The Reason Why People Rushed to The Fields
In 1851, Australia became a popular destination for free settlers and convicts were no longer the major source of new arrivals to the colonies. With the discovery of gold and a booming economy, people began coming to Australia by choice. People came from many countries, the majority from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, America, China and Germany, in hopes of finding gold and becoming rich.
Thousands of people left their homes and jobs and set off to the diggings to find their fortune because at each place gold was easily found in rivers and creeks. This was known as alluvial gold and could be found by individual miners using very basic equipment such as a spade and a dish. There were no roads to the goldfields, and no shops or houses there. They traveled by horse or bullock, or by walking with a wheelbarrow loaded with possession and had to carry everything they needed.
Thousands of people left their homes and jobs and set off to the diggings to find their fortune because at each place gold was easily found in rivers and creeks. This was known as alluvial gold and could be found by individual miners using very basic equipment such as a spade and a dish. There were no roads to the goldfields, and no shops or houses there. They traveled by horse or bullock, or by walking with a wheelbarrow loaded with possession and had to carry everything they needed.
What Life was like for The Ordinary Gold Digger?
Most of the people living in the gold fields were men. It is variously estimated that during the gold rush women comprised less than 20% of the population. They generally stayed at home with the children to keep their family together and prevent the diseases in the gold towns.
Setting aside the harshness of the licence system, life on the goldfields was very hard. An ordinary gold digger worked from dawn until dusk. Thousands of people were crowded in tents in some places, for example, Bendigo, around 40 000 people were living close together in tents. Water and fresh food were scarce and sanitation was very poor. Garbage were piled up around the diggings and toilets were simply holes dug in the ground. The smells on the goldfields were unbearable for the diggers.
Diggers sometimes worked ten metres below the surface, often waist deep in water. Poorly shored up shafts would collapse, killing those below. Digging frequently involved accumulating a load of gravel on one's claim and then carrying it quite long distances to the nearest creek or river to wash it for gold. Some miners struck it rich but the hopeful majority enjoyed only moderate success, or no success at all.
Setting aside the harshness of the licence system, life on the goldfields was very hard. An ordinary gold digger worked from dawn until dusk. Thousands of people were crowded in tents in some places, for example, Bendigo, around 40 000 people were living close together in tents. Water and fresh food were scarce and sanitation was very poor. Garbage were piled up around the diggings and toilets were simply holes dug in the ground. The smells on the goldfields were unbearable for the diggers.
Diggers sometimes worked ten metres below the surface, often waist deep in water. Poorly shored up shafts would collapse, killing those below. Digging frequently involved accumulating a load of gravel on one's claim and then carrying it quite long distances to the nearest creek or river to wash it for gold. Some miners struck it rich but the hopeful majority enjoyed only moderate success, or no success at all.
The finding of the 'Welcome Stranger'
On Friday February the 5th, in 1869, in the bush at Moliagul, Victoria, John Deason and his companion Richard Oates made the discovery of their lifetime in the gold rush era, they founded the ‘Welcome Stranger nugget’. Weighing 2268 ounces, it was the largest nugget found in the world and remains so to this day. John Deason was an impoverished prospector struggling to support a wife and young family before his luck changed in such an overwhelming way.
The story of the finding of the "Welcome Stranger" was reported in the "London Times" on Monday, 19th April 1869 and it was sold to the London bank for 9,583 pound.
The story of the finding of the "Welcome Stranger" was reported in the "London Times" on Monday, 19th April 1869 and it was sold to the London bank for 9,583 pound.
Bendigo
Like many of the towns across Central Victoria, Bendigo owes its origins to the gold rushes of the nineteenth century. Gold was first discovered along the banks of the Bendigo Creek in 1851 and resulted into a major gold rush. The discovery is usually attributed to Mrs Kennedy and Mrs Farrell, the wives of two of the workers on the Mt Alexander property. In December 1851 there were 800 people on the field and by the following June, 20,000 diggers had arrived in the goldfield. Living conditions were hard for everyone on the goldfields in Bendigo, because around 40000 people lived close together in tents. Water and food was scarce and sanitation was poor on the gold fields. The gold production was dominant in the first ten years of the field to 1860 and is estimated to account for up to a total of 20 million ounces. In the 1880’s Bendigo was the richest city in the world due to its gold production and had a population of approximately 99,792 people with some 75,000 living in the urban areas. Gold production in Bendigo was sustained right through until the 1950s and today is seeing a resurgence with Bendigo Mining currently mining underneath the city.
In 1781 Bendigo was proclaimed a city. Bendigo, today is the second highest producing goldfield in Australia and remains the seventh largest in the world.
In 1781 Bendigo was proclaimed a city. Bendigo, today is the second highest producing goldfield in Australia and remains the seventh largest in the world.
Why Was The Gold Rush So Important To Australia?
The discovery of gold in Australia in 1851 was a defining event in economic, population, and social development of Australia. Within 50 years of the discovery of gold, the Australian colonies had obtained the right to self-governance and Australian per capita income was one of the highest in the world.
In 1852 alone, 370,000 immigrants arrived in Australia in hopes of getting rich due to the gold rush era, and the economy of the nation boomed. It caused a large degree of dislocation in other sectors and industries of the economy. For instance, it is estimated that between 1851 and 1852 the average annual wage of a miner in Victoria increased from £70 to £357. The economy was expanding and thriving, through the discoveries of gold in Australia.
Australian gold rush era also attracted people from all around the world with a range of skills and professions. The number of new arrivals to Australia was greater than the number of convicts who had landed here in the previous seventy years. The total population trebled from 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871. The growth was even more pronounced in the colonies in which gold had been discovered. For instance, in Victoria, the population grew five-fold from an initial population of approximately 97,000 people to more than 530,000 in 1860.
Most middle class immigrants returned to the cities after the initial rush where many became prominent in business, politics and law. Some stayed on in the bush to help out with farming. The adaptability of the migrants reflected not only their youth, but also comparatively high levels of education and skill. The migrants helped in the development of institutions such as churches, schools, hospitals, newspapers, libraries and sporting clubs, which led to the development of thee town and cities. They contributed to high marriage and birth rates beginning in the 1850s and continuing through to the 1860s.The goldfields also sparked a huge boost in business investment and stimulated the market for local produce. However, the gold rushes also strengthened the belief in white superiority that had underpinned the colonies since the beginnings.
In 1852 alone, 370,000 immigrants arrived in Australia in hopes of getting rich due to the gold rush era, and the economy of the nation boomed. It caused a large degree of dislocation in other sectors and industries of the economy. For instance, it is estimated that between 1851 and 1852 the average annual wage of a miner in Victoria increased from £70 to £357. The economy was expanding and thriving, through the discoveries of gold in Australia.
Australian gold rush era also attracted people from all around the world with a range of skills and professions. The number of new arrivals to Australia was greater than the number of convicts who had landed here in the previous seventy years. The total population trebled from 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871. The growth was even more pronounced in the colonies in which gold had been discovered. For instance, in Victoria, the population grew five-fold from an initial population of approximately 97,000 people to more than 530,000 in 1860.
Most middle class immigrants returned to the cities after the initial rush where many became prominent in business, politics and law. Some stayed on in the bush to help out with farming. The adaptability of the migrants reflected not only their youth, but also comparatively high levels of education and skill. The migrants helped in the development of institutions such as churches, schools, hospitals, newspapers, libraries and sporting clubs, which led to the development of thee town and cities. They contributed to high marriage and birth rates beginning in the 1850s and continuing through to the 1860s.The goldfields also sparked a huge boost in business investment and stimulated the market for local produce. However, the gold rushes also strengthened the belief in white superiority that had underpinned the colonies since the beginnings.