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Edward Hargraves Discovery
On February 12 1851 Edward Hargraves discovered gold near Bathurst in Summer Hills Creek. After Edward announced his discovery he was rewarded £10,000 from the NSW Government and £5000 from the Victorian Government for the first person to find gold. When Edward died in 1891 it was exclaimed that John Lister and James Tom were actually the first people to find gold in Australia. -
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The Victorian Gold Rush
This is the timespan of the the Victorian Gold Rush where most of these event ocurred. -
Women Found Gold At Creek Bed
The wealthy Bendigo goldfields were found by a woman, Margaret Kennedy, who saw gold in a creek bed in September 1851. She and a friend washed the gold using a breadmaking pan. Within a few months, there were about 20,000 people searching for gold in that area. -
Eureka Stockade
On 11th November 1854, about 10,000 diggers met to demand the licence system be dropped and that all males should be allowed to vote because in those days the right to vote was restricted: only licenced miners who had lived in that location for six months could vote. The Governor refused to pardon them, and the diggers' fury reached a peak. At a second mass meeting, on 29th November, they displayed their flag, the Eureka flag, blue with a white cross and 5 stars representing the Southern Cross. -
The Chinese Immigration
In 1861, (There wasn't a real date on when the Chinese came.) Chinese immigrants made up 3.3 per cent of the Australian population, the greatest it has ever been. These Chinese were nearly all men (38,337 men and only eleven women.) and most were under contract to Chinese and foreign businessmen. -
The Lambing Flat Riots
The worst violence against Chinese miners was in central New South Wales. European diggers were incensed by the Chinese and their apparent wastage of water when extracting gold. A weak police presence was unable to contain the situation. Six anti-Chinese riots occurred at the Lambing Flat camps over a period of 10 months. The most serious riot occurred on 14 July 1861 when approximately 2000 European diggers attacked the Chinese miners. -
The Start of Westen Australian Gold Rush
The discovery of gold in Western Australia ocurred later than in the other states. In June 1893 gold was found near Mount Charlotte by three Irish prospectors, Patrick Hannan, Tom Flanagan and Daniel Shea. Alluvial gold had almost run out in the east, and gold had to be dug from underground. Very soon prospectors from the eastern goldfields swarmed into the west and pegged out claims around Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. -
Death of Ben Hall
Between the periods of 1863 to 1865, Ben Hall and his gang had one of the most prolific periods of any bushranger or outlaw. Over 100 robberies are attributed to them in this time, including the holding up of 21 towns and the theft of 23 racehorses. By May 1865, Ben Hall had decided to escape from New South Wales. However, he was betrayed by a man who had previously given the gang assistance and protection. The police were waiting, and at dawn on 5 May 1865 Ben Hall was ambushed by eight police. -
The Welcome Stranger
This nugget is the largest known in Victoria and was found on the 5th of February 1869, approximately 15 kilometres to the northwest of Dunolly, near a mining town called Moliagul. The finder, John Deason, and a companion Richard Oates located the nugget 3 centimetres below the surface within the roots of a stringybark tree. The nugget weighed about 72 kg. -
Death of Ned Kelly
Kelly was hanged at the Melbourne gaol on 11 November in 1880. He met his end without fear. His last words were 'Ah well, I suppose it has come to this', and by another version, 'Such is life'.