Gold: The Remarkable Story of Edward Hammond Hargraves – Charlatan, Imposter and Self-Proclaimed Discoverer of Gold in Australia

by Matt Murphy, Kaya Byrne (Narrator)

Ask Google Who discovered gold in Australia? and you'll promptly get 'Edward Hammond Hargraves'. Hargraves has for decades received the fame, fortune and adulation from all corners of the country, but did he earn it?

What about the two diggers he met on the Californian goldfields who told him where to look when he returned home to Australia?

What about the guys who led him to where they'd heard gold had been found before?

What about the pioneers whose discoveries had been documented years earlier?

This is the story of an oversized layabout who received years of accolades and free lunches, despite lumbering from one embarrassment to another, and of those who spent decades trying to expose him and seek their share of the glory.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published March 5, 2025

About the author

At school, Matt Murphy failed English and couldn't see the point of history. He became a firie and has been serving in Sydney's inner city for 38 years. He is now also a part time historian and teacher, tolerating the attitudes of kids towards history that he used to share.

He has written four books: Weight of Evidence, about what was the longest civil court case in New South Wales; Rum, about the influence of alcohol in colonial Australia; Gold, concerning the life of Edward Hargraves and his dubious claim to be Australia's gold discoverer; and Straya Day, looking at 237 other things that could instead be commemorated on Australia's national day.

Matt also can't believe they made him write his own bio.

Reviews

[James Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the insight and times of the gold rush in Australia and how gold has come to be found although maybe not by Hargraves. It’s interesting to read about the greed and unfairness people could show to reap all the rewards for gold discovery. Very well written book by Matt Murphy

[William Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a good read.

[Tim Allerton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rollicking tale of a smart fraudster who leverages the work of others for his own enrichment - a common Australian theme

[Genevieve · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was going to give Gold two stars, but considering that the author himself incredulously leaves all of his own books a five-star review on Goodreads, he’s lucky to earn one star. Given the immaturity within this book’s pages, count me as not surprised at all.

Where to begin….The Australian Gold Rush was a seminal moment in this great country’s history. Gold basically built some of our nicest cities, and in many ways, built our economy for generations to come. I think it is pretty hard to dispute any of that.

However, gold is not the focus of this book — it’s Edward Hammond Hargraves and his dubious claims of being the one who first discovered a working deposit.

History, for those that study it, has had its share of invention fraudsters and even men who steal military valour. It happens. It is unfortunate that it happens, but we all eventually move on.

So, with Hargraves…Can’t we move on? The author Matt Murphy said in his introduction that, “ Hargraves was an a**” I couldn’t believe that this sort of comment made it through the first edit, but it’s no surprise as you continue the book and realise that it’s all very personal for some reason. How many times did Murphy refer to Hargraves as both lazy and fat? Too many.

The gold adventurer Lord Baltimore gets a similar treatment as Murphy opined that he was “Full of sh**” and that “his papers were sh**” Really? That’s where we are?

History is really interesting, but sophomoric barroom talk is not.

The book stays in this vendetta mode for its duration, and that is incomprehensible to me. The author could have presented us with the facts since we’re smart enough to draw our own conclusions without the angst between the margins.

As for the chapter on Aboriginal contributions to the discovery of gold, the chapter lacked the facets of basic research and was speculative, to say the least. If Aboriginal contributions are so noteworthy, why didn’t the author sit down with an Elder and teach us more about the subject? Why would you make the wild claim that they discovered it first and were smart enough not to put a value on it? Proof of that? Anywhere? Murphy went on to imply that anyone seeking evidence is doing so out of racism, which is little more than a creative cop out.

I made it through the entire book, and I am definitely going to reward myself for getting there. I even endured the acknowledgements section which had its own special blend of sarcasm aimed right at Australians who may just (hark!) disagree with Matt Murphy. The nerve of some people.

In summary, given the fanciful subject that is the Australian Gold Rush, there was real potential here, and I think the author no doubt spent hours researching the subject.

However, the tone of the book is mean, spiteful and just plain odd. It’s clear that the author himself got in the way of what should’ve been a really good story.

[Matt Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

better than his last one.

[Deborah J · Rating 2 out of 5]

First half - Well written, entertaining & i interesting but far to long DNF

[Dulcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the tangents get a wee bit out of control, on the whole interesting.