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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]]. | + | The '''[[Witwatersrand]] [[Gold rush|Gold Rush]]''' and the establishment of [[Johannesburg]], [[South Africa]] are closely connected. |
| − | == Background ==
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| − | By [[1840]] the city of [[Melbourne]], in the far south of Victoria, was nearly five years old. Population growth in Melbourne and the surrounding countryside had been steady, and the population had reached around 10,000 people and my nipples went to france.
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| − | In July [[1851 in Australia|1851]], Melbourne's 29,000 residents celebrated as they broke away from New South Wales and the Colony of [[Victoria, Australia|Victoria]] was born. Weeks later it was announced that [[gold]] had been found in Victoria. The first discoveries were by Louis Michel at [[Warrandyte, Victoria|Warrandyte]], 30 [[kilometres]] north-east of Melbourne, [[James Esmond]] at Clunes in July 1851, and [[Thomas Hiscock]] at Buninyong, near Ballarat, on [[2 August]] [[1851]].
| + | 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 Africa]]n [[highveld]], and the [[gold]] miners that had come from all over the world to seek out their fortunes on the [[alluvial mine]]s of [[Barberton, South Africa|Barberton]] and [[Pilgrim's Rest]], in what is now known as the province of [[Mpumalanga]]. |
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| − | On [[20 July]] [[1851]] [[Thomas Peters, gold-finder|Thomas Peters]], a hut-keeper on William Barker’s ''Mount Alexander'' station, found specks of gold at what is now known as Specimen Gully. This find was published in the Melbourne ''[[The Argus (Australia)|Argus]]'' on [[8 September]] [[1851]], leading to a rush to the [[Mount Alexander]] or Forest Creek diggings, centred on present-day [[Castlemaine, Victoria|Castlemaine]], claimed to be the richest shallow alluvial goldfield in the world.
| + | 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. |
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| − | These discoveries were soon surpassed by bigger ones at [[Ballarat, Victoria|Ballarat]] and [[Bendigo, Victoria|Bendigo]], and more finds in a number of other locations around Victoria followed.
| + | ==Discovery== |
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| − | {| class="prettytable" style="float:right"
| + | [[Image:langlaagte.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The [[farm]] where [[gold]] was first discovered in [[1886]].]] |
| − | !Year
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| − | !Population of Melbourne
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| − | |1835||0 | |
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| − | |1840||10,000
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| − | |1851||29,000
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| − | |1854||123,000
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| − | The population of Melbourne grew swiftly as the gold fever took hold. 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.
| + | 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 [[South African Republic|Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek]] (ZAR), and the area was pronounced open diggings. His discovery is recorded in history with a monument where the original gold outcrop is believed to be located, and a park named in his honour. Ironically, Harrison is believed to have sold his claim for less than 10 Pounds before leaving the area, and he was never heard from again. |
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| − | First to be obtained was the 'easy' gold(alluvial); that which was to be found on the surface. It is reported that miners when first arrived on the Mt Tarrengower fields nuggets were picked up without digging. This was followed by exploitation of [[alluvial]] gold usually in creeks and rivers. The seekers used gold pans, puddling boxes and cradles to separate this gold from the dirt and water.
| + | ==Founding of Johannesburg== |
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| − | When this ran out underground [[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. The miners followed the underground reefs of gold. At [[Walhalla, Victoria|Walhalla]] alone, Cohens Reef produced over 50 tonnes (1.6 million tr oz) of gold in 40 years of mining. As of February 2004, that would be worth $800 million.
| + | 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 [[central business district]] streets are so narrow. |
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| − | == Major and long lasting impact ==
| + | 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 prime metropolitan area of South Africa. |
| − | The gold rush had a large influence on Melbourne, on Victoria, and on Australia as a whole. It touched every aspect of society and elements of it are still clearly visible today. The influx of wealth that gold brought soon made Victoria Australia's richest state by far, and Melbourne the continent's largest city.
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| − | Australia's population changed dramatically as a result of the rushes. In 1851 the Australian population was 437,655, of which 77,345, or just under 18%, were Victorians. A decade later the Australian population had grown to 1,151,947 and the Victorian population had increased to 538,628; just under 47% of the Australian total and a seven-fold increase. In some small country towns where gold was found aboundant, the population could grow of over 1000% in a decade (e.g. Rutherglen had a population of ~2'000. Ten years later, it had ~60'000 which is a 3000% increase). The rapid growth was predominantly a result of the gold rushes.<ref>{{cite book | last = Caldwell | first = J. C. | authorlink = | editor = Wray Vamplew (ed.) | title = Australians: Historical Statistics | date = 1987 | publisher = Fairfax, Syme & Weldon Associates | location = Broadway, New South Wales, Australia | id = ISBN 0-949288-29-2 | pages = pages 23 and 26 | chapter = Chapter 2: Population}}</ref>
| + | ==Second Boer War== |
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| − | Although most goldfields were exhausted by the end of the 19th century, and much of the profit was sent back to the United Kingdom, enough remained to fund substantial development of industry and infrastructure.
| + | The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a major contributing factor of the failed [[Jameson Raid]] of [[1895]] to [[1896]], and of the outbreak of the [[Second Boer War]] in [[1899]]. [[Boer]] resentment over the large number of foreigners ([[Uitlanders]]) in the Witwatersrand led to heavy taxes and the denial of voting rights for the gold miners, and in response the uitlanders and the British owners of the mines began to pressure the overthrow of the Boer government. |
| | + | how didi it do it? |
| | + | [[Category:Gold rushes]] |
| | + | [[Category:History of South Africa]] |
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| − | The [[Eureka Stockade]], an armed protest or revolt over what the miners perceived as unfair policing and "taxation without representation", is widely regarded as important in Victoria and Australia's democratic development.
| + | [[es:Fiebre del oro de Witwatersrand]] |
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| − | The gold rush is reflected in the architecture of Victorian gold-boom cities like Melbourne, [[Castlemaine, Victoria|Castlemaine]], [[Ballarat, Victoria|Ballarat]], [[Bendigo, Victoria|Bendigo]], [[Ararat, Victoria|Ararat]], [[Maldon, Victoria|Maldon]] and [[Beechworth, Victoria|Beechworth]]. Ballarat has Sovereign Hill — a 60 acre (240,000 m²) recreation of a gold rush town — as well as the Gold Museum. At the other end of the spectrum are near or actual ghost towns, such as [[Walhalla, Victoria|Walhalla]], [[Mafeking, Victoria|Mafeking]] and [[Steiglitz, Victoria|Steiglitz]].
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| − | The last major gold rush in Victoria was at [[Beringa, Victoria|Beringa]], south of Ballarat, in the first decade of the [[20th century]]. Gold mining later virtually ceased in Victoria, not because there was no more gold but in the main because of the depth and cost of pumping. The [[First World War]] also drained Australia of the labour needed to work the mines. However, as of 2005 the recent increase in the gold price has seen a resurgence in commercial mining activity; mining has resumed in [[Bendigo, Victoria|Bendigo]], [[Ballarat, Victoria|Ballarat]], and exploration proceeds elsewhere, for example, in [[Glen Wills, Victoria|Glen Wills]], an isolated mountain area near [[Mitta Mitta, Victoria|Mitta Mitta]] in north-eastern Victoria.
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| − | [[Image:Cassilis historical area.jpg|thumb|700px|center|As with many gold towns, after deposits of gold had been exploited, the town of [[Cassilis, Victoria|Cassilis]] ceased to exist. This picture shows the remains of part of King Cassilis Mine]]
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| − | == See also ==
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| − | *[[Gold rush]]
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| − | *[[Welcome Stranger]]
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| − | *[[California Gold Rush]] ([[1848]]-[[1855]])
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| − | == References ==
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| − | ==Further reading==
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| − | *''Nothing but Gold'' Robyn Annear ISBN 1-876485-07-8
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| − | *''Walhalla Heyday'' G.F. James & C.G. Lee ISBN 0-9596311-3-5
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| − | *''Walhalla: Valley of Gold'' John Aldersea & Barbara Hood ISBN 0-9750887-0-X
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| − | == External links ==
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| − | *[http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/windows/gold/index.asp Victorian Museum ]
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| − | *[http://www.walhalla.org.au Walhalla]
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| − | *[http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/ Sovereign Hill]
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| − | *[http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/museum/index.shtml Gold Museum at Ballarat]
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| − | *[http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/stories/s1032324.htm Report on resumed exploration]
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| − | [[Category:Australian gold rushes]]
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| − | [[Category:History of Victoria|Gold rush]]
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| − | [[Category:1850s]]
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| − | [[Category:1860s]]
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| − | [[Category:19th century in Australia]]
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The Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa are closely connected.
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.
Discovery
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. His discovery is recorded in history with a monument where the original gold outcrop is believed to be located, and a park named in his honour. Ironically, Harrison is believed to have sold his claim for less than 10 Pounds before leaving the area, and he was never heard from again.
Founding of Johannesburg
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 central business district streets are so narrow.
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 prime metropolitan area of South Africa.
Second Boer War
The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a major contributing factor of the failed Jameson Raid of 1895 to 1896, and of the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899. Boer resentment over the large number of foreigners (Uitlanders) in the Witwatersrand led to heavy taxes and the denial of voting rights for the gold miners, and in response the uitlanders and the British owners of the mines began to pressure the overthrow of the Boer government.
how didi it do it?
es:Fiebre del oro de Witwatersrand
