Edward Hargraves became famous because he first discovered gold
in Bathurst, NSW in 1851 which started the Australian Gold Rush.
Edward Hargraves called his goldfield Ophir, named after the
Biblical City. Edward Hargraves was paid 10,000 pounds as a reward
for being the first person to find gold. When was gold first
discovered in Australia?
Slide 3
It was named the Welcome Stranger which was discovered by John
Deason and Richard Oates in 1869. The Welcome Stranger nugget
weighed 2268 ounces (64kg or 296.72g) thats as heavy as an adult!!!
What was the largest ever gold nugget named?
Slide 4
Ballarat and Bendigo were known around the world for its rich
gold. Over 22 million ounces of gold have been taken from its Gold
Mines thats 623,689kg!!! The Goldfields of Victoria
Slide 5
Peter Lalor was an Irish immigrant, born on 5 th February 1827
who led the Gold Miners in the Eureka Stockade. He lost his left
arm in the battle. After the battle he worked in Politics starting
as a member for Ballarat in November 1855. Famous people of the
Gold Rush Find facts about Sir Charles Hotham
Slide 6
The Government introduced the license to make sure every person
who wanted to look for gold could be taxed (its like a fee). The
license tax had to be paid by the goldfield workers (also known as
Diggers) even if they found nothing. The Diggers hated paying for
the license tax. The license tax was collected by the Gold
Commissions Police force who were very cruel and used to beat
Diggers for the money The Gold Mining License
Slide 7
The Eureka Stockade started on the 3 rd December 1854. It began
on 30 th November 1854 when the Diggers protested by burning Gold
Mining licences at a meeting on Bakery Hill, Ballarat. The Diggers
then marched to the Eureka mine and setup a barricade using wood
and rocks. On Sunday 3 rd December 1854 the Police force launched
an attack on the stockade. There were too many troops and the
battle was over in 20 minutes. 22 Diggers and 5 Policeman died in
the fight between the Diggers and the Government Police force. The
Eureka Stockade
Slide 8
The battle between the Diggers and Government Troops. The
Eureka Stockade
Slide 9
This is Goldasaurus a 4.4kg gold nugget, found in 2003 by
people working in the Golden Triangle. (centre of the Victorian
Goldfields) It was found by a metal detector and was only 60cm
below the ground. The Goldasaurus nugget is valued at $750,000. I
tried looking for Gold but all I could find was rocks!! My trip to
Sovereign Hill
Slide 10
These people dressed up like the Government Police (the Reds)
and told us all about how they controlled the Goldfields. They were
very loud and didnt like the Diggers very much. They lined up and
fired their rifles in a parade. It was loud!! My trip to Sovereign
Hill
Slide 11
We saw how they used to make plates out of flat metal sheets.
They used an old machine with lots of wheels and belts. I had a go
at olden day bowling which was similar to the way we play bowling
today but ball wasnt round and the laneway wasnt flat!
Slide 12
My trip to Sovereign Hill My favourite part was going into the
mine. We had a lady sharing stories about how difficult it was
working in the mines. The place where the workers stayed was really
small. Workers normally stayed in the mine for more than 12 hours a
day. Lots of people died working in the mines. We only went 60 feet
below the surface but workers used to go down 1,000 feet!
Slide 13
I HOPE YOU LEARNT SOMETHING NEW ABOUT THE GOLD RUSH!!! THE
END!!!