# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Information for kids K - 6 about Australia’s gold rush 1851 -61, including life and conditions on the goldfields. Includes easy to read section for early readers. For school and homeschooling projects or just reading for interest.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Explorers and squatters had already disrupted traditional ways of life for Aboriginal people in the Victorian gold fields region. Flocks of sheep and cattle had already changed the environment and now crowds of men left significant scarring on the natural landscape.

Miners cut down trees to use for firewood, housing and the boards that reinforced tunnels. Mining turned clear streams into cloudy ones. Sometimes miners diverted whole creeks and rivers to use the water in a new area. It pitted the landscape with holes which would then serve as garbage pits. That they were occupying and damaging the traditional land of people from the Kulin nation was not a thought that entered most miners' minds.

Indigenous Australians were marvelled at for their physical skills in hunting and tracking. Europeans like Elizabeth Ramsay-Laye (writing in 1861) were amazed by the displays of Indigenous Australians near Avoca throwing boomerangs. She described the 100 yards (92 metres) flight of this 'half-moon' that returned to the thrower's feet as 'most astonishing'.

Indigenous shelter constructions became the models for the early miners and there are many stories of the assistance they gave to miners who had become lost or had run out of food and water. In many of the contemporary accounts it is clear that Indigenous Australians were participating in the economy; selling food and clothing to the miners and providing information about tracks and water sources.

They were also finding gold independently and using it to trade. Unfortunately most of these interactions are summarised briefly in the European sources and without the names of the individuals involved:

Even the Aborigines are wealthy in these times. I met a party of them at Bullock Creek well clothed, with a good supply of food, new cooking utensils, and money in their pockets. One remarked, with becoming expression of dignity, 'me no poor blackfellow now, me plenty rich blackfellow.'
- James Bonwick

The importance of Indigenous guides cannot be overstated. A recent study by Dr Fred Cahir has surveyed some of the roles performed by local Indigenous people:

The very significant and varied roles Aboriginal guides fulfilled especially in the initial gold rush period when vast tracts of Victoria remained trackless or at best rudimentary is monumental - showing new goldfields, rescuing, providing food, liaising, warning, trading and naming features in the landscape, determining the most direct and easily traversable route (often along traditional pathways) and locating food, medicine and water in order to sustain their non-Indigenous companions, safely conveying gold seekers and others by fording rivers safely, preparing temporary shelters, acting as diplomats and interpreters, negotiating passage through the country of resident clans met on the line of march and locating precious waterholes for horses and other stock.
- Dr Fred Cahir

Corroborees were popular events in some regions and were held for payment; reported upon by the newspapers and attended by large crowds of people. Possum skin cloaks were highly sought after, selling for as much as £5, and known as the best way to keep out the cold. The Aboriginal Trackers were also the first law enforcers on the goldfields, checking licences and riding along with the Government Gold Escort protecting miners' gold from bushrangers.

As historians like Cahir point out, Indigenous Australians were not simply victims of the Victorian goldrushes. Rather they were actively engaged in a range of roles created in the turbulent period. Usually these roles were overlooked in the retelling. The work of recent historians has given us a more complete picture of the Indigenous response to the discovery of gold.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Explorers and squatters had already disrupted traditional ways of life for Aboriginal people in the Victorian gold fields region. Flocks of sheep and cattle had already changed the environment and now crowds of men left significant scarring on the natural landscape.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There were Chinese in Victoria before the gold rushes: merchants in Melbourne and domestic and farm labourers throughout the state. But like their European counterparts, the lure of gold brought many thousands more once news of Victoria’s riches spread through the shipping routes and newspapers.

In and around what is now Guangdong province in southern China, where 90% of Chinese miners came from, civil war had disrupted farming practices and made life unsafe for many villagers. Lum Khen Yang - later a successful merchant in Melbourne - describes the situation in Taishin:

Our money and property were plundered, we had not the means of purchasing a morsel to put into our mouths and there appeared no way by which we could extricate ourselves from poverty […] We happily heard intelligence regarding a new gold-field in an English colony. We were told that men from all parts of the world were congregated there [...] that the people were peaceably disposed, and that the country abounded in everything. The idea of going to such a country was delightful [...] I then made an effort to get as much money as would pay my passage to this productive country.

- Lum Khen Yang

Lum Khen Yang in The Wesleyan Chronicle, 1 Feb 1859 quoted in Colonial casualties: Chinese in early Victoria, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, Vic.

Numbers of Chinese visitors peaked in 1858 at around 30,000. They were almost all young men and they represented 10% of the male population of the colony.

The fear of an 'invasion' from China was often expressed in Melbourne newspapers and this fear probably motivated much of the ill-feeling towards the Chinese. The predominance of men among the arrivals and the different cultural and religious practices of the Chinese marked them as different, even 'barbaric' to the colonists who were mainly Christian and of European descent. As historian Kathryn Cronin states from her survey of newspapers of the time: 'Even the simplest daily tasks of Chinese assumed a sinister aspect.'

Conflicts quickly arose. It was common for Chinese to be driven from claims that had proven to be rich in gold. They were often pushed to new areas or forced to work abandoned sites.

Joseph Panton, the commissioner of the Bendigo goldfields used police to guard Chinese camps and threatened diggers with arrest should they take any violent action. Panton proposed the establishment of Chinese Protectorates, like the Aboriginal Protectorate. The Chinese population elected ‘headmen’ as their leaders, and special Chinese constables and interpreters were placed on the government payroll. While the system segregated communities and caused problems of its own, it did guarantee some basic rights to the Chinese and allowed them better access to the legal system.

In 1857, Buckland River was the site of Victoria’s worst violence against the Chinese population. A band of 30 or 40 miners drove Chinese miners from their claims burning 750 tents and 30 stores. Four Chinese miners were either beaten to death or drowned in the icy waters of the Buckland river trying to escape. The Chinese community lost an estimated £50,000 in looted gold and possessions.

By 1865, most of the protection schemes for Chinese had been removed, but immigration restrictions like the £10 landing tax would persist for decades afterwards. Many Chinese migrants left the colony for other states like Queensland or returned to China.

In an environment that would remain hostile to Chinese immigration for many years, those who stayed behind, like Lum Khen Yang, still found success in Victorian trade and society. They would form the basis of what would become a vibrant Chinese - Australian community.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There were Chinese in Victoria before the gold rushes: merchants in Melbourne and domestic and farm labourers throughout the state. But like their European counterparts, the lure of gold brought many thousands more once news of Victoria’s riches spread through the shipping routes and newspapers.

# data[].attributes.headline
Colonisation of the Victorian goldfields 

# data[].attributes.subject
Colonisation of the Victorian goldfields 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Colonisation of the Central Victorian Goldfields

Come on a journey through the colonial history of central Victoria.

Hear stories about the men and women who travelled from all around the world to seek their fortunes and a better life in Australia and learn about some of the impacts of colonisation on local Aboriginal people.

This resource contains content that may be considered inappropriate for younger children.

Image: 'Commissioner's Camp, Forest Creek 1852' by George, A Kenyon - Pictures Collection, State Library Victoria.

Watch and discuss

Subjects: History
Years: 3-4, 5-6, 9-10

Meet some local Aboriginal Elders and learn about traditional food, culture and life in this region before the Europeans arrived. Learn about the first colonisers, who came to central Victoria in the 1830s and divided-up the land for pastoralists who farmed sheep for wool. Find out about the discovery of gold, check out the mines and walk the streets of 1850s Ballarat at Sovereign Hill.

1. Before colonisation (pre-1835)

What was life like for the Wathaurung (also known as Wadawurrung) and Dja Dja Wurrung people of central Victoria before the Europeans arrived? What did they eat and how was that food grown? What does 'connection to Country' mean?

2. Early colonisation (1835-1851)

What was the Victorian environment like when the first Europeans came here? What can maps teach us about the colonisation of Victoria? How was the landscape impacted by colonisation? Why were there disputes between the pastoralists and the local Aboriginal people?

3. The gold rush (1850s)

The discovery of gold had a significant impact on the colony of Victoria.

What were the three distinct but overlapping eras of gold mining in Ballarat? How did they shape the development of this region? How do staff at Sovereign Hill know what life was like during the three eras of gold mining in Ballarat?

4. Eureka!

An angry dispute between miners and the authorities over the gold licensing system led to the Eureka Rebellion. Men died during the fierce battle, miners were taken prisoner and the leader of the rebelling miners, Peter Lalor, was shot.

In this section, we find out what changed for the miners afterwards, what impact the Eureka Rebellion had on democracy and how this event impacted local Aboriginal people.

5. Immigration and the gold rush (1850s)

Why did Chinese people come out to Australia? What can we learn about their experiences of and contributions to colonial Victoria? What can a painting tell us about people's experiences travelling from England to the Australian gold rushes?

In this section, we visit Sovereign Hill's Gold Museum and learn how people came from all over the world to seek their fortune and a better life on the Victorian goldfields. Many took great risks leaving their homelands for a long journey to Australia. For some it took over three months travelling by ship. Many of these migrants faced challenges when they arrived, but they stayed and started a new life in Australia, bringing their culture with them.

6. Women of the goldfields (1850s)

The women of the Ballarat goldfields faced many challenges and not everyone prospered. There were far fewer women than men and only a very small number of women worked as miners, searching for gold.

7. After colonisation

How did colonisation impact the lives of the local Aboriginal people? In what ways can culture live on and strengthen?

Acknowledgements and credits

Source: ABC Education in partnership with Nalderun and The Sovereign Hill Museums Association and with the participation of the Golden Dragon Museum.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Colonisation of the Central Victorian Goldfields

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Come on a journey through the colonial history of central Victoria. Hear stories about the men and women who travelled from all around the world to seek their fortunes and a better life in Australia and learn about some of the impacts of colonisation on local Aboriginal people.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome to GOLD, an SBS Learn website about the gold rush in Australia. Explore the rich cultures present on the gold fields, from First Nations peoples to those lured by gold from faraway lands.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Another famous traveller to the goldfields from distant lands was Italian-born Raffaelo Carboni. Carboni was a professor, interpreter and translator fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, German and English. He came to Australia hoping for riches. Instead, he found unrest due to the tyrannical administration of the licensing system. Carboni had lived through a revolution in his home country:

"...I called on my fellow-diggers, irrespective of nationality, religion and colour, to salute the Southern Cross as the refuge for all the oppressed from all countries on earth."

Listen: Carboni's quote (above) in Italian.

The Southern Cross flag Carboni referred to symbolises one of the most famous events of the gold rush era: the Eureka Stockade. In his eyewitness account, Carboni revealed the attack by British troopers on a civilian population of men, women and children on the Ballarat diggings.

"...an infernal trooper trotting on the road to Ballarat, took a deliberate aim at me, and fired his Minie rifle pistol with such a tolerable precision, that the shot whizzed and actually struck the brim of my cabbage-tree hat, and blew it off my head."

Many people were killed, and many more were injured. Carboni was one of 13 miners charged with treason.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Another famous traveller to the goldfields from distant lands was Italian-born Raffaelo Carboni. Carboni was a professor, interpreter and translator fluent in Italian, French, Spanish, German and English. He came to Australia hoping for riches. Instead, he found unrest due to the tyrannical administration of the licensing system.

# data[].attributes.body
https://games-digital-classroom.nma.gov.au/goldrush/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Can you strike it rich during the Gold Rush? Australian History Mysteries

# data[].attributes.body
Make your own Gold Rush diorama.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How did the Australian gold rush begin in 1851? Who kicked it off? Where did it occur, and why is gold so valuable? Join Ronan, an ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Video - History of the Australian Gold Rush

# data[].attributes.subject
Video - History of the Australian Gold Rush

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
A Short History of the Australian Gold Rush Era

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Archival film footage is used to tell the story of gold discovery in Australia, from early reports and government resistance to the first official find ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Search Results for "hargraves" | KidsNews

# data[].attributes.body
Primary and Secondary sources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Primary sources are first-hand accounts created by people who witnessed the events they've recorded. Primary sources can include documents, illustrations, photographs, maps, music, audio recordings, etc.

Using primary sources in your work not only adds credibility to your argument, but it demonstrates that you are an expert researcher.

Secondary sources interpret and comment on primary sources. Primary sources are used by a wide range of people - writers, academics, students, artists and others - as part of their work. When secondary sources are created, they can potentially provide a different interpretation or alter the significance of the relevant primary source.

It can be hard to know which secondary source to trust. If you're not sure:

re-read the original and make up your own mind

look for the most current secondary source

find out about the creator of the secondary source - do you trust them?

look at several other secondary sources to get an overview of what people think.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Primary sources are first-hand accounts created by people who witnessed the events they've recorded. Primary sources can include documents, illustrations, photographs, maps, music, audio recordings, etc. Using primary sources in your work not only adds credibility to your argument, but it demonstrates that you are an expert researcher.

# data[].attributes.headline
YouTube Video about Primary and Secondary Sources

# data[].attributes.subject
YouTube Video about Primary and Secondary Sources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Students need to think clearly and strategically, as well as gaining a hearty dose of good luck, to win at this decision-maker game set in 1850-1900. A great introduction to the Australian goldfields, or a fun independent extension activity.

For 1-4 players | 8 years+ | iPad optimised

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Can You Strike it Rich During the Gold Rush?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Gold Rush game is a great introduction to the Australian goldfields, or a fun independent extension activity. For 1-4 players.

# data[].attributes.body
Kids News - articles about the Gold Rush

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The discovery of gold in Australia began one of the most significant periods in our history. This kit explores the history of the Gold Rush and its impact on our nation both then and now

HISTORY OF THE GOLD RUSH: Many people found gold long before the Australian Gold Rush. But they were all sworn to secrecy. Eventually, word got out and the Rush began

HISTORY OF THE GOLD RUSH: Australia's Gold Rush came during an era of great change around the world and many people were ready for a big adventure

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The discovery of gold in Australia began one of the most significant periods in our history. This kit explores the history of the Gold Rush and its impact on our nation both then and now HISTORY OF THE GOLD RUSH: Many people found gold long before the Australian Gold Rush.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Written by Ellen Clacy and published in London in 1853.

English woman Ellen Clacy travelled to the goldfields of Victoria with her brother in 1852.

This memoir details the twenty year old's journey from Melbourne to the diggings and includes accounts and observations of the road to the diggings, the towns, the countryside, the people they met, the stories they heard, the nature of the goldfields and the work they did on the diggings.

Told in a lighthearted manner but packed with lots of serious content, this book is a pleasure to read.

Available to read online here. Also available as an audiobook here.

Diary of Charles Evans, 1853-1855 (previously known as 'The Lazarus Diary')

Diary of Charles Evans, 1853-1855. Entry from the day before the Eureka Stockade. Image source: State Library Victoria.

This significant gold rush diary was written between September 24th 1853 and January 21st 1855 and contains a firsthand account of the Eureka Stockade.

Previously thought to have been written by Samuel Lazarus of Liverpool, this diary is now considered to have been written by Charles Evans, an auctioneer and printer, thanks to research by historian Clare Wright.

The diary begins eleven months after the author's arrival in Victoria with his brother.

They worked in Melbourne in various enterprises before setting off for the Ballarat diggings to establish a number of successful businesses.

This diary is extremely significant as it includes a first-hand account of the Eureka Stockade and the events surrounding it.

Available to read online, provided as a manuscript here.

Notes of a Gold Digger and Gold Digger's Guide, 1852

Notes of a Gold Digger and Gold Digger's Guide. Image source: Trove

Written by James Bonwick and published in Melbourne in 1852.

James Bonwick (1817-1906), teacher, author, historian and archivist, stayed briefly at the diggings in 1852.

He wrote of his observations on many aspects of life on the goldfields, with sections titled: the road to the diggings, the digger at work, the digger at home, health at the diggings, moral state of the diggings, history of the diggings, and geology of the diggings.

Available to read online as a text document here, or as scanned pages of the book here.

Lord Robert Cecil's gold fields diary, 1852

Lord Robert Cecil's Gold Fields Diary, 1852. Image source: Trove

Written by Lord Robert Cecil in 1852, published in Melbourne in 1935.

Diary entries over a fortnight which detail Lord Robert Cecil's tour of the Victorian goldfields as a visitor and observer.

Lord Robert Cecil's experience of the goldfields was quite different to that of the average traveller, spending most of his time in the company of distinguished men rather than among the diggers.

Available to read online here.

Diary of a miner working on the Ballarat goldfields, 1855

Diary of a miner working on the Ballarat goldfields, 1855. Available online as both a manuscript and a transcript. Image source: www.thecourier.com.au

Written by an unidentified author who appears to have been a Scotsman.

In this diary the author documents his daily life as a miner on the Ballarat and surrounding goldfields.

He describes many aspects of life including local events, meals, chores, weather, accidents and deaths, trips to Melbourne, and even the escape of a Bengal tiger from the Montezuma Circus.

Although written in a very brief and blunt manner, this diary includes a vast amount of detail regarding day to day life on the goldfields.

Available to read online, provided both as a manuscript and a transcript here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Diaries and memoirs from the Victorian gold rush

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Diaries and memoirs are an extremely valuable source of information about life in Victoria during the 19th century gold rush. These first hand accounts, written by people living and working on the goldfields, offer us a fascinating personal view of the culture, events, habits and concerns of the time.