Victorian goldfields for kids | National Museum of Australia

1854

The lure of instant wealth drew people from all over the world to the Victorian goldfields, but life was hard and only a few struck it rich. Click on the images below for photos, videos and more information. Suitable for years 3 to 6.

Discovery of gold

Gold was first found in Ophir, near Bathurst, New South Wales, in 1851, and shortly afterwards in Victoria.

Over the following decades, gold was also discovered elsewhere in Australia.

Whenever gold was found, people rushed to the diggings from nearby cities as well as overseas. New towns sprang up, and Australia’s population skyrocketed.

'Gold Washing' at Ophir, near Bathurst in New South Wales, 1851, by George French Angas

Gold in Victoria

Mining and migration

The earliest gold in Victoria was found on the surface. Miners used simple picks and pans to separate gold from rock, soil and water.

People rushed to the goldfields from places including the United Kingdom, the United States, Europe and China. Sometimes there was conflict.

The miners needed goods and services and businesses such as butchers and blacksmiths flourished. When the surface gold ran out, miners dug deep into the ground.

A colour sketch of six Aboriginal people and two dogs camped by a small waterway. A man and a dog drink from the water in the foreground while three adults, two children and a dog sit by a small fire. - click to view larger image — Aboriginal country

A colour drawing showing four men searching for gold beside a small waterway. Three men inf the foreground are using small shallow pans, while a fourth in the distance carries a pick on his shoulder. - click to view larger image — Panning for gold

A playing board with three sailing ship markers and a dice, in front of a box with 'RACE TO THE GOLD DIGGINGS' printed on the sliding lid, and a printed rule sheet. - click to view larger image — Migration

Colour photograph of a set of small scales with a long white rod at top and a small disc hanging at one end, alongside a suspended concave tray. Small pieces of a gold-coloured substance are piled on the tray. - click to view larger image — Discrimination

Colour photograph of a multi-coloured embroidered garment on a mannequin. - click to view larger image — Chinese costume

Colour photograph of two embroidered slipper-style shoes with upturned toes and pink and green pompoms at the end. - click to view larger image — Chinese shoes

Colour photograph of a small set of hanging scales in a wooden case. - click to view larger image — Banjo scales

A gold nugget with a rough and irregular shape and surface. - click to view larger image — Bealiba gold nugget

Studio photograph of a metal spike tapering to a point, with a double twist on the shaft and a rounded end. - click to view larger image — Blacksmith's candle spike

A colour illustration of a butcher leaning on a post outside a slab hut. Cuts of meat hang from the hut's verandah roof. A dog sits at the door and a man carrying a sack over his shoulder stands looking at a cut of meat. - click to view larger image — Butcher's shop

Black and white sketch showing a group of men working around the wooden frame of a tent. Gum trees are dispersed among a landscape of other tents and men in the distance. - click to view larger image — Bendigo

A colour illustration of three men working at a gold mine. One man stands atop a pile, scooping dirt into a bucket and another stands watching, holding a shovel. A horse with loaded cart stands at centre, watched by a man with a whip resting on his shoulder. - click to view larger image — Deep sinking

Colour illustration of two men working beside a waterway. One man crouches, holding a shallow pan over the water. The second man stands, smoking a pipe, watching the pan. - click to view larger image — Prospectors

Short-handled pick with a timber handle. - click to view larger image — Mining pick

Studio photograph of a timber construction, with a sieve at top, handle at the back and reinforced metal corners. - click to view larger image — Gold washing cradle

Did you know?

Did you know the largest nugget in the world, 'Welcome Stranger', was found in Victoria in 1869 and weighed 75 kilograms?

In 2015, a Victorian man found a gold nugget weighing 2.7 kilograms near Bendigo!

Unrest on the goldfields

With so many people rushing to the goldfields, the authorities found it hard to keep control. In Victoria in 1851, the government introduced a gold licence, which was unpopular with miners. They organised protests and petitions.

In 1854, near Ballarat, about 500 miners built and occupied a fortress that became known as the Eureka Stockade. The government sent in soldiers to attack the stockade. The soldiers won the battle, killing 22 miners. Despite its victory, the Victorian government abandoned the gold licence and replaced it with the much fairer miner’s right.