Goldfields

Gold Discovery

• Rapid population growth (to ~45,000 in Ballarat by 1855).

• At first, shallow alluvial gold was easy to find, but by 1854 it became scarce → frustration.

• Boom created challenges: law/order, cost of police/soldiers, loss of workers from cities, fall in tax revenue.

Gold License System:

• Introduced 1854 by Governor La Trobe → £1 10s per month.

• Must be carried at all times (even if no gold was found).

• Aimed to discourage diggers, raise revenue, pay for police/roads.

• Deeply unpopular → “taxation without representation”.

Government & Police on Goldfields:

• Gold Commissioners issued licenses, guarded money, maintained order.

• Beneath them: police officers, troopers (“Traps”).

• License checks (“digger hunts”) were brutal and humiliating (beatings, tying to trees, fines).

• Troopers often ex-convicts, poorly paid, kept 50% of fines → corruption.

Tensions:

• Alcohol bans (prohibition) unenforceable, sly grog trade thrived.

• Poverty + difficulty paying license fee increased as deep mining replaced surface mining.

• Ballarat miners hardest hit (small claims, high fees).

Charles Hotham

• 1854 = Charles Hotham replace La Trobe

• diggers = enthusiastic + hopeful of change of ldrship

• but Hotham increase license fee + increase checks → to fix financial problems

Gold rush stuff idk bro someone help me - Bendigo (if you wanted the specifics) :(

• Gold was discovered in Bendigo, Victoria in 1851, becoming one of the richest goldfields.

• Thousands of people from all social classes migrated there hoping to get rich.

• Most miners were not successful — only a few made fortunes.

• Work was hard, exhausting, and dangerous; miners faced issues like asphyxiation, drowning, and tunnel collapses.

• Living conditions were poor: tents or bark huts, limited food (mainly damper, tea, mutton), and expensive supplies.

• Health was bad due to poor diet, polluted water, dampness, and disease (rheumatism, typhoid).

• Violence and theft (claim-jumping, fights, alcohol-related disputes) were common.

Chinese on the Goldfields

• Came to Australia after 1840s famine in China to earn money for families.

• 25,000+ Chinese in Victoria by end of gold rush.

• Faced racism, exclusion, and violence from Europeans.

• Europeans resented them for working on Sundays and re-using mines.

• Seen as taking gold “back to China” and not fitting in culturally.

• Unfair taxes (up to £18/year) and immigration restrictions.

• Violent attacks on Chinese miners.

• Despite this, they contributed greatly to gold production and society.