A thousand cradles at work’ 1851: Gold rushes in New South Wales and Victoria begin. National Museum of Australia
Life on the goldfields was tough for miners, their families, the police and immigrants from countries like China.
What were the biggest changes brought by the gold discoveries?
The gold rushes helped create a wealthy society with a standard of living that was envied by people across the world. Between 1851 and 1871 the Australian population grew from 430,000 people to 1.7 million as migrants from Britain, China, North America and continental Europe arrived to look for gold. The gold rushes also attracted men and women who had new ideas about how society should be organised and governed.
