New South Wales gold rush

[3] It was feared that convicts and free settlers would leave their assigned work locations to rush to the new find to seek their fortunes, in particular damaging the new pastoral industry.

To stem the exodus the New South Wales colonial government decided to alter its position and encourage the search for payable gold.

Twenty-eight years after the Fish River discovery, a man named Edward Hargraves discovered a 'grain of gold' in a billabong near Bathurst in 1851.

In February 1851, Hargraves and his guide, John Lister, set out on horseback with a pan and rocking-cradle, to Lewis Ponds Creek, a tributary of the Macquarie River close to Bathurst.

[12] Initially keeping the find secret, Hargraves travelled to Sydney and met the Colonial Secretary in March.

[10] The newspaper Bathurst Free Press reported on 17 May 1851: "A complete mental madness appears to have seized almost every member of the community.

"[13] Gold was found in other parts of New South Wales, very soon after the discovery at Ophir, particularly in the area around Braidwood, which also experienced a rush of gold-seekers.

Ten years after the start of the gold rush in 1851 the population of New South Wales had grown from 200,000 to 357,000 people, an increase of 78%.

Alcohol abuse was a common problem among the miners, who used the cheaply made spirits to mask the difficult living and working conditions.

As an example, the major service town of Bathurst was practically abandoned of able-bodied men for general commerce during the Ophir rush.

A monthly fee of 30 shillings was difficult to pay when the size of the claim per miner allowed only 13½ surface square metres.

Governor Fitzroy agreed and cut the fee by two-thirds but refused to change the collection method, known as "digger hunts".