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Fist offical find of gold
1823
First official reports of the finding of gold in Australia by J McBrien. The
information was suppressed. -
Gold found near Hartley
1839
Geologists P E Strzelecki and Rev W B Clarke find gold near Hartley. -
Transportation to convicts to N.S.W
1840
Transportation of convicts to NSW ceased. -
Gold discovered in California
1848
Gold discovered in California (announced in December 1848). -
Australians left Australia to work at the Californian gold feilds
1849
Californian gold rush. A great many Australians sailed for California. -
Governor Fitzroy
1849
Governor Fitzroy approached the Colonial Office, advocating a policy for the
exploitation of mineral resources. He requested a geologist, which led to the
appointment of Samuel Stutchbury. This gave approval for the mining of mineral
resources. -
Edward Hargraves
1851
1851
Edward Hargraves returned from California and washed gold at Summer Hill
Creek, Ophir. Although he showed little skill in discovering new fields, he
received recognition and financial rewards. The early rush to the NSW fields led
to a serious decline in the population in Victoria, so a reward was offered for the
discovery of gold in that region. Several claimants came forward, and by the endof 1851 the incredibly rich Ballarat and Bendigofield -
Prospectors started arriving from overseas
1852
Prospectors started arriving from overseas. Approximately 100 000 arrived in
1852. Ships' 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. Small gold deposits were discovered in New Zealand. -
licence fees
1853
The licence fee in NSW was reduced to 10/- a month after near riots at Turon.
Victoria followed suit a few months later. -
Eureka Stockade
1854
Discontent with the licensing system and lack of political rights came to a head in
the Eureka Stockade. An inquiry followed. -
the licence was replaced with the `Miner's Right',
1855
In Victoria, the licence was replaced with the `Miner's Right', costing 1/- per
annum and carrying the right to vote. An export duty of 2s 6d per ounce was
placed on gold instead. -
NSW adopted similar changes in licensing and voting
1857
NSW adopted similar changes in licensing and voting to Victoria. -
Gold discovered in Columbia
1858
Gold discovered in British Columbia (25 000 prospectors). -
A small deposit of gold was discovered in Queensland
1858
A small deposit of gold was discovered north of Fitzroy River in north
Queensland. The few acres were soon exhausted by the arrivals. 5000-6000
footsore and penniless diggers had to be helped to return to Victoria or to the
inland NSW goldfields. -
Whites attacked Chinese miners.
1860-1861
Lambing Flat riots, in which whites attacked Chinese miners. -
Chinese miners
1860
An influx of Chinese miners meant that by 1860 one fifth of all adult men in
Victoria were Chinese. -
Gold discovered in New Zealand.
1861
Workable gold discovered in New Zealand. Between 1861 and 1863, 64 000
people travelled to Otago from Australia, while only 8600 arrived from Britain. -
Gold discovered at Coolgardie,
1864
Gold discovered at Coolgardie, WA. -
valuable gold field discovered in Queensland.
1867
A valuable gold field discovered in Gympie, Queensland. -
Gold discovered on the Rand, South Africa
1886
Valuable deposits of very deep gold discovered on the Rand, South Africa. It took
money and machinery to extract this gold. -
Gold discovered at Kalgoorlie
1893
Gold discovered at Kalgoorlie, WA. -
Gold discovered in Alaska.
1896
Gold discovered in Alaska.The first goldfields are alluvial or sufaced goldfields where the gold colud be washed or winnowed from the soil.The life of these goldfields was short In Victoria in 1852, it was estimated that the value of gold found by diggers was an average of 324 oz per head. By 1856 it had fallen to 103 oz and it further declined to 78 oz in 1865. In Victoria in 1856, there were 115 000 prospectors.By 1865, the number had declined to 80 000. Of the Australians
who went to the
