Gold was first officially discovered in Australia in 1851, not far from Bathurst, New South Wales.
Edward Hargraves had carefully studied the geology of the area and, convinced that it was similar to that of the California goldfields from where he had just returned, went prospecting.
The discovery caused an outbreak of “gold fever” as people from all over Australia downed the tools of their own trades and picked up the necessary tools for joining the gold rush.
The subsequent exodus of the population from Victoria was significant. Already rivals with New South Wales, the Victorian government was unwilling to lose more of its population to the northern goldfields.
Subsequently, on 9 June 1851, Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe assembled a gold discovery committee and offered a reward of £200 to anyone who found payable amounts of gold within 200 miles (320 kilometres) of Melbourne.
In 1851, six months after the New South Wales find, gold was discovered at Ballarat, and a short time later at Bendigo Creek.
