James Esmond

Arriving too late to be successful as a prospector, Esmond took work as a supervisor on the diggings, before returning to Sydney, New South Wales in 1850.

Mining engineer and amateur historian Peter McCarthy has suggested that Esmond had "set up as a prospector in the Pyrenees on his return and kept himself fed somehow, without officially stealing the Queen's gold, for several months.

The committee considered Esmond's claim of discovery, and accepted that he found gold on 28 June 1851 and that the site was revealed on 22 July.

[1] Ultimately, the committee found that Michel was the first to discover and publicise a goldfield, but that Esmond was the first actual producer of gold, and both were granted rewards of £1000.

[1] Esmond suffered from Bright's disease later in life, and struggled with financial problems; the mining community sought government aid for him, though none was forthcoming, but public donations had raised £150 for his family by the time of his death.

[4] Withers' respectful tribute to Esmond, one of a number of Eureka diggers who had recently died, was unusual at the time, when the Stockade was still regarded by many as a disloyal rebellion.