Gold Rush
The Gold Rush In May 1851, gold was discovered at Bathurst, New South Wales. This was soon followed by a find in Ballarat, Victoria. Around this time, many parts of China especially Guangdong (Kwangtung)Province, were suffering from serious drought and famine. Many Chinese men travelled to Australia in crowded, rickety boats in search of gold that would lift their family out of poverty. The miners had to walk hundreds of kilometers to the central goldfields of Victoria. By 1855, 25 000 Chinese had arrived in Melbourne. Few Chinese women arrived In these years because most men did not intend to stay.
Pictures of Chinese Miners
Gold Rush Facts ď‚´ The Chinese immigrants referred to the Australian gold fields as 'Xin Jin Shan', or the New Gold Mountain. The Californian gold rush was in decline by the 1850s and had become known as 'Jiu Jin Shan', the Old Gold Mountain. ď‚´ Chinese miners not only mined gold but also other metals such as tin, copper and wolfram. ď‚´ The Chinese preferred not to go deep underground for fear of offending the mountain gods. They also saw other opportunities to make money, and worked at other jobs around the diggings, such as washing clothes, selling vegetables they'd grown, selling cooked food or herbal medicines and so on.
Changing Perspectives ď‚´ In 1861, 3.3 per cent of the Australian population had been born in China. This number was not to be equalled until the late 1980s. ď‚´ Some Chinese returned home after the gold rush, but many stayed here. They found jobs, set up market gardens, restaurants or laundries. They brought their families to Australia. Gradually the Chinese became the accepted and respected group in Australian society that they are today.