GOLD RUSH

The discovery of gold was in February 1851, first in Bathurst in New South Wales and then in the new colony of Victoria, and by May as many as 1000 diggers had immigrated to Australia. They came from across the globe and around the country, (mostly from Britain, Ireland, Europe, North America, and China) leaving their families at home and made their own homes as they travelled. They made their houses out of canvas, tree branches, and bark.

They also only washed once a week as well as beating their clothes with a stick to get rid of the dust, whereas the wealthier miners used washing machines that were run by Chinese immigrants. While their diet consisted of only damper, meat and tea, because the price of flour and vegetables was twelve times more than usual, since plenty of farmers went out to dig too.

Damper on a stick

Most diggers walked hundreds of kilometers, while the wealthier people rode horses and coaches. Making a fortune was not as easy as it sounded. Miners worked six days a week. They dug deep shafts and sifted the mud and soil in hope of finding some gold. Only a few of them got the fortune they wanted, but after the gold rush, they left. Most of them, however, stayed to see what other things the new country could offer to them. 

EUREKA STOCKADE

The Eureka Stockade was a protest by miners on the Victorian goldfields in 1854. It came as a result of opposition to the government mining licenses. License fees had to be paid, whether the miner found gold or not. It cost about 30 shillings (around $150) a month. If they didn’t have them when they were digging, didn’t matter where, they would be thrown into gaol. And since the Chinese diggers had special taxes, 120 miners attacked the Chinese camp and burnt their tents and temples. More than 2400 died, most by drowning in the water trying to escape. 

The Eureka Flag

Later in November, thousands of diggers fought for the abolition of the license fee. The right to vote belonged to only the landowners and squatters. So the diggers argued that they paid more for their licenses than the squatters did for their leases. The licenses then entitled them to vote. Though, Governor Hotham refused to comply with their demands and a mass burning of licenses took place and protesters marched to the Eureka Diggings and constructed a stockade. 500 men, led by Peter Lalor, swore an oath under a flag featuring the Southern Cross and prepared to defend the stockade.

By December, the stockade had been built, but the soldiers attacked at 4:45 AM on Sunday when many miners had already left, believing the soldiers wouldn’t attack on the holy day. The miners were outnumbered two to one and the attack lasted for twenty-minutes where 22 diggers and 5 soldiers were killed, while Peter Lalor escaped with a wounded arm, which was later amputated. The Southern Cross was then torn down. Although the Eureka uprising was put down, it did bring a change to the laws.

BUSHRANGERS

Bushrangers were runaway convicts that were able to live and find refuge in the Australian bush to hide from authorities. The term ‘bushranger’ was later changed to mean, ‘those who abandoned rights and privileges to live robbing people and using the bush as their base’. The crimes that they did often included robbing small town banks and coach services.

Bushranging was common in Australia, but Tasmania had the most violent and serious outbreaks of convict bushrangers. More than 2000 bushrangers are believed to have lived in the Australian bush, including abandoned farms.

The last bushrangers were the Kelly Gang led by Ned Kelly. They defended their family against all odds. When Mrs Kelly was sentenced to three years in gaol for shooting Constable Fitzpatrick. Ned made a plan to release his mother. But it didn’t work, so he bailed up a police camp, killing three officers, which was after the Felons Apprehension Act and this meant they could be shot on sight. They then made a plan, which was to attack the train, steal the guns, shoot the officers, and break into the gaol, freeing the prisoners and robbing banks and stores, then vanishing. But the gang made a mistake of freeing a schoolteacher, who lit a flare on the railway tracks. This act alerted the police of the gang’s intentions.

The last bushranger, Ned Kelly

Police made for Glenrowan Hotel, where they fired on the building. Ned was shot in the arm and retreated to the bush, where he fainted from blood loss. At dawn the next day, 29 June, a man in thick armour appeared in the fog. His armour only covered his body and face, while his legs and arms were left exposed. This allowed him to be shot in the legs. They took his helmet off and saw that it was Ned Kelly. At 3 PM, the police set fire to the hotel, Steve, Dan and Joe, who suffered bullet wounds, already lay dead inside. Ned was then taken to Melbourne Gaol Hospital until his trial on 28 October 1880. Then on 11 November, he was hanged.

Ned Kelly's homemade iron armour