Discovery of Gold

Answer 1

The first person to discover gold in Australia was Edward Hargreaves in Ophir near Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia on the 12th of February 1851. This was the first "official" discovery of gold in Australia even though there were rumours about discovery of gold before that.

Answer 2

Gold was actually discovered in Australia as early as the 1830s, but discoveries were kept secret, for fear of sparking off unrest among the convicts. 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". The New South Wales government made the official announcement of the discovery of gold on 22 May 1851. In the same year, gold was discovered at nearby Sofala. Less than three months later, on 9 August 1851, Victoria had its first gold strike at Sovereign Hill near Ballarat. 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. Shortly after this, gold was also found at Bendigo Creek. In 1851, gold was also discovered at Warrandyte, some 27 km from Melbourne. The first gold licence was issued in Victoria on 21 September 1851.