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Information about Australian Gold Rushes

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Cassilis Mine, circa 1900
The Australian gold rushes started in 1851 when prospector Edward Hargraves proclaimed his discovery of gold near Bathurst, New South Wales, at a site Hargraves called Ophir. Six months later, gold was found in Victoria at Ballarat, and a short time later at Bendigo Creek. Gold was later found in all of the other Australian colonies (later known as states or territories). With the goldrushes came a huge influx of immigrants, the continent's population increasing threefold from 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871.

With the gold rushes came the construction of the first railways and telegraph line, the Eureka rebellion and the end of penal transportation to the east coast of Australia.

Discoveries of gold in Australia before the rushes

Prior to Hargraves' discovery, plenty 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 shall all 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.

Other early gold finds in the colony were:
  • 1814 - Some convicts who were employed cutting a road to Bathurst were rumoured to have found a quantity of gold, and were only compelled to keep silence on the point by menaces and flogging.
  • 1823, February 15 - The first verified discovery of gold in the colonies was by Assistant Surveyor, James McBrian, who discovered gold on the 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.
  • 1839, April - Paweł Edmund Strzelecki discovered gold associated with pyrites at the Vale of Clwydd, in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales.
  • 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.
  • 1848 - Gold specimens found on the spurs of the Pyrenees Mountains, Victoria; exhibited in the shop window of Mr. Robe, jeweller, Melbourne.
  • 1849, January 31 - 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 junior, with William Vicary, found auriferous quartz at Smythesdale, Victoria.
  • 1851. January - Mr Austin brought to Sydney a nugget of gold worth £35, which he found in the Bathurst District.[1]

First License

The first license was issued in Victoria on September 21, 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 October 31, 1851.[2]

See also

External links

References

1. ^ 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
2. ^ 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

Further reading

  • Australian Department of Culture and Recreation: The Australian Gold Rush
  • Younger, R.M. 'Wonderous Gold' in Australia and the Australians: A New Concise History, Rigby, Sydney, 1970
18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1820s  1830s  1840s  - 1850s -  1860s  1870s  1880s
1848 1849 1850 - 1851 - 1852 1853 1854

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Edward Hammond Hargraves (October 7 1816–1891) was a gold prospector who claimed to have found gold in Australia in 1851, starting the Australian gold rush.

Hargraves was born at Gosport, Hampshire, England, third son of Lieutenant John Edward Hargraves and his wife
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GOLD refers to one of the following:
  • GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade).
  • GOLD (parser) is an open source BNF parser.

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Bathurst
New South Wales

Location of Bathurst in New South Wales (red)

Population: 37,001

Established: 1815

Postcode: 2795

Elevation: 650 m


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New South Wales

Flag Coat of Arms
Slogan or Nickname: First State, Premier State
Motto(s): "Orta Recens Quam Pura Nites"
(Newly Risen, How Brightly You Shine)

Other Australian states and territories
Capital Sydney
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Ophir is the name of a locality in New South Wales, Australia in Cabonne Shire.

Ophir is located near the Macquarie River northeast of the city of Orange. Ophir is the place where gold was first discovered in New South Wales in 1851, leading to the Australian gold rushes .
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Victoria

Flag Coat of Arms
Slogan or Nickname: "Garden State", "The Place to Be"
Motto(s): "Peace and Prosperity"

Other Australian states and territories
Capital Melbourne
Government Constitutional monarchy
Governor David de Kretser
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Ballarat
Victoria

Population:
• Density: 85,197 (2006) (19th)
1220/km

Established: 1838

Postcode: 3350

Elevation: 441 m

Area:
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Bendigo
Victoria

Bendigo's "talking tram" in the main street

Population:
• Density: 81,939 (2006)[1] (20th)
31.
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The states and territories of Australia make up the Commonwealth of Australia under a federal system of government.

Northern
Territory

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Australian immigration has a chequered history. Initial Human migration to the continent now called Australia began over 50,000 years ago when the ancestors of Indigenous Australians arrived via the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1840s  1850s  1860s  - 1870s -  1880s  1890s  1900s
1868 1869 1870 - 1871 - 1872 1873 1874

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
Rail transport in Australia is to a large extent State based. For a fuller understanding of the circumstances and history of each State you should see the articles for each State, as follows:
  • Rail transport in Victoria
  • Rail transport in New South Wales

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Australian Overland Telegraph Line was a 3200 km telegraph line that connected Darwin with Port Augusta in South Australia. Completed in 1872 the Overland Telegraph Line allowed fast communication between Australia and the rest of the world.
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The Eureka Stockade was a gold miners' revolt in 1854 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, against the officials supervising the mining of gold in the region of Ballarat. It was prompted by grievances over heavily priced mining items, the expense of a Miner's Licence, and taxation
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Transportation or penal transportation is used to refer to the deporting of convicted criminals to a penal colony, for example by France to Devil's Island and by the United Kingdom (then including Ireland) to its colonies in The Americas, from the 1620s to 1770s, and Australia
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William Branwhite Clarke, MA , BA , FRS (2 June 1798 – 16 June 1878) was an English geologist and clergyman, active in Australia.

Early life and England

Clarke was born at East Bergholt, in Suffolk.
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See also: 1840 in Australia, other events of 1841, 1842 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:
  • Governor of New South Wales - Sir George Gipps
  • Governor of Queensland -

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See also: 1843 in Australia, other events of 1844, 1845 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:
  • Governor of New South Wales - Sir George Gipps
  • Governor of Queensland -

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Sir George Gipps (1791 – 28 February 1847) was Governor of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship was during a period of great change for New South Wales and Australia, as well as for New Zealand, which was
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See also: 1813 in Australia, other events of 1814, 1815 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:
  • Governor of New South Wales- Lachlan Macquarie

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See also: 1822 in Australia, other events of 1823, 1824 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:
  • Governor of New South Wales- Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane

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February 15 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 399 BC - The philosopher Socrates sentenced to death.

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See also: 1824 in Australia, other events of 1825, 1826 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:
  • Governor of New South Wales- Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane

..... Click the link for more information.
See also: 1838 in Australia, other events of 1839, 1840 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Events

  • January 3 - John Hutt becomes Premier of South Australia
  • January 15 - The first US consul, J. H.

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Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, are situated approximately 100 kilometres west of Sydney. They are a range of sandstone geological structures that reach to at least 1,190 metres AHD (in the Lithgow area).
..... Click the link for more information.
See also: 1843 in Australia, other events of 1844, 1845 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:
  • Governor of New South Wales - Sir George Gipps
  • Governor of Queensland -

..... Click the link for more information.
See also: 1847 in Australia, other events of 1848, 1849 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:
  • Governor of New South Wales - Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy

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The Pyrenees are located in Victoria, Australia near the town of Avoca. It is a wine growing region.

The altitude of the ranges is 220-375 m (722-1230 ft).

Exploration


..... Click the link for more information.
See also: 1848 in Australia, other events of 1849, 1850 in Australia and the Timeline of Australian history.

Incumbents

Governors

Governors of the Australian colonies:
  • Governor of New South Wales - Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy

..... Click the link for more information.


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