Gold Rush
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The first gold rush in Australia began in 1851 when prospector Edward Hargraves claimed the discovery of payable gold near Bathurst , New South Wales at a site he called Ophir . [ 1 ] Eight months later, gold was found in Ballarat and Bendigo in Victoria causing large influxes of prospectors . Australia's total population more than tripled from 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871. [ 2 ] In 1885, following a call by the Western Australian government for a reward for the first find of payable gold, a discovery was made at Halls Creek , sparking a gold rush in that state. [ edit ] Notable gold finds Large gold specimen from the Ballarat mines, weight over 150 grams, size 7.4×4.4×2.3 cm. Some important early gold finds in the colonies were:
Australian gold rushes
JCF Johnson, A Game of Euchre , col. wood engraving, Australasian Sketcher Supplement [Melbourne], 25 December, 1876. Image courtesy of the : nla.pic-an8927787. The gold rushes of the nineteenth century and the lives of those who worked the goldfields - known as '' - are etched into our national . There is no doubt that the gold rushes had a huge effect on the Australian economy and our development as a nation.
The Australian gold rush
