Where was Australia's goldrush?

Answer 1

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.