Ballarat and the Victorian Gold Rush

As we were staying a few nights at Smythesdale we drove into Ballarat to have a look around. Gold was first discovered in Australia in 1823 near Bathurst, New South Wales. The first 'official' gold claim in the Victorian Goldfields was made in 1850 near Clunes by James Esmond. We did visit Clunes, so will talk more about that in future posts. It was the discovery of gold in Ballarat in 1851 resulted in the rushes to the gold fields and the richest alluvial goldfield in the world. Late 1851 saw a discovery at Castlemaine, and 1852 finds in Bendigo. 1853 there were discoveries at Daylesford, Creswick, Maryborough and Maldon. Late 1850's saw strikes at St Arnaud, Ararat, Stawell, Rutherglen, and Chiltern. Early 1860's saw discoveries at Beechworth, Jamieson, and Walhalla. Along with these discoveries came an influx of migrants, particularly Chinese, to work in the gold fields. Many miners resented the Chinese presence, however the Chinese contributed a lot to the gold rushes in Australia. It was often the Chinese who provided food for the miners with their market gardens. For a number of years the Victorian gold fields output was only second to that of the Californian fields. As alluvial gold dwindled, mining for gold expanded. We won't be visiting all these towns this trip, but will be coming back again another time to explore some more.

Ballarat saw many miners joining forces, as the Chinese had already done, to form syndicates. This proved particularly beneficial after alluvial gold was dwindling and mining was becoming more common. However, it also led to conflicts that resulted in the Eureka Stockade Rebellion in 1854, and mining rights. I must admit I know little about the Eureka Stockade. It is my understanding that the government of the day imposed a tax on all diggers and miners of a licence fee of 30 shillings a month to 12 pounds a year, with severe penalties for not having a licence. Many of the miners could not afford this, so the grievances grew and riots took place at Beechworth and Castlemaine. Ballarat, with its large mining population was usually peaceful, that was until October 1854 when a Scottish miner named James Scobie was killed at the Eureka Hotel, and the publican Bently was accused of the murder. This is where my uncle's family came into play, although I am still in the early stages of researching. Adam Loftus Lynn was the first solicitor in Ballarat, and he was the solicitor for the Scobie family in the first court case – a lead up to the Eureka Stockade. Lynn's Chambers was originally built in 1870, as a one story dwelling and office and some time after Adam Loftus Lynn died in 1878, a second story was added.

See https://www.realcommercial.com.au/news/ballarat-office-comes-with-unique-gold-rush-history
for more information and photos.

Bentley was discharged and the miners felt that Bentley had paid off officials, so a meeting was called and a demand for a new prosecution was made. The meeting was orderly and towards the end of the meeting police tried to disperse the miners. The miners became angry and pushed back at the police. As a result there was much property damage and three men were arrested as ringleaders and they were imprisoned for three, four and six months. Of course the miners were not happy and events escalated leading to the rebellion and the formation of the iconic blue and white Eureka Flag. There are so many twists and turns in this rebellion that I still don't fully understand it. More reading I guess. Evidence of the gold rush in Ballarat can be seen in the beautiful and varied architecture along the main streets. I was surprised that there was very little – if any – mention of the Chinese in the goldfields. We didn't go to Sovereign Hill recreation village (at a cost of $55 each it was way out of our budget for the three of us), there may have been mention there of the Chinese. So we did the next best thing. After having a lovely lunch at Lake Wendouree, we went to the old Ballarat Cemetery to search for something Chinese, and of course the burial site of Adam Loftus Lynn.

There is so much to see in Ballarat that one would need weeks, if not months to see it all. The information centre had some pamphlets with only brief information, however information plaques and boards are available at most historic buildings. I suggest online research to find out more. The information centre is located in the historic town hall, and well worth visit just to see the building. This building is the third town hall on the site and was opened in 1872. There is limited parking for caravans in the town, so I suggest one of the three donation camp sites close by, or one of the many caravan parks.