Introduction

The Victorian gold rush began in 1851 when gold was discovered near Ballarat and Bendigo.

Bakery Hill

Impact

Thousands of diggers flooded into Victoria, transforming it from a quiet pastoral colony into one of the wealthiest places on earth.

Walhalla

Overview

The small town of Walhalla became a major gold mining centre in the 1860s.

From the archives1 . Written back in 2004. For the Aspect Computing staff newsletter, I think. Was originally ‘LM3 and Port Phillip non-Bay’. Science moves on and in the 20+ years since, some findings have changed. I have updated the body and included changed footnotes.

He was buried on his right-hand side. Hand clasping hand and not that far from Mildura. It was probably just how he wanted it too. An emotional ceremony within sight of his beloved warm, shallow lake. Home.

The discovery of gold in the 1850s started a series of rushes that transformed the Australian colonies. The first discoveries of payable gold were at Ophir in New South Wales and then at Ballarat and Bendigo Creek in Victoria.

In 1851 gold-seekers from around the world began pouring into the colonies, changing the course of Australian history. The gold rushes greatly expanded Australia’s population, boosted its economy, and led to the emergence of a new national identity.

Gold fever was dangerous — thousands died on the diggings. The first discoveries of payable gold were at Ophir in New South Wales and then at Ballarat and Bendigo Creek in Victoria.

dog

Visit Sovereign Hill in Ballarat to experience the gold rush firsthand.

cat

Bushrangers were a serious threat on the roads to the goldfields.

horse

  1. It took a while to find this; it was inside an archive (.tar), which was inside another archive (.zip). All being part of the large back up of an old website of mine. Glad I kept it all! ↩︎