Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Golden Years
In 1840 a local landowner described the fledgling city of Melbourne as 'a goldfield without
the gold'. Indeed, with a steady stream of immigrants and confidence-building prosperity,
there had been growing calls for separation from convict-ridden, rowdy New South Wales.
By the end of 1850, the newly minted colony of Victoria had got its wish to go it alone.
This quickly seemed like a cruel stroke of fate: gold was discovered near Bathurst in New
South Wales in early 1851, sparking a mass exodus. Pastoral riches or not, there was every
chance that without a viable labour force (many had already succumbed to the siren call of
California) the colony would wither and die.
Melbourne jewellers had for some time been doing a clandestine trade with shepherds
who came to town with small gold nuggets secreted in their kerchiefs. Wary of the conse-
quences of a gold rush on civic order, but with few other options, the city's leading men de-
clared that gold must indeed be found. As was the Victorian way, a committee was formed
and a reward was offered. Slim pickings were discovered in the Pyrenees and Warrandyte,
before a cluey Californian veteran looked north to Clunes. Just over a ridge, in what was to
become Ballarat, was the proverbial pot at the end of the rainbow. It wasn't long before
miners were hauling 27kg of the magic mineral into Geelong at a time, and the rush was
well and truly on.
The news spread around the world and brought hopefuls from Britain, Ireland, China,
Germany, Italy, the US and the Caribbean. By August 1852, 15,000 new arrivals were dis-
embarking in Melbourne each month. Crews jumped ship and hotfooted it to the diggings,
stranding ships at anchor. Chaos reigned. Everyone needed a place to stay, even if only for
a night or two, and when there was no room at the inn, stables were let for exorbitant
amounts. Wives and children were often dumped in town while husbands continued on to
the diggings. Governor La Trobe despaired of his grand civic vision, as shanties and even-
tually a complete tent village sprung up. Canvas Town, on the south side of the Yarra,
housed more than 8000 people.
Catherine Spence, a journalist and social reformer, visited Melbourne at the height of the
hysteria and primly observed 'this convulsion has unfixed everything. Religion is neglec-
ted, education despised…everyone is engrossed with the simple object of making money in
a very short time.' The 567,000kg of gold found between 1851 and 1860 represented a
third of the world's total. That said, relatively few diggers struck it lucky. The licensing
system favoured large holdings, policing was harsh and scratching out a living proved so
difficult for many that dissent became as common as hope had been a few years before.
