| kidcyber: Gold Rush in Australia |
Good information about Australian gold rush. Scroll down the page to find information
|
| SBS: Gold! | Interactive map. Click on each state to find the gold fields in that state. |
| kidcyber: Gold | This page has information on the properties of gold. Scroll down to find some information about panning and shaft mining. |
| SBS: Gold! | This website is GOLD! There is lots of information here but you need to use the tabs on the left hand side to find your information. Click on:
|
| Prime Facts: Life on the Gold fields | Good information about daily life. |
| The Original Gold Life Colony: A women's day on the gold fields | Daily routine for some women on the gold field. |
| The Original Gold Life Colony: Chinese on the Australian gold fields. |
Info on the Chinese people on the gold fields. Scroll down to further links: Chinese communities, Chinese Mining Methods and Anti-Chinese racism. |
| eGold: Mining Technology | Information about different mining techniques. You need to hit the tab Read More to get all the information. |
| Eureka Stockade Links |
Fun Trivia - information set out in Question & Answer style Economy & Infrastructure - info on Eureka Stockade |
| Can you strike it rich during the Gold Rush??? | Gold rush interactive game. |
Go to scootle.edu.au
Click on Student Login
Enter this PIN: SMMCFY to complete some fun INTERACTIVE tasks on the Gold Rush
Clothing
Housing
Miners' rights & licences
Gold licence, 1852, MS 8203
Accessing miners' rights and licences
Most miners' rights and licences have not survived to the present day. There is no central index to surviving miners' rights or licences. A very small number of rights and licences are held by the Library, local historical societies, museums and individuals.
Licences
Miners in Victoria in the 1850s were required to pay a licence fee to the government for the right to dig for gold. Miner's licences were first issued on 1 September 1851 and cost 30 shillings a month (later reduced to £1 a month or £8 a year). The licence fees were supposed to cover the cost of maintaining the police force on the goldfields. However the fees collected were inadequate for this purpose. This led to increased licence charges.
Protests by miners
The cost of the licence fee and the methods used by police to collect it were very unpopular among the miners. Protests occurred across the fields culminating in the rebellion at Eureka in December 1854. You can read more about the rebellion online:
Miners' rights
After Eureka a series of reforms saw the licence fee abolished and replaced with a miner's right issued at an annual fee of 5 shillings. This gave the holder the right to dig for gold and importantly the right to vote.
S T Gill, The licence inspected, H86.7/7
Sickness / Accidents
The Goldfields could be a dangerous place.
Its inhabitants were under constant threat from disease epidemics like typhoid. Working conditions for the miners were especially perilous, and accidents were common. Due to the huge quantities of wood and other flammable materials used in both mining and everyday life, fire was a common threat, which was particularly concerning given the lack of water in the harsh, dry conditions.
