The Australian Gold Rush Begins
In the BeginningSmall amounts of gold were found in New South Wales in the early days of the colony, but the government hushed it up, they didn't want anyone to know. However, in February 1851 a man named Hargraves found gold in near Bathurst, and word quickly spread.
Within a week there were over 400 people digging there for gold, and by June there were 2000. They named the goldfield Ophir after a city of gold in the Bible. The Australian gold rush had begun! Between 1851 and 1861, Australia produced one third of the world's gold. By the end of that century, Australia was the largest producer of gold in the world. Everybody Wants to be a Digger So many people went to the goldfield that there was a shortage of people doing other work such as farming, building, baking and so on. Governor Fitz Roy was worried that there would be violence and lawlessness at the goldfields, and he ordered that gold seekers must pay for a licence in order to dig for gold.This money was used to pay for soldiers. By 1852, the news had spread to England, Europe, China and America, and boatloads of hopeful diggers arrived in Melbourne and headed for the goldfields. Many stayed on in Australia, moving on to other Australian goldfields as the gold became harder for individuals to find for themselves. |