Australian gold rushes
During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of New South Wales (Victoria did not become a separate colony until 1 July 1851) had suppressed the news out of the fear that it would reduce the workforce and destabilise the economy.
Gold diggings, Ararat, Victoria, by Edward Roper, 1854 | |
| Date | May 1851 – c. 1914 |
|---|---|
| Location | Australia |
| Type | Gold rush |
| Theme | Significant numbers of workers (both from other areas within Australia and from overseas) relocated to areas in which gold had been discovered |
| Cause | prospector Edward Hargraves claimed to have discovered payable gold near Orange |
| Outcome | Changed the convict colonies into more progressive cities with the influx of free immigrants; Western Australia joined Federation |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Eureka Rebellion |
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The Australian gold rushes changed the convict colonies into more progressive cities with the influx of free immigrants.
After the California Gold Rush began in 1848, many people went there from Australia, so the New South Wales government sought approval from the British Colonial Office for the exploitation of mineral resources, and offered rewards for finding gold.