Australian gold rushes. An Australian gold diggings circa 1855 After the California gold rush began in 1848, causing many people to leave Australia for California to look for gold there, the New South Wales government rethought its position, and sought approval from the Colonial Office in England to allow the exploitation of the mineral resources and also offered rewards for the finding of payable gold.[2] The first gold rush in Australia began in May 1851 after prospector Edward Hargraves claimed to have discovered payable gold near Bathurst, at a site he called Ophir.[3] Hargraves had been to the Californian goldfields and had learned new gold prospecting techniques such as panning and cradling.
Hargraves was offered a reward by both the Colony of New South Wales and the Colony of Victoria. The Australian Gold Rush. Www.patricktaylor.com | articles First published April 28th, 2006 The Australian Gold Rush - Diggers (State Library of NSW)
Australian Gold Rush Event.