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Nerrena Fossickers in Nerrena Creek outside Ballarat
Nerrena Fossickers in Nerrena Creek outside Ballarat

The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria in Australia between approximately 1851 and the late 1860s. A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of Gold. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Events and trends Technology The First Transcontinental Railroad in the USA was completed in 1869

During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 Ballarat for a while was the richest place on earth in terms of gold production. Ballarat (formerly spelt "Ballaarat" is a city in Victoria, Australia, and one of the country's largest inland cities [1]

Gold discoveries in Beechworth, Ballarat and Bendigo staggered the world and sparked gold rushes similar to those of California in 1849. Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s Bendigo is a regional city in central Victoria Australia, located in the City of Greater Bendigo. [2] At its peak some two tonnes of gold per week flowed into the Treasury Building in Melbourne. The old Treasury Building, along Spring Street in Melbourne, was once home to the Victorian government Treasury department but is now a Museum of Melbourne Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3

The gold era hurled Victoria from a sheep grazing economy based around wealthy squatters, into an emerging industrial base and small (yeoman) farming community. The social impact of gold was that Victoria's population boomed and the lack of available land for small farming generated massive social tensions. Those on-going tensions around land and selection (small farming) culminated in the Kelly Outbreak of 1878. [3]

It was gold that created the growth and power of Melbourne over its rivals; this is witnessed in the rail networks radiating out of Melbourne to its regional towns and ports. Politically, Victoria's goldminers led the world with the introduction of male franchise and secret ballots, based on Chartist principles. As gold dwindled, pressures for land reform, protectionism and political reform grew and generated social struggles. [4] [5] A Land Convention in Melbourne during 1857 demanded land reform. Melbourne, or "Smellbourne" (due to the stench of the tanneries along the river) became one of the great cities of the British Empire and the world. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Following the huge gold rushes were the Chinese in 1854. The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following A person who resides in and holds citizenship of the People's Republic of China (including Hong Their presence on the goldfields of Bendigo, Beechworth and the Bright district resulted in riots, entry taxes, killings and segeration in the short term and became the foundations of the White Australia policy. Bright (postcode 3741 is a small sized town located in Victoria, Australia, 319 metres above Sea level and in North Eastern Victoria at the southeastern The White Australia policy is a term used to describe a collection of historical policies that intentionally restricted non-white Immigration to Australia from [6] In short, gold was a revolutionary event and reshaped Victoria, its society and politics.

Contents

Background

By 1840 the city of Melbourne, in the far south of Victoria, was nearly five years old. Year 1840 ( MDCCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 Population growth in Melbourne and the surrounding countryside had been steady, and the population was around 10,000.

In July 1851, Melbourne's 29,000 residents celebrated as they broke away from New South Wales and the Colony of Victoria was born. See also 1850 in Australia, other events of 1851, 1852 in Australia, 1853 in Australia, 1854 in Australia,and the Timeline of Weeks later gold was found in Victoria. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The discovery by Louis Michel, and William McKay Aberdeen at Anderson's Creek, near Warrandyte 30 kilometres north-east of Melbourne was awarded a prize by the new Victorian Government, with other discoveries by James Esmond at Clunes in July 1851, and Thomas Hiscock at Buninyong, near Ballarat, on 2 August 1851. Louis HOCh Michel (born 2 September 1947) is a Belgian politician currently serving as European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Warrandyte is an outlying semi-rural suburb in Melbourne, Victoria Australia, 27km east-north-east of the Melbourne central business district. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand James William Esmond ( 11 April 1822 &ndash 3 December 1890) was an Irish-Australian gold prospector and miner and was one of the Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, located 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. Thomas Hiscock (1812&ndash1855 was an English Blacksmith and prospector who settled in Australia in the 1840s Buninyong (postcode 3357 is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Midland Highway, south of Ballarat on the road to Geelong Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year

On 20 July 1851 Thomas Peters, a hut-keeper on William Barker’s Mount Alexander station, found specks of gold at what is now known as Specimen Gully. Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year This find was published in the Melbourne Argus on 8 September 1851, leading to a rush to the Mount Alexander or Forest Creek diggings, centred on present-day Castlemaine, claimed as the richest shallow alluvial goldfield in the world. The Argus was a morning daily Newspaper in Melbourne established in 1846 and closed in 1957. Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz 1851 ( MDCCCLI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Transmission facilities The mountain has a number of transmission sites including

These discoveries were soon surpassed by Ballarat and Bendigo. Ballarat (formerly spelt "Ballaarat" is a city in Victoria, Australia, and one of the country's largest inland cities Bendigo is a regional city in central Victoria Australia, located in the City of Greater Bendigo. Further discoveries including Beechworth in 1852, Bright, Omeo, Chiltern, Victoria (1858-9) and Walhalla followed. Omeo is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. Chiltern is a town in Victoria, Australia, located in the north east of the state between Wangaratta and Wodonga, in the Shire of Indigo Walhalla is a small town in Victoria, Australia, founded as a gold-mining community in early 1863 and at its peak home to around 3000 residents

Year Population of Melbourne
1835 0
1840 10,000
1851 29,000
1854 123,000

The population of Melbourne grew swiftly as the gold fever took hold. The total number of people in Victoria also rose. By 1851 it was 75,000 people. Ten years later this rose to over 500,000.

First obtained was the 'easy' gold(alluvial);found on the surface. It is reported that miners when first arrived on the Mt Tarrengower fields nuggets were picked up without digging. This was followed by exploitation of alluvial gold usually in creeks and rivers. Alluvium (from the Latin, alluvius, from alluere, "to wash against" is Soil or Sediments deposited by a river or other running The seekers used gold pans, puddling boxes and cradles to separate this gold from the dirt and water.

As alluvial gold ran out, underground or deep lead mining began. Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body This was harder and dangerous. Locales such as Bendigo and Ballarat saw great concentrations of miners as teams and syndicates sank shafts. Coupled with erratic and vexatious policing and licence checks, tensions flared around Beechworth Bendigo and Ballarat. These tensions culminated in the Eureka Rebellion of 1854. Following the rebellion, a range of reforms gave miners a greater democratic say in resolving disputes via Mining Courts and an extended electoral franchise.

At Walhalla alone, Cohens Reef produced over 50 tonnes (1. Walhalla is a small town in Victoria, Australia, founded as a gold-mining community in early 1863 and at its peak home to around 3000 residents 6 million tr oz) of gold in 40 years of mining. As of February 2004, that would be worth $800 million.

Major and long lasting impact

Prospector's Hut, Upper Dargo, Victoria (Gippsland), 1870.
Prospector's Hut, Upper Dargo, Victoria (Gippsland), 1870. Dargo is a town in Victoria, Australia, located 348 kilometres east of Melbourne, in the Shire of Wellington. Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border See also 1869 in Australia, other events of 1870, 1871 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Australia's population changed dramatically as a result of the rushes. In 1851 the Australian population was 437,655, of which 77,345, or just under 18%, were Victorians. A decade later the Australian population had grown to 1,151,947 and the Victorian population had increased to 538,628; just under 47% of the Australian total and a seven-fold increase. In some small country towns where gold was found aboundant, the population could grow of over 1000% in a decade (e. g. Rutherglen had a population of ~2'000. Ten years later, it had ~60'000 which is a 3000% increase). The rapid growth was predominantly a result of the gold rushes. [7]

The gold rush is reflected in the architecture of Victorian gold-boom cities like Melbourne, Castlemaine, Ballarat, Bendigo and Ararat. Ballarat (formerly spelt "Ballaarat" is a city in Victoria, Australia, and one of the country's largest inland cities Bendigo is a regional city in central Victoria Australia, located in the City of Greater Bendigo. Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, approximately 205 kilometres west of Melbourne on the Western Highway. Ballarat has Sovereign Hill — a 60 acre (240,000 m²) recreation of a gold rush town — as well as the Gold Museum, while Bendigo has a large operating gold mine system which also functions as a tourist attraction. Sovereign Hill is an Open air museum in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, that depicts Ballarat's first ten years after the discovery of Gold

The rushes left the legacy of quaint Victorian towns in the Goldfields tourist region like Maldon, Beechworth, Clunes, Maryborough, Daylesford, Stawell, Beaufort, Creswick, St Arnaud, Dunolly, Inglewood and Buninyong. A town in Britain bears the same name see Maldon Essex Maldon is a town in Victoria, Australia, in the Shire Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s Clunes is a town in Victoria, Australia, located 36 kilometres north of Ballarat, in the Shire of Hepburn. Maryborough is a city in Victoria, Australia, located on the Pyrenees Highway, north of Ballarat, north-west of Melbourne, Daylesford is a town located in Shire of Hepburn, Victoria, Australia. Stawell is a town in the Wimmera region of Victoria, Australia. Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in St Arnaud is a town in Victoria, Australia, on the Sunraysia Highway. Dunolly is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Dunolly - Maryborough Road in the Shire of Central Goldfields. Inglewood is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Calder Highway, in the Shire of Loddon. Buninyong (postcode 3357 is a town in Victoria, Australia. The town is on the Midland Highway, south of Ballarat on the road to Geelong With the exception of Ballarat and Bendigo, many of these towns were substantially larger than they are today. Most populations moved to other districts when gold played out in a given locality. [8]

At the other end of the spectrum ghost towns, such as Walhalla, Mafeking and Steiglitz still exist. Walhalla is a small town in Victoria, Australia, founded as a gold-mining community in early 1863 and at its peak home to around 3000 residents Steiglitz is a small town in Victoria, west of the state capital Melbourne, Australia in the Brisbane Ranges.

As with many gold towns, after deposits of gold had been exploited, the town of Cassilis ceased to exist. This picture shows the remains of part of King Cassilis Mine
As with many gold towns, after deposits of gold had been exploited, the town of Cassilis ceased to exist. Cassilis is a Ghost town in Gippsland, Victoria, Australia. It was named after a district and castle in Ayrshire, Scotland This picture shows the remains of part of King Cassilis Mine

The last major gold rush in Victoria was at Berringa, south of Ballarat, in the first decade of the 20th century. Berringa is a small township in west-central Victoria, Australia. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Gold mining ceased in Victoria, not because there was no more gold but in part because of the depth and cost of pumping. The First World War also drained Australia of the labour needed to work the mines, but worse the prohibition on the export of gold from Australia in 1915, the abolition of the gold standard throughout the Empire, saw many goldtowns in Victoria die. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All [9]. The slump in gold production never recovered. However, as of 2005 the recent increase in the gold price has seen a resurgence in commercial mining activity; mining has yet to be resumed in Bendigo, whilst some is occurring in Ballarat, and exploration proceeds elsewhere, for example, in Glen Wills, an isolated mountain area near Mitta Mitta in north-eastern Victoria. Bendigo is a regional city in central Victoria Australia, located in the City of Greater Bendigo. Ballarat (formerly spelt "Ballaarat" is a city in Victoria, Australia, and one of the country's largest inland cities Mitta Mitta is a small town in the Australian state of Victoria.

References

  1. ^ Weston Bate, Lucky City: The first generation of Ballarat, 1851-1901( 1978)
  2. ^ David Goodman, Gold Seeking: Victoria and Calfornia in the 1850s (1994)
  3. ^ John McQuilton, The Kelly Outbreak 1878-1880; The geographical dimensions of social banditry (1979)
  4. ^ Antony O'Brien, Shenanigans on the Ovens Goldfields
  5. ^ I. D. McNaughton, 'Colonial Liberalism, 1851-92', in Gordon Greenwood (ed. ) Australia: A social and political history (1955)
  6. ^ Katherine Cronin, Colonial Casualties: Chinese in Early Victoria (1982); and Cf O'Brien, Ch. 3.
  7. ^ Caldwell, J. C. (1987). "Chapter 2: Population", in Wray Vamplew (ed. ): Australians: Historical Statistics. Broadway, New South Wales, Australia: Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates, pages 23 and 26. ISBN 0-949288-29-2.  
  8. ^ O'Brien
  9. ^ Marnie Hague-Muir, "The economy at war" ,Joan Beaumont (ed. ) Australia's War 1914-18

See also

Further reading

External links

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