When was gold discover in Australia?

Answer 1

Gold seems to have been first discovered in Australia on 15 February 1823, at Fish River in the Bathurst area by Surveyor James McBrien. There are several records of other people finding gold. Polish explorer Paul Strzelecki found gold near Hartley Vale in 1839. Reverend WB Clark found gold near Lithgow in 1941.

However, these early discoveries were kept secret, for fear of sparking off unrest among the convicts. As more people left the Australian colonies to join the gold rush in California, the government started to encourage the discovery of payable gold in Australia.

The Australian gold rush started when gold was first "officially" discovered in Australia in 1851, not far from Bathurst, New South Wales. The New South Wales government made the official announcement of the discovery of gold on 22 May 1851. Shortly after this, on 9 August 1851, Victoria had its first gold strike at Sovereign Hill near Ballarat, in the same month it 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.

Answer 2

1851