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The rush to NSW
A Melbourne merchant named William Hall wrote: "Astounding news reached us of the discovery of gold in the Bathurst district. I cannot describe the effect it had upon the sober, plodding and industrious people of Melbourne. Our laborers left us by ship-loads for the fields of Ophir and Sophala, and it became difficult to carry on trade, labour became so scare and valuable." -
Gold Found!
Edward Hardgrave found the first piece of gold at NSW Ophir -
Edward Hargraves Was Awarded 10,000 Pounds
Because of his finding he received 10,000 pounds -
The Victorian Gold Discovery Committee(4)
Finally James Esmond, Hargraves’ companion on the ship, had fulfilled his ambitions to become one of the first to unearth gold in Victoria. But the most lucrative goldfields had yet to be discovered. -
Gold in Bathurst
Gold was discovered in the in Bathurst region soon after the first discovery of gold in australia at nerby summerhills creek. the digging of ophir,sofala and hill end formed the initial center of the gold rush in NSW . -
Edward Hargraves Found Gold
Hargraves claims he was the first to discover gold in Australia. He later called it Ophir, NSW. -
Gold Field Made
Ophir was made the first gold field in Australia -
The Victorian Gold Discovery Committee(1)
In a state of desperation, Governor Charles J La Trobe assembled a Gold Discovery Committee on June 9, 1851, and offered a £200 reward to anyone who found payable amounts of gold within 200 miles of Melbourne. Unbeknownst to the Committee, gold had already been discovered in Victoria. -
The Victorian Gold Discovery Committee(3)
Meanwhile, word of Cameron’s story reached James William Esmond and Dr George Bruhn, a German physician. Both travelled to Cameron’s station and found £50 worth of gold around June 28, 1851. It seems that while William Campbell made the first Victorian gold discovery at Clunes, Esmond was the first to work the claim. The Gold Discovery Committee rewarded Campbell, Esmond and Bruhn. -
The Victorian Gold Discovery Committee(2)
William Campbell claimed to have found gold in 1850 on Donald Cameron’s station in Clunes one year before Hargraves’ discovery. But Cameron feared his station would be overrun by ambitious diggers, and opted to keep quiet like many people before him. It wasn’t until the goldfields in New South Wales threatened Victoria’s economy that Donald Cameron finally announced the discovery on July 8, 1851. -
More gold discoveries
As in New South Wales, prospective gold diggers rushed to central Victoria with hopes of striking it rich. Thomas Hiscock and party hit the jackpot in Buninyong, followed in December by Henry Frenchman in Bendigo. These goldfields later proved to be two of the richest in the world. Additional findings were also made in Anderson’s Creek, Ararat, Mount Alexander and McIvnor’s Creek. By Christmas, an estimated 250,000 ounces of gold had been taken from the central Victorian region. -
More Gold Discoveries
As in New South Wales, prospective gold diggers rushed to central Victoria with hopes of striking it rich. In August 1851, Thomas Hiscock and party hit the jackpot in Buninyong, followed in December by Henry Frenchman in Bendigo. These goldfields later proved to be two of the richest in the world. Additional findings were also made in Anderson’s Creek, Ararat, Mount Alexander and McIvnor’s Creek. By Christmas, an estimated 250,000 ounces of gold had been taken from the central Victorian region.
