Gold+Rush+Begins

=Gold Rush In Bathurst!=

Ever since the colonization of New South Wales it was common for tiny amounts of gold to be found, but authorities managed to hush it all up. It wasn't until February 1851 a man named Hargraves found gold near Bathurst and the word quickly spread. After about a week over 400 people were digging there for gold and by June there were 2000. They named the goldfield //Ophir// after a city of gold in the bible. The first Australian gold rush began.

There were so many people going to the gold mine there was a shortage of workers for the farms and shops. Governor Fitz Roy was worried about violence occuring at the gold fields and demanded that gold seekers must pay for a licence to dig for gold.



References:
[|The Eureka Stockade & the Gold Fields] [|Gold Australia]