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First Official Reports of Gold
First official reports of the finding of gold in Australia by J McBrien. The information was suppressed. -
Period: to
The Gold Rush
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Geologists Find Gold Near Hartley
Geologists P E Strzelecki and Rev W B Clarke find gold near Hartley. -
Convicts to NSW Ceased
Transportation of convicts to NSW ceased. -
Gold in California!
Gold discovered in California -
Californian Gold Rush
Californian gold rush. A great many Australians sailed for California. -
Governor Gives The Go for Mining
Governor Fitzroy approached the Colonial Office, advocating a policy for the exploitation of mineral resources. He requested a geologist, which led to the appointment of Samuel Stutchbury. This gave approval for the mining of mineral resources. -
Edward Hargraves returned from California
Edward Hargraves returned from California and washed gold at Summer Hill Creek, Ophir. Although he showed little skill in discovering new fields, he received recognition and financial rewards. The early rush to the NSW fields led to a serious decline in the population in Victoria, so a reward was offered for the discovery of gold in that region. Several claimants came forward, and by the end of 1851 the incredibly rich Ballarat and Bendigo fields were in production. Licence fees of 30/- a month -
Prospectors Start Arriving
Prospectors started arriving from overseas. Approximately 100 000 arrived in
1852. Ships' crews deserted. Women were left while their husbands went in
search of gold. Australia's population went from 404 276 to 1 097 305 between
1850 and 1860. Small gold deposits were discovered in New Zealand. -
Licence Fee Reduced
The licence fee in NSW was reduced to 10/- a month after near riots at Turon.
Victoria followed suit a few months later. -
Eureka Stockade
Discontent with the licensing system and lack of political rights came to a head in
the Eureka Stockade. An inquiry followed. -
Licence Changed
In Victoria, the licence was replaced with the `Miner's Right', costing 1/- per
annum and carrying the right to vote. An export duty of 2s 6d per ounce was
placed on gold instead. -
NSW Adapts
NSW adopted similar changes in licensing and voting to Victoria. -
More Gold Found
Gold discovered in British Columbia (25 000 prospectors). -
Even More Gold Found
A small deposit of gold was discovered north of Fitzroy River in north
Queensland. The few acres were soon exhausted by the arrivals. 5000-6000
footsore and penniless diggers had to be helped to return to Victoria or to the
inland NSW goldfields. -
So Many Chinese
An influx of Chinese miners meant that by 1860 one fifth of all adult men in
Victoria were Chinese. -
Period: to
Whites Attack Chinese
Lambing Flat riots, in which whites attacked Chinese miners. -
Still More Gold
Workable gold discovered in New Zealand. Between 1861 and 1863, 64 000
people travelled to Otago from Australia, while only 8600 arrived from Britain. -
Gold Galore
Gold discovered at Coolgardie, WA. -
Gold, Gold and Yet Still More Gold
A valuable gold field discovered in Gympie, Queensland. -
Gold again
Valuable deposits of very deep gold discovered on the Rand, South Africa. It took
money and machinery to extract this gold. -
Gold yet again
Gold discovered at Kalgoorlie, WA. -
Frozen Gold
Gold discovered in Alaska.