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Sir James McBrien
Government Surveyor James McBrien discovers traces of gold in the Fish River in the east of Bathurst. -
Pawel Edmund Strzelecki
Sir Paweł Edmund Strzelecki was a Polish explorer and geologist who in 1845 became a British subject. He found gold in 1839 near Hartley Vale. -
William Campbell
William Campbell finds gold on his sheep run in Strathlodden, Victoria, in 1840. -
James W Marshall
James W. Marshall saw something shiny in Sutter Creek near Coloma, California on January 24, 1848. With a surprise he had discovered gold unexpectedly while overseeing construction of a sawmill on the American River. -
Who Discovered It?
Edward Hargraves Edward Hargraves discovered a 'grain of gold' in a waterhole near Bathurst in 1851. He was a leader of a small group which travelled to California in 1850. Edward learned the craft of searching for gold with pans, cradles and excavation. More importantly he noticed similarities in the Californian terrain with that of his Australian home. Unsuccessful in California, he returned to Australia, determined to discover gold. And guess what?... He was very successful. -
A Search For Gold!
Prospectors started arriving from overseas. Approximately, 100 000 arrived in 1852. Ships with 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. Thats incredible! -
Queensland Discovery
Gold discovered in Queensland, at Rockhampton. -
William Holtermann
The World's largest piece of gold nugget was found by William Holtermann at Hill End NSW. It weighed 235 kilograms! It was named "The Holterman Nugget". -
Record!
By 2000 there were over 300,000 people on the goldfields! Thats incredible!
