Gold was found in New South Wales several decades before the official discovery, but not in payable amounts. Among those who found traces of gold were surveyor James McBrien, who reported finding gold near Bathurst, NSW in 1823. In the next decade, in 1839, Polish explorer Paul Edmund de Strzelecki found gold near Hartley Vale. Reverend WB Clark then found gold near Lithgow in 1941, but he was ordered by Governor Gipps to keep quiet "or we'll all have our throats cut!" The fear was that news of gold would cause riots and escapes among the convicts.
However, gold was first officially discovered in Australia in 1851, not far from Bathurst, New South Wales. The one credited with the discovery is Edward Hargraves, whose careful study of the geology of the area had convinced him that it was similar to that of the California goldfields, from where he had just returned. Hargraves enlisted the assistance of John Lister, a man who had already found gold in the region. Lister and the Tom brothers, using Hargraves' cradling equipment, located gold almost immediately 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.
Edward Hargraves is officially recorded as the first to find payable gold in the NSW goldrush.
No one discovered Victoria, it was once part of New South Wales. It became a separate colony around the time of the Victorian Gold Rush.
Most of the early goldfields were either in central Victoria or central New South Wales.
The states of Victoria and New South Wales are separated by the Murray River. This forms the border for much of the way.
Queensland
Victoria separated from New South Wales on 1 July 1851.
New South Wales and Victoria are both states of Australia. They are located in the south-eastern quarter of the continent.
Victoria
Wodonga is in Victoria.
The goldrushes in New South Wales and Victoria started in 1851.
Victoria borders New South Wales directly to the south.
north
The Murray River forms the border between New South Wales and Victoria.