Goldfields and the Gothic: A Hidden Heritage and Folklore

by David Waldron (Editor)

Generations of Australians have grown up with the legend of Eureka and the familiar images of the gold rush in central Victoria. However, underneath these commonly known stories lies a stranger and darker past. As well as colonists, pioneers, soldiers and rebel miners, the colonial goldfields were home to spiritualists, secret societies, ghost-hoaxers, bunyip legends and murderers. There are also the stories of those often forgotten in the goldfield histories, including Indigenous peoples, the mentally ill, homosexuals and immigrant communities.

Goldfields and the Gothic is an anthology by local historians of the long buried legends, histories and folklore of the Victorian goldfields and their legacy today. Every historian has a collection of strange, buried pieces of history; this work begins the task of bringing them into the light.

300 pages, Paperback

Published April 28, 2016

About the author

Dr David Waldron is an Associate Professor of History and Anthropology at Federation University, Ballarat, Australia, with a research focus on folklore and community identity.

He is the author of Sign of the Witch: Modernity and the Pagan Revival (Carolina Academic Press, 2008), Shock! The Black Dog of Bungay: a Case Study in Local Folklore (Arkana, 2010), Snarls from the Tea-Tree: Victoria’s Big Cat Folklore (Australian Scholarly Publications, 2013) and Goldfields and the Gothic (Australian Scholarly Publications, 2016)

David Waldron's passion is for story telling and folklore with an eye for the intersection of popular culture, community heritage and folklore intersect in the creation of urban legends and heritage. He also has a passion for the gothic, hidden and esoteric aspects of history. Those areas of heritage which fit outside our comfort zones and national myths.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taking a broad definition of "gothic", Goldfields and the Gothic is a collection of essays themed around the idea of gothic tales and the hidden histories of minorities, including Indigenous Australians, homosexual men, immigrants and the mentally ill.

Personally, I would have preferred a stronger focus on the gothic, as it was the main reason why I picked this book up, but most of these topics are interesting and more than worthy of discussion.

As with any collection of essays, there are some that are more interesting and engaging than others and some essays that weren't – I was definitely guilty of skimming on more than one occasion.

Finally, this book could have done with a strong proofread before publication – I picked up several typos and formatting inconsistencies.