A GOLDEN COUNTRY: The gold industry’s economic and social contribution to Australia
Building a nation: gold discoveries in the 1850s started a series of rushes that transformed the colonies.
Gold was first reported near Beaconsfield in Tasmania in 1847.
The first payable gold discovery in Australia was near Bathurst in New South Wales, in February 1851, setting off the Australian gold rush.
Victoria’s first recorded gold discovery was in June 1851.
Tasmania’s gold rush began in 1852 and developed into a thriving industry until 1890.
By 1861, Victoria had the highest literacy rates globally as people arrived to make their fortune from the gold rush.
Queensland’s gold rush began in 1857, triggering a new phase for the fledgling Colony with major economic development.
A gold rush began in the Northern Territory in 1871, by which time the national population had trebled to 1.7 million.
From 1873-1906, Queensland’s gold and metal exports exceeded those of wool.
Gold discoveries were first recorded in the Kimberley, in Western Australia, in 1885.
Western Australia’s gold rush began in 1893, triggering an influx the following year of 100,000 men, women and children from across the globe.
influencing social change: Gold has been instrumental in shaping Australia’s national identity.
Employment: From 1838, ‘Afghan’ cameleers and their camels arrived from overseas to assist in early exploration across the country.
Mateship: The concept of ‘mateship’ or camaraderie developed between the ‘diggers’ on the goldfields and remains strong across Australian society today.
Suffrage: The Eureka Stockade in 1854 was a victory for gold miners and along with the secret ballot in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia in 1856, were key steps towards Victoria instituting suffrage for most men in 1857. Most women were allowed to vote in 1908.
Migration: The volume of Chinese immigrants significantly increased with some 12,396 arriving in 1856. In 1861, 38,258 people, or 3.3% of Australia’s population, were from China.
Reform: The establishment of an eight-hour working day in 1916 led to Australia having one of the most progressive labour environments in the world at that time as a result of industrial strikes in Victoria.
Politics: Due to the 1880s-1890s gold boom, unionised worker numbers rose to 200,000 across 1,400 unions fighting for fair wages and better working conditions. This resulted in the formation of Labour Leagues in 1891 across New South Wales and South Australia, followed by Queensland in 1893.
VITAL INFRASTRUCTURE: The rush for gold lead to the development of major rail, road, port and water infrastructure in Australia.
Rail Networks NSW (1850-1880): As people rushed to the goldfields, roads and tracks deteriorated, prompting millions of pounds to be spent on the colony’s three main rail lines, the Great Northern, Great Western and Great Southern.
Electric Telegraphs (1854): Victoria’s first two lines were laid between Melbourne and Williamstown, and between Melbourne and Adelaide, as the gold rush turned Melbourne into a metropolis. By 1863 more than 3,000 km of telegraph wire had been installed across NSW. A decade later, there were nearly 100 receiving stations and almost 9,000 km of wire.
Sydney Royal Mint NSW (1855): The first overseas branch of London’s Royal Mint, which began producing gold sovereigns as early as 1851.
The Melbourne Mint VIC (1872): Established as the country’s second official branch of the British Royal Mint in London.
Coolgardie-Esperance Highway WA (1891): Developed to link the Goldfields to the Esperance harbour.
Goldfields Railway WA (1894): Built to connect the City of Perth to the State’s Eastern Goldfields.
McNess Royal Arcade WA (1897): The first shopping arcade in Perth built by Sir Charles McNess, a tinsmith and ironmonger, who made his wealth by stocking his shop with gold prospecting equipment.
Fremantle Port WA (1897): Established by Charles Yelverton O’Connor, to meet needs arising from the WA gold rush.
The Perth Mint WA (1899): Australia’s third branch of Britain’s Royal Mint was built in response to gold discoveries in WA.
Western Australian School of Mines (1902): Established at Coolgardie in 1902, but quickly relocated to its current Kalgoorlie location in 1903, due to the discovery of gold and large influx of people into the area.
Golden Pipeline WA (1903): 566km long, built to provide fresh water to the WA Goldfields.
London Court WA (1937): An architectural marvel built by WA gold mining entrepreneur Claude de Bernales, it signified the recovery of Perth’s building industry from the 1930s Depression.
Royal Australian Mint ACT (1965): The first to be owned by the Commonwealth and independent from the branches of Britain’s Royal Mint.
Old Treasury Building VIC (1862): Considered one of Australia’s finest Renaissance Revival buildings, constructed in palazzo form and built from wealth accumulated during the gold rush.
boosting tourism: an important industry for current and former gold mining regions and cities, gold tourism preserves our industry’s heritage, and allows visitors to reconnect with the past and understand their present.
The Gold Industry Group’s Heart of Gold Australia app showcases gold tourism experiences across the country as well as offering interactive in-app games and has engaged more than 10,000 people. The app features the Kalgoorlie and Perth Heart of Gold Discovery Trails.
The Perth Mint, including its Gold Exhibition and Australian Kangaroo One Tonne Gold Coin, attracts more than 70,000 visitors annually.
Established in 2018, Go West’s Mine to Mint Tour from Newmont’s Boddington Gold Mine to The Perth Mint is the first of its kind, offering fascinating insights into the gold supply chain.
The Old Treasury Building in Melbourne, hosts the original gold vaults where gold bullion was stored during the early gold rush era, providing visitors today with a unique tour experience.
The wealth and demand for entertainment created by the Victorian gold rush resulted in the first Melbourne Cup being run in 1861. The 18-carat gold 2016 Emirates Melbourne Cup trophy was the first in its history to be crafted entirely from gold sourced and refined in Australia by Evolution Mining and ABC Refinery. 2020 marked the first time the gold came from Victoria, supplied by Kirkland Lake Gold’s Fosterville Gold Mine.
The Central Deborah Gold Mine opened to the public in 1971 and has attracted visitors including H.R.H Prince Charles. By 2011, it became the home of Australia’s deepest underground mine tour with nine levels for visitors to experience and is a key tourist destination for the City of Greater Bendigo.
In 1972 the Hainault mine was opened to the public, with retired miners conducting underground tours and demonstrations to more than 750,000 visitors for nearly 20 years. In 1991, displays of historical equipment and records were moved to the site of the north shaft and it was reopened in Kalgoorlie as the Hannans North Tourist Mine.
Sovereign Hill joined other world-class attractions and events to draw 3,362,000 visitors to the City of Ballarat in 2019.
The Museum of the Goldfields and Hannans North Tourist Mine joined other world-class attractions and events to draw 237,000 visitors to the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder and an overall 1,529,000 visitors to Australia’s Golden Outback (WA) in 2019.
Once one of the largest gold mines in Australia, Gwalia’s five-year $3.3 million conservation of the Sons of Gwalia Limited’s Historical Precinct, Museum and Hoover House, timber headframe and the settlement’s 22 traditional miners’ cottages, represents an important heritage and tourist destination for WA.
advancing global society: Gold is vital in today’s technologically advanced society, contributing to innovative methods and medical breakthroughs, and playing a part in mankind’s preservation of the environment.
Gold wires are the backbone of the Internet, plating the RJ45 plugs of ethernet cables, connecting a device to a modem.
Layers of gold protect astronauts, satellites and space vehicles from radiation and heat.
Gold nanotechnologies offer functional benefits for visual display technologies and have potential for use in advanced data storage such as flash memory devices.
Gold nanoparticles are at the heart of the hundreds of millions of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) used globally every year to detect diseases.
A gold based RDT to detect COVID-19 is being developed by leading diagnostics firms.
Researchers at Imperial College London are working on improving HIV/AIDS diagnosis technologies with experimental gold nanoparticle techniques.
Gold-based drugs have been developed and used to treat illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Gold’s low reactivity makes it safe for use in the human body, coating pacemakers and stents.
Gold nanoparticle technology is being developed to specifically attack cancer cells in between radiation treatment and chemotherapy sessions, with clinical trials indicating improved quality of life and decreased risk of damaging healthy cells in the process.
Gold alloys in dentistry are used for fillings, crowns, bridges, and orthodontic appliances, due to the metal being chemically inert, nonallergenic, and malleable.
Gold nanoparticles are being used to improve the efficiency of solar cells, while gold-based materials are showing promise in the search for new, more effective fuel cell catalysts.
Gold nanoparticles are used in environmental solutions, helping to break down groundwater contaminants in industrialised areas around the world.
Australia’s national science agency CSIRO has found a new approach to understanding mineralisation, giving exploration companies methods to identify new deposits more quickly and efficiently.
Gold has been a store of wealth for thousands of years and is traded in the form of bullion, coins, bars and certificates. It is a reliable investment during times of hyperinflation, banking crises and economic uncertainty.
Nearly half the world’s mined gold is made into jewellery. Gold doesn’t react with the skin, and, when combined with other alloys can produce a water green, white, grey, red, and blue.