What were the effects of the gold rushes on the Australian colonies?
1. What events led to the gold rushes in Australia?
2. What was life like on the goldfields and in major towns in the 1850’s?
3. What effect did the gold rushes have on economy, environment, people and government of Australia?
4. How did the gold rushes affect the lives of some individuals?
2. What was life like on the goldfields and in major towns in the 1850’s?
3. What effect did the gold rushes have on economy, environment, people and government of Australia?
4. How did the gold rushes affect the lives of some individuals?
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Before we start....
Click on the Kitco logo to the left and check on the latest price in gold. To find the price in Australian dollars click here.
You can also click here to go the Gold Resource website to learn about the different types of gold. While you read about gold, think about why we use gold as a commodity to buy and sell...
ABC Splash has an interesting story about the 21st Century Gold Rush....
What is gold? What are the different kinds of gold? How is it mined? Let's find out...
You can also click here to go the Gold Resource website to learn about the different types of gold. While you read about gold, think about why we use gold as a commodity to buy and sell...
ABC Splash has an interesting story about the 21st Century Gold Rush....
What is gold? What are the different kinds of gold? How is it mined? Let's find out...
Click on the Gold Trails picture or the link here to learn more about gold, how it is valued, how it is mined, and more.
This Australian History site also has information on the differences between alluvial and reef gold. You can learn about the different ways gold is mined by reading the webpage and clicking on the blue links at the bottom of the page.
KidCyber has good and easy to understand information on gold and the search for gold in Australia. Have a look here.
This Australian History site also has information on the differences between alluvial and reef gold. You can learn about the different ways gold is mined by reading the webpage and clicking on the blue links at the bottom of the page.
KidCyber has good and easy to understand information on gold and the search for gold in Australia. Have a look here.
A timeline of events....
A great timeline of the Gold Rush in NSW can be found on the Gold Trails website.
This one by Skwirk is also a useful timeline.
Below is a good summary of the Gold Rush in Australia.
This one by Skwirk is also a useful timeline.
Below is a good summary of the Gold Rush in Australia.
1. What events led to the gold rushes in Australia?
How did the Gold Rush start? Have a look here for some of the background of what was happening in Australia before 1851. It is important we have an understanding of life in Australia and around the world before the Australian gold rush. Did you know that there was a big gold rush in America before ours began?
Learn more about the Australian Gold Rush and the biography of the Edward Hargraves; the first 'discoverer' of gold in Australia. You can also read more about Hargraves here.
Explore the history of the discovery of gold in the different Australian states by clicking here. It will take you to an interactive map of Australia with lots of interesting information! You need to research to find out about what happened in each state. More information on the rush in each state can be found here.
Learn more about the Australian Gold Rush and the biography of the Edward Hargraves; the first 'discoverer' of gold in Australia. You can also read more about Hargraves here.
Explore the history of the discovery of gold in the different Australian states by clicking here. It will take you to an interactive map of Australia with lots of interesting information! You need to research to find out about what happened in each state. More information on the rush in each state can be found here.
Some of the largest nuggets found have come from Australia
Historical Finds and Discoveries
Some of Australia's biggest gold nuggets
Famous Australian nuggets
The biggest and the best
World's biggest gold nuggets
Victorian Goldfields nuggets
Historical Finds and Discoveries
Some of Australia's biggest gold nuggets
Famous Australian nuggets
The biggest and the best
World's biggest gold nuggets
Victorian Goldfields nuggets
2. What was life like on the goldfields and in major towns in the 1850’s?
Life on the Gold Fields in pictures....
Click on the picture to access a National Geographic gallery of pictures of life in the Gold Fields in Australia.
Click on the picture to access a National Geographic gallery of pictures of life in the Gold Fields in Australia.
So what was life like on the goldfields? The picture gallery and video above gives you some idea.
Click on the picture to the left to read KidCyber. It wasn't easy to get there, most people trekked for hundreds of kilometres. How would you go? Find out more about life on the goldfields here and here.
The Gold Rush Colony website has a lot of information about the living conditions on the Australian Gold Fields on this page as well as by clicking the links in blue.
Lots more information on daily life in the goldfields can be found on this Glogster site.
Read more about the Chinese miners and their experiences here and here.
Watch the clip below for another summary of the Australian Gold Rush - this one was made by an American teenager for a school project!
Click on the picture to the left to read KidCyber. It wasn't easy to get there, most people trekked for hundreds of kilometres. How would you go? Find out more about life on the goldfields here and here.
The Gold Rush Colony website has a lot of information about the living conditions on the Australian Gold Fields on this page as well as by clicking the links in blue.
Lots more information on daily life in the goldfields can be found on this Glogster site.
Read more about the Chinese miners and their experiences here and here.
Watch the clip below for another summary of the Australian Gold Rush - this one was made by an American teenager for a school project!
Click on the picture of the gold washing cradle to read more about how it was used. Information is from the Powerhouse Museum.
How do you think you would have gone as a miner? Do you want to have a go?
Click on the activity below and travel back to 1865 on the journey to the Victorian goldfields in Ballarat.
Good luck!
How do you think you would have gone as a miner? Do you want to have a go?
Click on the activity below and travel back to 1865 on the journey to the Victorian goldfields in Ballarat.
Good luck!
What was life like in other parts of Australia while the Gold Rush was on?
Click on the picture left or here to learn more about life in the cities and here to learn more about transport. On both pages you can click on the links in blue on the top left of the page to learn more about life in the 1850s in Australia. The Victorian Museum has a great page about life in the early settlement in Melbourne - a starting point for many migrants seeking the goldfields.
You can also read more about how the cities grew and changes in transport here.
This Gold Panning site talks about the Victorian goldfields.
Watch the two short video clips on the My Place website here to learn about Ben, who has come with his family from America, to live in Australia.
Click on the picture left or here to learn more about life in the cities and here to learn more about transport. On both pages you can click on the links in blue on the top left of the page to learn more about life in the 1850s in Australia. The Victorian Museum has a great page about life in the early settlement in Melbourne - a starting point for many migrants seeking the goldfields.
You can also read more about how the cities grew and changes in transport here.
This Gold Panning site talks about the Victorian goldfields.
Watch the two short video clips on the My Place website here to learn about Ben, who has come with his family from America, to live in Australia.
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3. What effect did the gold rushes have on economy, environment, people and government of Australia?
The Eureka Stockade is one of the most significant events in Australia's history. Why do you think this is?
Learn more about the events of the Eureka Stockade by clicking on the picture to the right as well as the links below.
The National Film and Sound archive has a 5 minute video as well as background information. The same video clip is here but there is also some additional information.
Ballarat has its own website page about the Eureka Stockade here.
Click on the picture of Peter Lalor below to hear about his famous speech at Bakery Hill.
Learn more about the events of the Eureka Stockade by clicking on the picture to the right as well as the links below.
The National Film and Sound archive has a 5 minute video as well as background information. The same video clip is here but there is also some additional information.
Ballarat has its own website page about the Eureka Stockade here.
Click on the picture of Peter Lalor below to hear about his famous speech at Bakery Hill.
4. How did the gold rushes affect the lives of some individuals?
The Chinese on the Gold Fields and the Lambing Flat Riots.
Although people from all over the world migrated to Australia during the years of the Gold Rush, it was the Chinese migrants who suffered the most discrimination.
Read about the minority miners and especially the Chinese miners at the State Library of NSW site here.
The Gold Trails website has a really thorough timeline of events leading up to and after the Lambing Flat Riots.
You can explore a beautiful scroll with lots of information about Chinese immigrants here at the National Museum of Australia - click on the links in the grey box on the right side of the webpage for more.
The Australian Migration Heritage website also has an image of a 'roll up banner' inviting miners to 'roll up' and join a mob to move the Chinese off the goldfields at Lambing Flat. Read about the history and see the banner here.
Although people from all over the world migrated to Australia during the years of the Gold Rush, it was the Chinese migrants who suffered the most discrimination.
Read about the minority miners and especially the Chinese miners at the State Library of NSW site here.
The Gold Trails website has a really thorough timeline of events leading up to and after the Lambing Flat Riots.
You can explore a beautiful scroll with lots of information about Chinese immigrants here at the National Museum of Australia - click on the links in the grey box on the right side of the webpage for more.
The Australian Migration Heritage website also has an image of a 'roll up banner' inviting miners to 'roll up' and join a mob to move the Chinese off the goldfields at Lambing Flat. Read about the history and see the banner here.
Australian bushrangers
Everyone knows about Ned Kelly, right? Was he the only bushranger in Australia? No! We had A LOT of them! Let's learn some more about them.
This Australian History page explains that bushranging in Australia didn't begin in the gold rush but actually even from the early settlement! More information can be found here.
The National Museum of Australia has information on lots of bushrangers - starting with Ned Kelly and his gang.
Everyone knows about Ned Kelly, right? Was he the only bushranger in Australia? No! We had A LOT of them! Let's learn some more about them.
This Australian History page explains that bushranging in Australia didn't begin in the gold rush but actually even from the early settlement! More information can be found here.
The National Museum of Australia has information on lots of bushrangers - starting with Ned Kelly and his gang.
Some other interesting individuals from the time of the Australian Gold Rush.
Samuel T Gill - artist
Samuel T Gill was born in England and arrived in Australia in 1839. He made a living painting images of everyday life in the cities and on the goldfields. He became known as 'the artist of the goldfields'.
SBS Gold - S.T.Gill
Wikipedia - S.T.Gill
State Library of NSW - Samuel Thomas Gill
The White Hat Guide to S.T.Gill
Lola Montez - Entertainer
Lola Montez was actually born Maria Dolores Eliza Gilbert in Ireland, but took on a Spanish persona when she became a stage entertainer. Her 'Spider Dance' made her famous and she had many sold out shows at the Victoria Theatre in Ballarat during the gold rush. However, there was much more to her than just being a dancer!
SBS Gold - Lola Montez
State Library of NSW - Lola Montez
Culture Victoria - Lola Montez and her Spider Dance - video clip with more links on left hand side of page
Wikipedia - Lola Montez
Charles Richard Thatcher - Entertainer
Charles Thatcher left England in the early 1850s to 'seek his fortune on the goldfields of Australia'. He was called the "Colonial Minstrel" because of the many popular songs he wrote and performed about life on the goldfields.
SBS Gold - The Inimitable Mr Thatcher
Aust Lit - Charles Thatcher
The Institute of Australian Culture - Charles Thatcher
Henry Beaufoy Merlin - Photographer
Henry Beaufoy Merlin came from England to Australia as a travelling photographer.
Photo Web - Henry Beaufoy Merlin
Art Blart - Beaufoy Merlin - scroll down to see some of his photographs of the different gold fields and read more about them
State Library of NSW - Merlin's last photographs - some of his photographs taken around Sydney
ABC Landline - The Holtermann Collection - a video from Landline with the story about how Beaufoy Merlin's photographs were discovered years after his death in a suburban garage.
Samuel T Gill - artist
Samuel T Gill was born in England and arrived in Australia in 1839. He made a living painting images of everyday life in the cities and on the goldfields. He became known as 'the artist of the goldfields'.
SBS Gold - S.T.Gill
Wikipedia - S.T.Gill
State Library of NSW - Samuel Thomas Gill
The White Hat Guide to S.T.Gill
Lola Montez - Entertainer
Lola Montez was actually born Maria Dolores Eliza Gilbert in Ireland, but took on a Spanish persona when she became a stage entertainer. Her 'Spider Dance' made her famous and she had many sold out shows at the Victoria Theatre in Ballarat during the gold rush. However, there was much more to her than just being a dancer!
SBS Gold - Lola Montez
State Library of NSW - Lola Montez
Culture Victoria - Lola Montez and her Spider Dance - video clip with more links on left hand side of page
Wikipedia - Lola Montez
Charles Richard Thatcher - Entertainer
Charles Thatcher left England in the early 1850s to 'seek his fortune on the goldfields of Australia'. He was called the "Colonial Minstrel" because of the many popular songs he wrote and performed about life on the goldfields.
SBS Gold - The Inimitable Mr Thatcher
Aust Lit - Charles Thatcher
The Institute of Australian Culture - Charles Thatcher
Henry Beaufoy Merlin - Photographer
Henry Beaufoy Merlin came from England to Australia as a travelling photographer.
Photo Web - Henry Beaufoy Merlin
Art Blart - Beaufoy Merlin - scroll down to see some of his photographs of the different gold fields and read more about them
State Library of NSW - Merlin's last photographs - some of his photographs taken around Sydney
ABC Landline - The Holtermann Collection - a video from Landline with the story about how Beaufoy Merlin's photographs were discovered years after his death in a suburban garage.
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