Backbencher
Weblog for HIST 381 at NDSUSaturday, April 29, 2006
Research Paper: Australian Gold Rush
Evan Kimball
Professor Isern
History of Australia and New Zealand
April 28th, 2006
Aussie Gold
When most Americans think of gold digging they think of the California Gold Rush of the mid 19th Century. People from all over the country and from other countries left their lives behind them to travel to California in hopes of striking it rich with gold. The American Southwest can attribute much of its early settlement to this mining activity. What many Americans don’t know is that Australia had a similar, if not larger gold rush only a few years after the boom of the California rush. Some of the miners from the U.S. traveled to Australia to continue their prospecting.
The Australian gold rush was often marked with qualities that persist in Australians to this day. Between mining and sheep raising, Australian mateship was born and persists to this day. The miners, much like Australians throughout the colonial days, visibly fought for their rights, against governments that desired to capitalize from their efforts. And unlike many places where gold rushes were short-lived, Australian gold is still being mined, and in large quantities. The gold rush was a defining period in the history of Australia.
In 1851, Edward Hargraves returned to Australia from the California gold rush. Hargraves believed that he would find gold in his homeland because, “he had compared the geological formations of California with what he had seen in New South Wales.”[1] When he actually did discover gold and report his findings the Australian Gold Rush was on. As a reward for his services to the colony, Hargraves, “was appointed a “Commissioner of Land”. He received a reward of ₤10,000, plus a life pension.”[2] Naturally, the gold rush began on the field that Hargraves had discovered. Later, significant excavation sites were found in every colony but South Australia.
Most of the workers in the minefields were men; the occasional wife came along with her husband to work and was usually responsible for the cooking. Diggers usually worked in small groups such as, “teams of four to six. One man picked and shoveled the earth out of the hole: two wheelbarrowed the earth from the hole to the water, where the other members of the team dollied or cradled it till any gold was separated from the earth.”[3] The rush of Australians to the fields often slowed down as the less physically able realized that getting rich from mining wasn’t as easy as they had hoped. But things never fully calmed down in the cities because wealthy prospectors often flaunted their money, and the women did this as well; “once-respected and sedate matrons came out on the streets in gaudy silk dresses and wafted strong perfume over passers-by.”[4]
But it wasn’t just these individuals who profited from the gold rush. The entire country went into a prosperous period in this time. The population of Australia sky-rocketed, especially in places such as Victoria, where, “in just two years the State’s population had grown from 77,000 to 540,000!”[5] The largest group of mining immigrants to come from one country was the Chinese; “In 1861, Chinese immigrants made up 3.3 per cent of the Australian population, the greatest it has ever been. These Chinese were nearly all men (38,337 men and only eleven women!).”[6] The Chinese were often discriminated against as many other miners viewed them as hoarding in on the gold removal. But many of the Chinese were just there temporarily and returned to their homeland.
These population changes affected much of Australia. When gold was found in one colony, people would pack up and abandon their own colony to travel to the fields. These drastic population shifts had such a severe on the colonies that some of the colonies would give out rewards to people for discovering gold in their vicinity. The Colonial Secretary of Western Australia declared a ₤5,000 reward to anyone who discovered a quality goldfield within 150 miles of Perth during 1862.[7] Such a reward could not only help bring wealth to the colony, but also keep the citizens from leaving to mine in other colonies.
Gold prospecting also brought cultural changes to Australia. Americans have had such a diverse population since nearly the nations beginning that we often don’t realize how this has affected so many aspects of our culture. Until the discovery of gold in their country, the majority of Australians were from Ireland and Britain. The craving for wealth brought people from all areas of Europe, the United States, and Asia. Although they did not all stay, many of them had lasting effects on the nation they visited. Some of the people, especially those who arrived to help develop Australia with the money that had been brought in from the goldfields brought many changes with them:
They brought with them middle-class standards, and often wives and children. Yet courage, resourcefulness, friendliness, helpfulness and good humour were qualities admired in the goldfields, while Old World social distinctions meant nothing. There was a democracy to the quest for gold which helped to form the Australian spirit.[8]
But it is probably understandable that the changes gold mining brought to this nation stuck with it. After all, gold mining is still a large part of the Australian economy. Australia is one of the largest gold producers in the world especially since, “gold output edged higher in 2005, setting a trend which could see the nation displace South Africa as the world’s largest producer of the precious metal before the end of this decade.”[9] And Australian gold mining still tends to lean towards being a smaller production than something like American iron ore or coal mining. Owner-controlled mines are becoming popular again probably because the owners will take the mining risk upon themselves to avoid paying a contractor’s fee.[10] This trend seems to relate to the Australian desire to be independent and reduce the number of strings attached on their activities.
With gold output being as high as it still is, it is probably unfair to say that the Australian gold rush is really over. The “easy mining” seems to be largely over with but having the potential to be the number one gold producer in the world is something worth bragging about. The discovery of gold helped develop Australia and brought many changes to the land, and it continues to be an important part of their economy.
[1] Clark, 126.
Professor Isern
History of Australia and New Zealand
April 28th, 2006
Aussie Gold
When most Americans think of gold digging they think of the California Gold Rush of the mid 19th Century. People from all over the country and from other countries left their lives behind them to travel to California in hopes of striking it rich with gold. The American Southwest can attribute much of its early settlement to this mining activity. What many Americans don’t know is that Australia had a similar, if not larger gold rush only a few years after the boom of the California rush. Some of the miners from the U.S. traveled to Australia to continue their prospecting.
The Australian gold rush was often marked with qualities that persist in Australians to this day. Between mining and sheep raising, Australian mateship was born and persists to this day. The miners, much like Australians throughout the colonial days, visibly fought for their rights, against governments that desired to capitalize from their efforts. And unlike many places where gold rushes were short-lived, Australian gold is still being mined, and in large quantities. The gold rush was a defining period in the history of Australia.
In 1851, Edward Hargraves returned to Australia from the California gold rush. Hargraves believed that he would find gold in his homeland because, “he had compared the geological formations of California with what he had seen in New South Wales.”[1] When he actually did discover gold and report his findings the Australian Gold Rush was on. As a reward for his services to the colony, Hargraves, “was appointed a “Commissioner of Land”. He received a reward of ₤10,000, plus a life pension.”[2] Naturally, the gold rush began on the field that Hargraves had discovered. Later, significant excavation sites were found in every colony but South Australia.
Most of the workers in the minefields were men; the occasional wife came along with her husband to work and was usually responsible for the cooking. Diggers usually worked in small groups such as, “teams of four to six. One man picked and shoveled the earth out of the hole: two wheelbarrowed the earth from the hole to the water, where the other members of the team dollied or cradled it till any gold was separated from the earth.”[3] The rush of Australians to the fields often slowed down as the less physically able realized that getting rich from mining wasn’t as easy as they had hoped. But things never fully calmed down in the cities because wealthy prospectors often flaunted their money, and the women did this as well; “once-respected and sedate matrons came out on the streets in gaudy silk dresses and wafted strong perfume over passers-by.”[4]
But it wasn’t just these individuals who profited from the gold rush. The entire country went into a prosperous period in this time. The population of Australia sky-rocketed, especially in places such as Victoria, where, “in just two years the State’s population had grown from 77,000 to 540,000!”[5] The largest group of mining immigrants to come from one country was the Chinese; “In 1861, Chinese immigrants made up 3.3 per cent of the Australian population, the greatest it has ever been. These Chinese were nearly all men (38,337 men and only eleven women!).”[6] The Chinese were often discriminated against as many other miners viewed them as hoarding in on the gold removal. But many of the Chinese were just there temporarily and returned to their homeland.
These population changes affected much of Australia. When gold was found in one colony, people would pack up and abandon their own colony to travel to the fields. These drastic population shifts had such a severe on the colonies that some of the colonies would give out rewards to people for discovering gold in their vicinity. The Colonial Secretary of Western Australia declared a ₤5,000 reward to anyone who discovered a quality goldfield within 150 miles of Perth during 1862.[7] Such a reward could not only help bring wealth to the colony, but also keep the citizens from leaving to mine in other colonies.
Gold prospecting also brought cultural changes to Australia. Americans have had such a diverse population since nearly the nations beginning that we often don’t realize how this has affected so many aspects of our culture. Until the discovery of gold in their country, the majority of Australians were from Ireland and Britain. The craving for wealth brought people from all areas of Europe, the United States, and Asia. Although they did not all stay, many of them had lasting effects on the nation they visited. Some of the people, especially those who arrived to help develop Australia with the money that had been brought in from the goldfields brought many changes with them:
They brought with them middle-class standards, and often wives and children. Yet courage, resourcefulness, friendliness, helpfulness and good humour were qualities admired in the goldfields, while Old World social distinctions meant nothing. There was a democracy to the quest for gold which helped to form the Australian spirit.[8]
But it is probably understandable that the changes gold mining brought to this nation stuck with it. After all, gold mining is still a large part of the Australian economy. Australia is one of the largest gold producers in the world especially since, “gold output edged higher in 2005, setting a trend which could see the nation displace South Africa as the world’s largest producer of the precious metal before the end of this decade.”[9] And Australian gold mining still tends to lean towards being a smaller production than something like American iron ore or coal mining. Owner-controlled mines are becoming popular again probably because the owners will take the mining risk upon themselves to avoid paying a contractor’s fee.[10] This trend seems to relate to the Australian desire to be independent and reduce the number of strings attached on their activities.
With gold output being as high as it still is, it is probably unfair to say that the Australian gold rush is really over. The “easy mining” seems to be largely over with but having the potential to be the number one gold producer in the world is something worth bragging about. The discovery of gold helped develop Australia and brought many changes to the land, and it continues to be an important part of their economy.
[1] Clark, 126.
[3] Clark, 128.
[4] Clark, 129.
[7] Spillman, 30.
[8] Cavendish.
[9] Forster
[10] Dunlop
Bibliography
Cavendish, Richard. “The Australian Gold Rush Begins.” History Today. Vol. 51 Issue 2 (Feb. 2001): 50-52.
Clark, Manning. A Short History of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria, Australia. Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 1995.
Dunlop, John S. F. “Contract versus owner mining – an update on Australasian open pit mining practice.” Mining Technology: Transactions of the Institute of Mining & Metallurgy. Vol. 113 Issue 1 (Mar. 2004): 17-29.
Forster, Christine. “Australian gold output turns corner; could challenge S. Africa.” Platt’s Metals Week. Vol. 77 Issue 11 (Mar. 13, 2006): 10.
Spillman, Ken. A Rich Endowment. Nedlands, Western Australia. University of Western Australia Press, 1993.
The Australian Gold Rush. http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au (accessed April 28, 2006)
Bibliography
Cavendish, Richard. “The Australian Gold Rush Begins.” History Today. Vol. 51 Issue 2 (Feb. 2001): 50-52.
Clark, Manning. A Short History of Australia. Camberwell, Victoria, Australia. Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 1995.
Dunlop, John S. F. “Contract versus owner mining – an update on Australasian open pit mining practice.” Mining Technology: Transactions of the Institute of Mining & Metallurgy. Vol. 113 Issue 1 (Mar. 2004): 17-29.
Forster, Christine. “Australian gold output turns corner; could challenge S. Africa.” Platt’s Metals Week. Vol. 77 Issue 11 (Mar. 13, 2006): 10.
Spillman, Ken. A Rich Endowment. Nedlands, Western Australia. University of Western Australia Press, 1993.
The Australian Gold Rush. http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au (accessed April 28, 2006)
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