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GoldField Rush
With the rapid opening up of goldfields there was a growing demand for picks, shovels and the various tools needed for fossickingfor gold.When it became necessary to mine gold, steam engines began to be used. -
Gold Rushes In NSW And Victoria
The gold rushes in NSW and Victoria not only brought wealth but also an increase in population. Sydney and Melbourne suddenly became growing cities, with buildings to rival those in other parts of the world. -
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Water Out Of The Gold Mines
In Ballarat, there were 13 steam engines in 1855, 135 in 1858 and 342 in 1861, mainly used to pump out water from the goldmines. The increasing need for repairs and maintanence of the machines led to the growth of iron foundries and the engineering industry. -
First Cast Iron Foundry
Scott Clow and Prebble opened the first cast iron foundry in Melbourne. -
Rolling Mill
Enoch Hughes established a rolling mill in Melbourne and later was to play a major role in establishing an iron and steel works in lithgow, NSW. -
Ballarat 1861
Ballarat had ten foundries, eight for mining equiptment and two for producing and repairing farming equiptment. -
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New Technology
Very soon after the technology was invented, Australians were using such exciting innovations as the electric telegraph, telephones, trams, gas and electric light. Gold gave a huge finacial boost to Australia, leading to the boom of the 1880s when the infrastucture for the devlopment of an industrial society was put in place.