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First official reports of finding gold In Australia by J Mcbrien.The infomation was suppressed.
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Geologists P E Strzelecki and Rev W B Clarke find gold near Hartley.
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Transportation of convicts to NSW ceased.
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Gold discovered in California (announced in December 1848).
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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.
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Californian gold rush. A great many Australians sailed for California.
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GOLD- Who is Edward Hargraves
Edward Hargraves returned from California and washed gold at Summer Hill Creek Ophir.Athough 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 Bendigo fields were in production. -
Prospectors started arriving from overseas. Approximately 100 000 arrived in1852. Ships' crews deserted. Women were left while their husbands went in earch of gold. Australia's population went from 404 276 to 1 097 305 between1850 and 1860. Small gold deposits were discovered in New Zealand.
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The licence fee in NSW was reduced to 10/- a month after near riots at Turon.Victoria followed suit a few months later.
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Riot or Revolution - The Eureka Stockade 1854
Discontent with the licensing system and lack of political rights came to a head in the Eureka Stockade. An inquiry followed. -
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.
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NSW adopted similar changes in licensing and voting to Victoria.
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Gold discovered in British Columbia (25 000 prospectors).
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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 penniless diggers had to be helped to return to Victoria or to the inland NSW goldfields.
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An influx of Chinese miners meant that by 1860 one fifth of all adult men in Victoria were Chinese.
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Lambing Flat riots, in which whites attacked Chinese miners.
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Workable gold discovered in New Zealand. Between 1861 and 1863, 64 000 people travelled to Otago from Australia, while only 8600 arrived from Britain.
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Gold discovered at Coolgardie, WA.
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A valuable goldfield discovered in Gympie, Queensland.
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Valuable deposits of very deep gold discovered on the Rand, South Africa. It took money and machinery to extract this gold.
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Kalgoorlie Gold Mining WA 1930's -- 1950's
Gold discovered at Kalgoorlie, WA. -
The first goldfields were alluvial or surface goldfields, where the gold could be washed or winnowed from the soil. The life of these goldfield was short. In Victoria 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 decline to 78 oz per head. In Victoria in 1856, there were 115 000 propestors (or alluvial diggers)
