The Australian gold rush was a large number of gold discoveries in Australia. Thousands of people came to Australia in the hope of finding a lot of gold and becoming rich. The rush started in 1851 when gold was found near Bathurst, New South Wales and ended with the last rush in 1893 to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. At each place gold was easily found in rivers and creeks. This was known as alluvial gold and could be found by individual miners using very basic equipment such as a spade and a dish. In most places this alluvial gold was taken in the first few months. To get at the gold that was buried deeper in the ground meant that miners needed to work together and dig tunnels. Eventually large companies were started to raise money so that deep gold mines could be built.

The gold rushes happened when alluvial gold was found. Miners would quickly move there in the hope of being the first to find the surface gold. For example, miners rushing to Clunes, Victoria in August 1851, quickly changed their minds and went to Buninyong when they heard of a new gold discovery. Weeks later gold was found at Ballarat a few miles to the north and within six weeks there were more than 10,000 people digging. But by 1852 most miners had left Ballarat and rushed to the new goldfields at Bendigo.  In 1854, miners in Ballarat were angry and upset at paying for gold licences. They burned their licences and raised the Eureka Stockade flag in protest. The miners fought soldiers and police officers to protect their rights. This was called the Eureka Stockade. Many people died, but afterwards the miners didn't have to pay for their licences anymore.

The gold rush finished at the end of the 1850s, but gold was still found throughout Australia up until the 1890s.

Before the gold rush
Gold had been found in Australia before the 1851 gold rush. At first people would not believe the stories. A convict who found gold near Bathurst in 1823 was given 150 lashes with a whip as it was believed he must have stolen it. The explorer Count Paul Strzelecki found gold in the Australian Alps in 1839. The government kept it a secret as they did not want to lose control of the convicts if they went rushing off to search for gold. Gold was also found at:
 Strathloddon, Victoria in 1840
 Hartley, New South Wales in 1844
 Montecute, South Australia in 1846
 Glenmona Station, Victoria (near Maryborough) in 1849

Gold rushes in New South Wales
The first gold rush was in New South Wales. There were many others during the next 30 years.
 Ophir, New South Wales, north east of Bathurst, 12 February 1851.
 Hill End, 1851
 Tilba Tilba, 1852.
 Kiandra, January 1860
 Young, June 1860.
 Forbes, June 1861
 Parkes, 1862
 Gulgong in 1870
 West Wyalong, 1893

Gold rushes in Victoria

 Clunes, 28 June 1851
 Warrandyte, at Anderson's Creek, July 1851
 Castlemaine, 20 July 1851
 Buninyong, 2 August 1851
 Ballarat, 8 August 1851
 Bendigo, October 1851
 Beechworth, February 1852
 Yackandandah, May 1852
 Eaglehawk, May 1852
 Omeo, 1852
 Heathcote 1852
 Walhalla, February 1853
 Maldon, June 1853
 Buckland River, July 1853
 Waranga, 3 August 1853
 Creswick, 1853
 Ararat, October 1854
 Daylesford
 Blackwood, February 1855
 St Arnaud, 1855
 Dunnolly
 Tarnagulla
 Moliagul
 Wedderburn, 1852
 Rheola
 Inglewood
 Kingower
 Stawell, 1857
 Chiltern 1858
 Barkly 1859
 Wood's Point, 1862
 Gaffney's Creek
 Jamieson
 Matlock

Gold rushes in South Australia
 Onkaparinga, October 1852 
 Teetulpa, 1886

Gold rushes in Western Australia
 Hall's Creek, 1885
 The Pilbara, 1888
 Southern Cross, 1888
 Coolgardie, 17 September 1892
 Kalgoorlie 14 June 1893

Gold rushes in Queensland
 Rockhampton, 1858
 Gympie, 1867
 Ravenswood, 25 December 1871
 Charters Towers, 1872
 Palmer River, near Cooktown, 1873
 Hodgkinson River, near Cairns, 1875
 Mount Morgan
 Coen, 1878
 Croydon, 1885

Gold rushes in the Northern Territory
 Pine Creek, 1871

References

19th century in Australia
Gold rushes
1850s