Difference between revisions of "AY Honors/Gold Prospecting/Answer Key"

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The '''Victorian [[gold rush]]''' was a period in the history of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] in [[Australia]] between approximately 1851 and the early 1860s.
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There had always been rumours of a modern-day "El Dorado" in the folklore of the native tribes that roamed the plains of the South African highveld, and the gold miners that had come from all over the world to seek out their fortunes on the alluvial mines of Barberton and Pilgrim's Rest, in what is now known as the province of Mpumalanga.
  
== Background ==
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But it was not until 1886 that the massive wealth of the Witwatersrand would be uncovered. Scientific studies have pointed to the fact that the "Golden Arc" which stretches from Johannesburg to Welkom was once a massive inland lake, and that silt and gold deposits from alluvial gold settled in the area to form the gold-rich deposits that South Africa is famous for.
  
By 1840 the village of [[Melbourne]], in the very south of [[New South Wales]], was nearly 5 years of age. The population growth had been steady, but not spectacular, and was around 10,000 people.  This does not include the [[Australian Aboriginal|original inhabitants]] who had been there for over 40,000 years.
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It is believed that it was a Sunday in March 1886 that an Australian gold miner, George Harrison, stumbled across a rocky outcrop of the main gold-bearing reef. He declared his claim with the then government of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR), and the area was pronounced open diggings.
  
In July 1851 the population of 29,000 celebrated as they broke away from New South Wales and the Colony of [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]] was born.  
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It did not take long for fortune-seekers from all over the world to flock to the area, and soon what was a dusty mining village known as Ferreira's Camp was formalised into a settlement. Initially, the ZAR did not believe that the gold would last for long, and mapped out a small triangular piece of land to cram as many plots onto as possible. This is the reason why Johannesburg's CBD streets are so narrow.
Weeks later it was announced that [[gold]] had been found in Victoria and the population of Melbourne grew swiftly as the gold fever took hold:
 
  
year  population
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The unenviable task of naming the new settlement fell into the hands of two men: Johannes Meyer and Johannes Rissik, both men of the ZAR government involved in land surveying and mapping. It is widely held that the two, sharing a common first name, decided to name the settlement Johannesburg, in honour of themselves. Little did anyone know that the city would become one of the largest in the world barely 100 years later.
1835 0
 
1840 10,000
 
1851 29,000
 
1854 123,000
 
  
The total number of people in Victoria also rose. By 1851 it was 75,000 people. Ten years later this rose to over 500,000. 
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The name "Johannesburg" is derived from two Afrikaans words: "Johannes," a first name in Afrikaans meaning "John;" and "burg," and Afrikaans word derived from the Dutch and German for "village" or "hamlet," similar to the English word "burgh" as in Edinburgh, also meaning "town." Thus, Johannesburg's name actually means "John's Town."
First to be obtained was the 'easy' gold; that which was to be found on the '''surface''', usually in creeks and rivers. The seekers used gold pans,puddling boxes and cradles to separate this [[alluvial]] gold from the dirt and water.  
 
  
When this ran out '''undergound''' [[mining]] began. This was much harder and more dangerous than the panning and puddling. The mines ranged from single person, to teams and eventually large mining companies.
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Within 10 years, the town was already the largest in South Africa, outstripping the growth of Cape Town, which was more than 200 years older.
The miners followed the underground reefs of gold. At Walhalla alone, Cohens Reef produced over 50 tonnes of gold in 40 years of mining. That is about 1.6 million troy ounces. As of February 2004, that would be worth $US 650 million.
 
  
== Major and long lasting impact ==
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The gold rush saw massive development of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand, and the area remains the primate metropolitan area of South Africa. Thomas Brinkhoff (www.citypopulation.de) lists the area as having a 2004 population of 7.85 million - about one third the size of New York, and the 31st-largest urban area in the world. The metro area, if located in the United States, would be the fifth-largest there, after New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington-Baltimore.
  
It is difficult to underestimate the impact this had on shaping Melbourne and Victoria. It touched every aspect of society; elements of which are clearly visible today.
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The gold rush has long since ended, and the city now more focused on the financial and service sectors, followed by manufacturing. Development of the metro area continues at a frenetic pace. The city is the most wired in Africa.
 
 
The [[Eureka Stockade]], an armed protest/revolt over what the miners perceived as unfair policing and harsh taxation, is widely regarded as important in Victoria and Australia's democratic development. 
 
 
 
It is reflected in the architecure of Victorian gold-boom cities like Melbourne, [[Castlemaine]], [[Ballarat]], [[Bendigo]], Maldon and Beechworth.  
 
Ballarat has Sovereign Hill &ndash; a 60 acre recreation of a gold rush town &ndash; as well as the Gold Museum. The tiny town of Walhalla is at the other end of the spectrum, but certainly worth a visit.
 
 
 
== External links ==
 
*[http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/windows/gold/index.asp Victorian Museum ]
 
*[http://www.walhalla.org.au Walhalla]
 
*[http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/ Sovereign Hill]
 
*[http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/museum/index.shtml Gold Museum at Ballarat]
 
 
 
== Books ==
 
*''Nothing but Gold''    Robyn Annear  ISBN 1876485078
 
*''Walhalla Heyday'' G.F. James & C.G. Lee  ISBN 0959631135
 
 
 
[[Category:Gold Rush]]
 
[[Category:Australian history]]
 

Revision as of 20:28, 16 September 2004

There had always been rumours of a modern-day "El Dorado" in the folklore of the native tribes that roamed the plains of the South African highveld, and the gold miners that had come from all over the world to seek out their fortunes on the alluvial mines of Barberton and Pilgrim's Rest, in what is now known as the province of Mpumalanga.

But it was not until 1886 that the massive wealth of the Witwatersrand would be uncovered. Scientific studies have pointed to the fact that the "Golden Arc" which stretches from Johannesburg to Welkom was once a massive inland lake, and that silt and gold deposits from alluvial gold settled in the area to form the gold-rich deposits that South Africa is famous for.

It is believed that it was a Sunday in March 1886 that an Australian gold miner, George Harrison, stumbled across a rocky outcrop of the main gold-bearing reef. He declared his claim with the then government of the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR), and the area was pronounced open diggings.

It did not take long for fortune-seekers from all over the world to flock to the area, and soon what was a dusty mining village known as Ferreira's Camp was formalised into a settlement. Initially, the ZAR did not believe that the gold would last for long, and mapped out a small triangular piece of land to cram as many plots onto as possible. This is the reason why Johannesburg's CBD streets are so narrow.

The unenviable task of naming the new settlement fell into the hands of two men: Johannes Meyer and Johannes Rissik, both men of the ZAR government involved in land surveying and mapping. It is widely held that the two, sharing a common first name, decided to name the settlement Johannesburg, in honour of themselves. Little did anyone know that the city would become one of the largest in the world barely 100 years later.

The name "Johannesburg" is derived from two Afrikaans words: "Johannes," a first name in Afrikaans meaning "John;" and "burg," and Afrikaans word derived from the Dutch and German for "village" or "hamlet," similar to the English word "burgh" as in Edinburgh, also meaning "town." Thus, Johannesburg's name actually means "John's Town."

Within 10 years, the town was already the largest in South Africa, outstripping the growth of Cape Town, which was more than 200 years older.

The gold rush saw massive development of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand, and the area remains the primate metropolitan area of South Africa. Thomas Brinkhoff (www.citypopulation.de) lists the area as having a 2004 population of 7.85 million - about one third the size of New York, and the 31st-largest urban area in the world. The metro area, if located in the United States, would be the fifth-largest there, after New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington-Baltimore.

The gold rush has long since ended, and the city now more focused on the financial and service sectors, followed by manufacturing. Development of the metro area continues at a frenetic pace. The city is the most wired in Africa.