Pages with this tag: goldfields

Results 1 - 10 of 18
Transport
In the early days of the gold rushes, getting to the goldfields was a matter of walking, going on horseback or buying a place on a bullock dray.
Women on the goldfields
Men outnumbered women six to one on the goldfields and harsh conditions took their toll on the female population.
The impact of migration
In a single year, the population of the colony of Victoria almost doubled.
Land, taxation & revenue
The new colony struggled to capitalise on the wealth generated from its natural resources.
Children
Children were especially vulnerable to the harsh conditions on the goldfields.
Conditions
Life was incredibly hard for diggers. Many even described the gold fields as a graveyard - each man digging his own grave.
Edward Snell
Edward Snell made ‘two piles’ of money: one out of gold-digging, the other as the Engineer of the Melbourne-Geelong Railway.
Thomas Pierson
In New York, the Piersons joined American, Canadian, German and English men and women on a 4 month voyage to Australia.
Law & order
Most observers were surprised that such a large population - most of them armed - were so well-behaved.
Chinese
Chinese migrants made up a large proportion of those coming to Victoria to try and make their fortune on the gold fields.