AY Honors/Gold Prospecting/Answer Key
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 that spectacular. Something around 10,000 people. This does not include the original inhabitants who had been there for over 40,000 years.
In July 1851 the population of 29,000 celebrated as they broke away from New South Wales and the Colony of Victoria was born.
Literally weeks later it was announced that gold had been found in Victoria. The rush was on. And the population of Melbourne grew incredibly as the gold fever took hold:
1835 0 1840 10,000 1851 29,000 1854 120,000
The total number of people in Victoria was reflected in this too. By 1851 it was 75,000 people. Ten years later this was over 500,000
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 seperate 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.
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 Febuary 2004, that would be worth $US 650 million.
Major and long lasting impact
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.
It is reflected in the architecure of Victorian gold-boom cities like Melbourne, Castlemaine, Ballarat, Bendigo, Maldon and Beechworth. Ballarat has Sovereign Hill - a 60 acre recreation of a gold rush town - 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
Books
Nothing but Gold Robyn Annear ISBN 1876485078
Walhalla Heyday G.F. James & C.G. Lee ISBN 0959631135
