The Beginnings Of The Australian Gold Rush
The chain of Australian goldrushes started with a man named Edward Hammond Hargraves in 1851. Edward Hargraves had been part of the Californian gold rush, and even though he had not been successful, he noticed the similarity of the Californian landscape to the Australian landscape. He travelled to Bathurst, joining up with the Tom brothers and John Lister on the way, and set off to find gold. In 1851, Edward Hargraves claimed to have found a grain of gold in a water hole near Bathurst.
For his find, Hargraves was awarded 10,000 pounds from the government, as well as a life pension and the title 'Commisioner of Crown Lands'. However, Edward Hargraves only managed to claim 2 381 pounds before the transaction was held because James Tom protested that he had been the one to find the gold. The enquiry proved him wrong, however, and Edward Hargraves was still titled the first to find the goldfield. Edward Hargraves was born on the 5th of October, 1816 and passed away on the 29th of October, 1891. A second enquiry on the matter of whether Hargraves was really the first to find the gold was pursued after his death, and this enquiry produced opposite results, stating in fact, that John Lister, William Tom, Henry Tom and James Tom had found the gold first.
Edward Hargraves's find was extremely important to Australian history. 1000 gold prospectors arrived in 'Ophir', which was what Edward Hargraves named his newly found goldfield, within the span of 4 months. His gold find was the beginning of many gold rushes around the country, and he inspired many prospectors to look for gold in Australia.
OPHIR
The map below shows the location of Ophir, where Edward Hargraves found his grain of gold.
