Australian Parliamentary Library statistics show that 1851 gold production amounted to about 10 Tonnes. These statistics only refer to gold that was declared. According to the book "Rivers of Gold", which is a history of the Palmer River gold rush, it is "estimated" that over the life time of the Palmer River gold fields, an estimated 2,000,000 ounces of gold were smuggled out of Australia by Chinese indentured slaves. That is one identifiable group of people in one of the many hundreds of gold fields that operated in Australia during the 19th century, smuggling gold out of the country.
During the Australian gold rushes, from the 1850s to the 1880s, the following equipment and methods were used to find gold:
Many people think that no gold was found in South Australia, but this is not the case. Whilst it is true that the least amount of gold was found in South Australia, there are several old ghost gold towns which enjoyed a brief boom.
A 12 ounce nugget was found in Castambul in 1846 but, like many gold finds at the time, little notice was taken. After that, there were numerous smaller finds. More details can be found at the related link below.
During the goldrush years, gold was found in each state of Australia and also the Northern Territory.Gold was found in New South wales in towns around the Bathurst area in 1851, including Ophir, Lucknow, Sofala and Hill End. It was also found in other places such as Young and Bingara.The first gold in Victoria was found in Clunes on 11 June 1851, by James Esmond. However, on 9 August 1851, Victoria's goldrush began tentatively when gold was found at Sovereign Hill near Ballarat, in the same month Victoria gained its independence from the NSW colony. While the Ballarat goldfields were rich and promising, the real goldrush began when gold was discovered at Mt Alexander, 60km northeast of Ballarat, and close to the town of Bendigo, a few months later.In South Australia, gold was not as important in the state's economic development, but gold was still found in numerous places, such as Castambul in January 1846, and later on, Blinman, Yudanamutana, Beltana and other places.In 1852, small traces of gold were found at Lucky Valley, Kilkivan and Warwick. Queensland's first significant goldrush was at Canoona, near Rockhampton, in 1858, but the goldrush started in earnest when James Nash discovered Queensland's two largest nuggets in a gully off the Mary River near Gympie in October 1867. Other places where gold was found in Queensland include regions around Sarina, Bowen, Charters Towers, Mount Coolon, Ravenswood, Forsayth, Kidston, Georgetown and Croydon.The first payable gold was discovered in Tasmania in February 1852, at Tullochgorum in Tasmania's east.In 1892, gold was found at Coolgardie, Western Australia, sparking off the gold rush in Western Australia.The Northern Territory also had its own goldrushes near the Finniss River in 1865. Later discoveries followed, including Yam Creek, Cullen River, Gandy's Gully, Pine Creek and then Tennant Creek in the 1930s.
They searched for it. Some found it. some paid for it and yet others stole it from those lucky enough to have found some. Nowadays we are not likely to find any the way they did at that time, but still. It is a possible possibility.
There has been over 67.3 ouces a day from the miners is Australia
There is much conjecture about who was the first person to find gold in Australia. It would be fair to say that perhaps we will never actually know who was the first person to find gold. However, there are some records of notable people finding gold. Surveyor James McBrien reported finding gold near Bathurst, NSW in 1823. The real facts will probably never be known.Gold was discovered in Australia as early as the 1820s and 30s, but discoveries were kept secret, for fear of sparking off unrest among the convicts. However, as more people left the Australian colonies to join the gold rush in California, the government began to seek experts who could locate gold in Australian countrysides.Gold was first officially discovered in Australia in 1851, not far from Bathurst, New South Wales. Edward Hargraves had carefully studied the geology of the area and, convinced that it was similar to that of the California goldfields, from where he had just returned, went prospecting. He enlisted the assistance of John Lister, a man who had already found gold in the region. Lister led Hargraves directly to where gold was found, at Summerhill Creek, at a site which Hargraves named "Ophir". Hargraves has been credited with the discovery ever since, even though, by rights, credit should go to Lister.
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The first gold in Victoria was found in Clunes on 11 June 1851, by James Esmond. However, on 9 August 1851, Victoria's goldrush began when gold was discovered at Mt Alexander, 60km northeast of Ballarat, and close to the town of Bendigo, in July 1851.
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There is much conjecture about when gold was found in New South Wales. Surveyor James McBrien reported finding gold near Bathurst, NSW in 1823. Polish explorer Paul Strzelecki found gold near Hartley Vale in 1839. Reverend WB Clark found gold near Lithgow in 1941.However, gold was first officially discovered in Australia in 1851, not far from Bathurst, New South Wales.
The New South Wales government offered a reward of 10 000 pounds to anyone who found payable gold in the colony after so much manpower was lost to the Californian goldfields. Hargraves received this reward, plus an annual pension of 250 pounds from 1877. In addition, in 1851 he was made a commissioner of crown lands for the gold districts and a justice of the peace.
Gold was first officially discovered in Australia in 1851, not far from Bathurst, New South Wales. Edward Hargraves had carefully studied the geology of the area and, convinced that it was similar to that of the California goldfields, from where he had just returned, went prospecting. He enlisted the assistance of John Lister, a man who had already found gold in the region. Lister led Hargraves directly to where gold was found, at Summerhill Creek, at a site which Hargraves named "Ophir". Hargraves has been credited with the discovery ever since, even though, by rights, credit should go to Lister.
The discovery of gold in Australia was officially announced as having occurred at Ophir, not far from Bathurst, New South Wales, in May 1851. This was a tentative start to the goldrush. Less than three months later, on 9 August 1851, Victoria had its first gold strike at Sovereign Hill near Ballarat. This really sparked the start of the goldrush in Australia. Queensland's goldrush started at Gympie, which became known as the town that saved Queensland, as the discovery of gold was a much-needed boost to the economy. Several decades later, the gold rush began in Western Australia when prospectors Arthur Bayley and William Ford found a rich reef of gold in 1892, which they named "Bayley's Reward" at the site of Coolgardie, a small town which lies about 570km east of Perth, Western Australia. Irishman Paddy Hannan discovered gold at Mount Charlotte, less than 40 kilometres from the Coolgardie Goldfields, a year later in 1893, sparking off the Kalgoorlie goldrush. Each of the other states, and the Northern Territory, also had their own goldrush.
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Edward Hargraves did not specifically want to start a gold rush in Australia. He was merely responding to the government's invitation and incentives to find gold, to stem the tide of Australians leaving for the Californian goldrushes. Hargraves's reward for finding gold was to be appointed a 'Commissioner of Land', receiving a reward of £10,000 plus a life pension. Also, there was the personal motivation. Hargraves had not had much success on the California goldfields, but he knew his chances on the untapped Australian goldfields would be greater. Hargraves had carefully studied the geology of the Bathurst area and, convinced that it was similar to that of the California goldfields, from where he had just returned, went prospecting. He asked for assistance from John Lister, a man who had already found gold in the region. Lister led Hargraves directly to where gold was found, at Summerhill Creek, at a site which Hargraves named "Ophir". After reporting his discovery, he was appointed a 'Commissioner of Land', receiving a reward of £10,000 plus a life pension. The New South Wales government made the official announcement of the discovery of gold on 22 May 1851.