• News soon spread around the world and
  ships full of hopeful immigrants sailed into
  Melbourne and Sydney in search of their fortune.
  By late 1851, people came from Britain, North
  America, Germany, France, Switzerland, and Italy
  and many other countries. In 1854,thousands of
  Chinese began to arrive and increased the
  population substantially.
• Not every one got along though ,for
  instance, Aboriginal groups were driven off their
  land by the rush for gold, diggers ruined the
  land and scared off the native animals that the
  Aboriginals hunted for food and some miners
  disliked the Chinese because they were different.
  The miners also brought diseases, for example
  measles and influenza with them which killed
  thousands of indigenous people.

Chinese arrived to search for gold.
4)Name the indigenous people who were
disadvantaged by the rush for gold? 5)Why did
the European miners become increasingly hostile
towards the Chinese?
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The Chinese gold miners were very hardworking
and their camps were very organised .Many sifted
through leftover mounds of soil called slag and
often found gold that others had missed. Racism
was common in the 1850s and there was much
anti-Chinese feeling ,so much so that a law was
passed in order to tax every Chinese person who
landed in a Victorian port. This did not work,
however, and Chinese miners would get off ships
in South Australia walk to the Victorian
goldfields.

Within ten years the population in Australia more
than doubled. New towns and cities grew. More
farming land was required to feed the diggers and
their families and new industries were developed
to provide building materials, furniture, clothes
and food, and equipment for mines.
A hard working Chinese digger.
Many people from different parts of the world
arrived to search for gold.
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Finding Gold
There are two types of gold. Alluvial gold is
the gold found as small flakes, nuggets or dust
that is attainable within the grounds surface
while buried gold is gold found beneath the
earths surface. Diggers either would find gold
flakes or nuggets when they washed dirt and sand
from old creek and river beds or dig shafts 30
metres deep or more.
Panning for gold.
A gold mine.
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• The simplest way to find the alluvial gold
  was to pan for it. Diggers would require a pick
  to break up the soil and rock, a shovel and a
  panning dish to wash the soil and rock. The first
  panning dishes were just any round dish, some
  using the wide tin dishes used in dairies to
  separate milk and cream. Tinsmiths began making
  special pans with a wide base and shallow trim.
• With gold being a heavy metal ,after
  repeated washing of the soil and rock , it would
  hopefully be the only grains left in the pan!

Using a shallow dish such as the one in the
picture was the most common way to search for
gold.
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• Another tool used was a cradle, which
  looked like a babys cradle. It operated much the
  same as the panning dish with diggers washing the
  dirt and gravel until only the gold remained. One
  man would rock the cradle and the other would
  shovel in mud. When all the mud and stones are
  washed away, any gold would be caught in the
  bottom of the cradle.
• Where water was plentiful, some built long
  troughs called sluices. As water was poured down
  the sluice, which washed away the mud, it left
  the gold behind. Another method was hydraulic
  sluicing which was a quick way to find gold.

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• A huge hose forced water against rock and
  dirt, washing and breaking it up into the sluice
  below.
• If water was scarce a method called dry
  blowing was used in which bellows were attached
  to the cradle which blew away everything except
  the heavier gold.
• When all the alluvial gold was found,
  diggers would dig a vertical hole called a shaft
  in which they cut tunnels off to the side looking
  for gold inside quartz rock. Buckets of rock were
  hauled to the top by horses and then taken away
  to be crushed and washed.
• This became very expensive and miners joined
  together to form large companies and sold shares
  to raise money. Many diggers ended up working for
  a wage in these companies and this was the
  beginnings of our gold mining industry as we know
  today.

6)What was the simplest way to find alluvial gold?
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A Typical Goldfield.
Life on the goldfields

Life on the goldfields was primitive and
rough with only the basics and many lived in
tents. So many people arrived in Melbourne in the
1850s that a huge tent city was established with
as many as 30000 people living along the banks of
the Yarra River. It soon became polluted with no
fresh water or sewerage and living conditions
became unhealthy. Diggers would leave their wives
and children and head off with just clothes,
boots, a roll of canvas and cooking equipment.
Those who could not afford a carriage or horse
walked to the goldfields. As there were no
roads, people followed rough tracks through the
bush. Once at the site it was noisy, with the
sounds of digging, carting, crushing and the
washing of dirt and rock. Sunday was the only day
that diggers did not frantically search for gold.
Home was often a canvas tent or bark hut with
simple furnishings with simple meals cooked on an
open fire. It was hard work.
Shelter consisted of canvas tents or primitive
huts.
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There were very few children living on the
goldfields in the early days, most were left
behind . Once diggers settled in a particular
area though, shops, schools and hospitals opened.
The presence of wives and children lessened the
drinking and bad behaviour of some of the men.
Food would be very basic and consist of damper,
mutton and tea. A meal would be a stew of some
kind. A food store would provide food such as
meat, tea, flour, sugar, biscuits and potatoes
and some vegetables and very rarely, fruit.
There was little or no medical help and the mixed
living conditions led to the spread of diseases.
There was whooping cough, scarlet fever and
measles which resulted in many deaths. In
addition, mining was dangerous work and many died
due to accidents. Those that were lucky and
found gold either drank the value of all they had
found ,bought land or a small business, or lifted
their family out of debt.
7)What shelter did the miners have? 8)List 3
types of food available for people living on the
goldfields?
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The Eureka Stockade
Miners resented the fact that they had to pay a
licence fee. The fee was 30 shillings a month and
represented half the wages of an ordinary worker.
Miners claimed the fee was too high and troopers
(mounted police), were conducting licence checks
unfairly. Troopers could fine diggers with no
licence and keep half of the fine money for
themselves, which is why they constantly checked
them. A dispute occurred about a court case
involving James Bentley, a friend of the
troopers, being acquitted of murdering a miner
outside the Eureka Hotel and this sparked a
protest as many thought that the police were
corrupt and tensions between the diggers and
authorities rose.
A painting depicting the diggers revenge by
burning the Eureka Hotel owned by James Bentley.
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Three arrests were made and extra soldiers were
sent for. The diggers demanded that the three be
pardoned .On the 1st of December 1854, about
10,000 diggers met at Bakery Hill in Ballarat to
hear the verdict but the Governor refused and the
diggers, in revolt, burned their licences,
elected leaders and built a fort, the Eureka
Stockade on which they erected a flag. Peter
Lalor, an Irish digger, became the leader and
about 1000 miners gathered inside with guns and
dared the troops to attack them. In the early
hours of the 3rd of December 1854, 400 soldiers
and police attacked the stockade-a battle which
lasted only about 15 minutes. Five soldiers and
about 30 diggers were killed. Hundreds of diggers
were arrested and 13 miners were charged with
treason but with the exception of one man, they
were found not guilty at their trial in 1855.
The government realised that the diggers were
hard done by and licences were banned, the gold
commissioners sacked and the miners were
granted the right to vote. The Eureka flag has
been a powerful symbol of rebellion against
authority since that day.

9)What was the Eureka Stockade? 10)What did you
have to pay for in order to search for gold?
The famous Eureka flag-blue with a white cross
and 5 stars representing the Southern Cross.
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New wealth

• During the 1900s gold mining in Australia
  gradually declined and the rush had eased. The
  deeper the gold was underground, the more
  expensive it was to mine and the price of gold
  wasnt enough to make it worthwhile. However, in
  the late 1970s the price of gold began to climb
  again and big mining companies started production
  again in many of Australias goldmines.
  Australia is the third largest producer of gold
  after South Africa and the United States in the
  world today. It is our largest manufactured
  export and is worth 7 billion dollars a year to
  the Australian economy with 15000 people employed
  in the industry.

The Gold Rush created much wealth and began the
towns and cities we know today.
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The most important result of the gold rushes was
that it increased Australia becoming a nation by
firstly giving two of the colonies N.S.W. and
Victoria great wealth and secondly by bringing a
sudden influx of people, many of whom stayed on,
boosting the economy. Government taxes made it
possible for the building of infrastructure and
services required in new towns and cities and
the immigrants brought with them great diversity
in culture, language, religion and skills.
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Facts

• 1.Australia has 10 of the worlds gold deposits.
• 2.One of the largest nuggets found was called the
  Welcome Stranger and weighed 90kg and its value
  in 1869 was 9210pounds but today it would be
  worth 3,000,000.
• 3.The total population of Australia increased
  from 430,000in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871 due to
  the gold rush.
• 4.Gold was carried from the diggings by armed
  escorts as they attracted the attention of
  bushrangers.If robbed ,the owners of the gold
  would lose it.
• 5.With so many people travelling to and from the
  goldfields, the 1850s also saw the construction
  of the first railway and the operation of the
  first telegraphs.

Regular gold transports were targets of
bushrangers.
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Bibliography

• Books
• 1.Gold Fever, Kimberley, Webber, Powerhouse
  Museum, Macmillan Education Australia Pty
  Ltd,2001
• 2.The Gold Rushes, John and Jennifer Barwick,
  Heinemann Library,2001
• 3.The Rush to Gold A world Turned Topsie
  turvey, Geoff Hocking,The Five Mile Press, 2005
• 4.Australias Gold Rushes, Robert Coupe, New
  Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd ,2000
• 5.Gold Australia, Tony Crago, Murray David
  Publishing Pty Ltd,2000
• 6.Gold Rush, John and Jennifer Barwick ,Heinemann
  Library,1999
• 7.Australia Changing Times-The Gold
  Rushes-Striving for Wealth, Barrie Sheppard
  ,Echidna Books,2004
• 8.Gold Rushes, Jordan Thomas, Franklin Watts
  Australia,1999
• 9.The Golden Years 1850-1890,Michael Dugan,
  Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd,1997
• 10.Gold in Australia, Bruce McClish, Macmillan
  Education Australia Pty Ltd,1996
• 11.The Eureka Stockade Big Trouble on the
  Diggings, Geoff Hocking , Waverton Press,2005
• 12.Settling Australia-The Gold Seekers ,Stephen
  Gard, Macmillan Education Australia Pty Ltd,1998

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• Internet Sites
• 1.http//www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/goldsearch.htm
  
• 2.http//users.tpg.com.au/atdan/panning.html
• 3.http//www.sovereignhill.com.au
• 4.http//www.sbs.com.au/gold/
• 5.http//www.acn.net.au/articles/goldrush/
• 6.http//www.patricktaylor.com/australian-gold-rus
  h

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Thank You for Watching and I hope you have
learnt more about the Australian Gold Rush!