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Gold!: The Fever that Forever Changed Australia
The gold era brought sweeping and lasting changes. It produced great wealth and ensured the financial viability of the struggling colonies. It stimulated a dramatic increase to Australias population, was the last nail in the coffin for convict transportation, subverted the hierarchical British class system, laid the foundations of the Australian egalitarian ethos and stimulated the democratic ideas that led to the establishment of the nation of Australia. Told by those who were part of the adventure, the book is abundant with original source materials, including diaries, journals, books, letters, official reports, Parliamentary inquiries, press reports, paintings, drawings, and photographs.
Kindle Edition
First published September 23, 2010
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About the author
David Hill
8 books19 followersDuring his remarkable career, David Hill has been chairman then managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation; chairman of the Australian Football Association; chief executive and director of the State Rail Authority; chairman of Sydney Water Corporation; a fellow of the Sydney University Senate; and chairman of CREATE (an organisation representing Australian children in institutional care).
He has held a number of other executive appointments and committee chair positions in the areas of sport, transport, international radio broadcasting, international news providers, politics, fiscal management and city parks.
David came from England to Australia in 1959 under the Fairbridge Farm School Child Migrant scheme. He left school at 15, then returned to complete his Master's degree in economics while working as an economics tutor at Sydney University.
He has held a number of other executive appointments and committee chair positions in the areas of sport, transport, international radio broadcasting, international news providers, politics, fiscal management and city parks.
David came from England to Australia in 1959 under the Fairbridge Farm School Child Migrant scheme. He left school at 15, then returned to complete his Master's degree in economics while working as an economics tutor at Sydney University.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 8, 2021
A very readable popular history of the various gold rushes in each of the Australian colonies. Like his book about the First Fleet ‘1788’, Hill makes extensive use of primary sources. He often quotes extensively from the same source, thereby building up a nicely detailed impression of an individual’s experience of the goldfields. You get a feel for the resilience of the miners and their families and the conflicts between the diggers and the authorities which played out at each field. Hill also acknowledges the barbarity of European diggers towards the aboriginal inhabitants and the Chinese who came to make their fortune here.
Okay so it’s not the most scholarly Australian history you will ever read but if you want to know about the origins of each major discovery, its protagonists and how the rush played out before the onset of industrial scale quartz mining most of what you will need to know is in this book.
Okay so it’s not the most scholarly Australian history you will ever read but if you want to know about the origins of each major discovery, its protagonists and how the rush played out before the onset of industrial scale quartz mining most of what you will need to know is in this book.
June 8, 2023
This took me a while to get through because most of it is a bit dry. I struggled with the descriptions of the Chinese persecutions. Guess we Aussies are racist from way back and I hope we get over it sooner rather than later. All that aside, the Lassiter's reef section was fascinating. I also hadn't realized the first gold found was in areas I myself have panned (badly...I wash it all down the creek gold specks included) which made it more personal to me.
October 18, 2017
The Gold Rush is a bit of a mish-mash of a book in some ways; the back cover blurb states "David Hill brings the people and events of Australia's great gold-rush years brilliantly to life, using the diaries, journals, books, letters, official reports, parliamentary inquiries and newspaper articles of the time, along with his own renowned skills as a master storyteller." Hill certainly uses all these sources, and his eye for a good story is both a strength and a weakness of this book.
This is not really a history of the gold rush in the same way that Geoffrey Blainey's Rush that never ended is a history of the gold rush. There is no real in-depth look at society, the economics of the gold-rush, or any long term narrative on how the various rushes affected the country; this is a book that is at it's core a set of chapters covering the initial rush to most of the major goldfields in Australia. As such it is a list of dates and places, illuminated by apposite quotes from contemporary sources as they fit the bill. Hill does go into some detail about the Eureka Rebellion, and talks at some length through the book about the plight of the many thousands of Chinese that came to Australia to try their luck. There is almost no discussion of what happened when the alluvial gold ran out, and mining became a capitalist enterprise, with shareholders, labourers and managers. This could not be the only book for someone who wants to know the full story (there is at least a bibliography, to assist in further reading).
Hill has an eye for a good story, and while the book as a whole is well-written, in an easy-to-digest style, it sometimes veers a little off the "main lead" of the story. Four or five pages on the life of Lola Montez is too much setup for her cameo in Australian history (horsewhipping a newspaper editor in Ballarat); no matter how good the story of her life may be, 99.8% of it has nothing to do with Australian gold rushes.
In fact the whole last chapter, which is a nice recap of the Lasseter mystery really has nothing to do with the gold rush per se, as no gold was ever found in that disastrous venture. However, it does tie back in to one of the central threads in the story Hill has for us here, no matter where in Australia he takes us - "gold fever". The book is chapter after chapter of men dropping everything they have for the lure of finding gold. Mostly what they found was hardship and privation, but many of them did make a living from the fields, and managed to make a go of their lives.
As an introduction to the amazing world of the Australian gold rushes, The Gold Rush does it's job - it's a well written concise account of the major events - however, for the interested reader it is not a one-stop shop - you would need to move on to meatier fare.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
This is not really a history of the gold rush in the same way that Geoffrey Blainey's Rush that never ended is a history of the gold rush. There is no real in-depth look at society, the economics of the gold-rush, or any long term narrative on how the various rushes affected the country; this is a book that is at it's core a set of chapters covering the initial rush to most of the major goldfields in Australia. As such it is a list of dates and places, illuminated by apposite quotes from contemporary sources as they fit the bill. Hill does go into some detail about the Eureka Rebellion, and talks at some length through the book about the plight of the many thousands of Chinese that came to Australia to try their luck. There is almost no discussion of what happened when the alluvial gold ran out, and mining became a capitalist enterprise, with shareholders, labourers and managers. This could not be the only book for someone who wants to know the full story (there is at least a bibliography, to assist in further reading).
Hill has an eye for a good story, and while the book as a whole is well-written, in an easy-to-digest style, it sometimes veers a little off the "main lead" of the story. Four or five pages on the life of Lola Montez is too much setup for her cameo in Australian history (horsewhipping a newspaper editor in Ballarat); no matter how good the story of her life may be, 99.8% of it has nothing to do with Australian gold rushes.
In fact the whole last chapter, which is a nice recap of the Lasseter mystery really has nothing to do with the gold rush per se, as no gold was ever found in that disastrous venture. However, it does tie back in to one of the central threads in the story Hill has for us here, no matter where in Australia he takes us - "gold fever". The book is chapter after chapter of men dropping everything they have for the lure of finding gold. Mostly what they found was hardship and privation, but many of them did make a living from the fields, and managed to make a go of their lives.
As an introduction to the amazing world of the Australian gold rushes, The Gold Rush does it's job - it's a well written concise account of the major events - however, for the interested reader it is not a one-stop shop - you would need to move on to meatier fare.
Check out my other reviews at http://aviewoverthebell.blogspot.com.au/
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 15, 2013
This is an academic book for history students. It has considerable primary source material and delivers a convincing account of the short chronology of the various Gold Rush events across Australia in the mid 19th century. The writer remains at arms length from the action at all times and the book lacks a little personality as a result. It is a book that feels compiled rather than written and those looking for a story or narrative thread beyond the Rush as a phenomenon may be disappointed. That said I was able to trust what I read as fact and for my purposes, (researching a fiction) this was a very good read. If you want the Winslet/Dicaprio Titaniic this is not the Gold Rush book for you, if you want to learn about the Gold RUsh in Australia read it.
March 6, 2018
Due to the California gold rush, many people were leaving Australia to seek the fortune over the seas. The government then promised a reward for the person who found a payable source of gold, that is lots of lots of gold to attract people to return and/or come to Australia. It doesn’t sound like a good idea to me and of course, there are always controversies involved with this. And in NSW, the man who claimed this reward was embroiled in suits for at least 40 years and ended only by the deaths of all involved (all old men by this stage!).
I should say it’s surprising at what length people will go for gold but it really didn’t. Australian country is harsh and most of those who went looking for gold were not prepared for this climate. Many perished yet at time of salvation, some refused to leave their stakes!
An interesting overview of the gold rush in Australia but only an overview as the book feels a little bit all over the place. It provide bits & pieces of gold rush facts around each of the Australian States & Territories and then the arrival of the Chinese miners and consequences thereafter. The book didn’t particularly engage me but I feel it was a fairly good intro to the subject.
I should say it’s surprising at what length people will go for gold but it really didn’t. Australian country is harsh and most of those who went looking for gold were not prepared for this climate. Many perished yet at time of salvation, some refused to leave their stakes!
An interesting overview of the gold rush in Australia but only an overview as the book feels a little bit all over the place. It provide bits & pieces of gold rush facts around each of the Australian States & Territories and then the arrival of the Chinese miners and consequences thereafter. The book didn’t particularly engage me but I feel it was a fairly good intro to the subject.
July 24, 2022
This is a good popular history replete with great anecdotes and a plethora of primary source quotes which certainly helped give the feel of the times. The book focuses on the gold rushes as they emerged in each state and highlights the major players and fields. I now have a very sound overview of the period. It certainly explores the short-term effects of gold in each of the colonies/states with interesting data. What it doesn't do is provide an in-depth description of the long-term effects of gold rushes in Australia. That is probably the missing chapter. It is well worth a read for anyone wanting to get an interesting overview of the period...which was my purpose.
July 31, 2020
I especially liked the focus on particular characters and how the fit into general history. As one would expect from a history book there is an incredible amount of detail, but I din;t find it dull at any point. I felt like I was there watching the events. Really enjoyed this one, and it increased my already strong love of history.
January 3, 2024
This book is simply incredible. So well written and engaging. Every chapter had me captivated. One of the best history books I've had the privilege of reading. I was camping during my read-through and every night my family would ask "so what's happened in the book now" and I would recap the crazy things I'd read and share that with the group, as they were just as into it as I was.
June 23, 2019
A great insight into life on the Australian gold fields and the impact the rush had on society.
October 8, 2023
"What good a reef worth millions? I would give it all for a loaf of bread" - HL
November 2, 2025
Hargraves’ 1849 California gold rush experiences led him to successfully explore for similar terrains in 1851 NSW. Even richer discoveries awaited in Victoria
June 3, 2015
Review title: There's gold in those hills--down under
Australia experienced gold rushes in the second half of the 19th century following and paralleling the California gold rush of 1849. In fact, the first big gold discovery was by an Australian who had been to the California gold fields and, recognizing the terrain and geology as similar to his homeland, returned thinking to find gold there as well.
Or so he claimed in his later stories when he was trying to justify his reward for the discovery. David Hill does a fine job of narrating this history, including others who claimed they were first. Of course "first" is relative, because the gold was always there and had previously been found--just in quantities thought too small to be worth the cultural and economic naming as a "rush". Starting first in New South Wales, then Victoria, then counter clockwise around the continent, some amounts of gold accessible by human-powered surface-mining technique was discovered in basically every state in Australia.
In fact, as Hill documents, two facts were more important than the gold rushes and the riches that a few individuals made from them:
1. The sudden explosion in population in Australia in all states shaped the the future demographic, economic, and political state. In fact, the federated country of Australia owes its existence in large part due to votes from miners in the field in favor of a unified national government.
2. The rapid change from individuals using cheap but inefficient surface-mining techniques to steam-powered deep mining techniques signaled a transition from a spirit of rugged individualism to a modern corporation-based capital/labor system.
Both transitions played key roles in catapulting Australia, so geographically isolated and so historically young, unto the world stage as a vital and important part of the British Empire and then the developed world.
Hill also tells the individual tales of winners and losers, including the aboriginals who gave way and the Chinese who stayed despite persecution and mob violence--ironically, for being too independent, frugal, and hard-working for a supposedly "individualist" culture--ultimately, for being too visibly different and an easy target for blame. And the strange tale of Harold Lasseter and his "lost" gold reef is a fitting and fascinating end to the era and the book, and a reminder that despite the civilizing influence of gold, the continent down under still has a backbone of wildness at it core.
Australia experienced gold rushes in the second half of the 19th century following and paralleling the California gold rush of 1849. In fact, the first big gold discovery was by an Australian who had been to the California gold fields and, recognizing the terrain and geology as similar to his homeland, returned thinking to find gold there as well.
Or so he claimed in his later stories when he was trying to justify his reward for the discovery. David Hill does a fine job of narrating this history, including others who claimed they were first. Of course "first" is relative, because the gold was always there and had previously been found--just in quantities thought too small to be worth the cultural and economic naming as a "rush". Starting first in New South Wales, then Victoria, then counter clockwise around the continent, some amounts of gold accessible by human-powered surface-mining technique was discovered in basically every state in Australia.
In fact, as Hill documents, two facts were more important than the gold rushes and the riches that a few individuals made from them:
1. The sudden explosion in population in Australia in all states shaped the the future demographic, economic, and political state. In fact, the federated country of Australia owes its existence in large part due to votes from miners in the field in favor of a unified national government.
2. The rapid change from individuals using cheap but inefficient surface-mining techniques to steam-powered deep mining techniques signaled a transition from a spirit of rugged individualism to a modern corporation-based capital/labor system.
Both transitions played key roles in catapulting Australia, so geographically isolated and so historically young, unto the world stage as a vital and important part of the British Empire and then the developed world.
Hill also tells the individual tales of winners and losers, including the aboriginals who gave way and the Chinese who stayed despite persecution and mob violence--ironically, for being too independent, frugal, and hard-working for a supposedly "individualist" culture--ultimately, for being too visibly different and an easy target for blame. And the strange tale of Harold Lasseter and his "lost" gold reef is a fitting and fascinating end to the era and the book, and a reminder that despite the civilizing influence of gold, the continent down under still has a backbone of wildness at it core.
February 24, 2014
An excellent book, clearly and entertainingly told.
August 11, 2014
A good popular introduction to the Goldrushes. Some interesting anecdotes are retold but if you want a more in-depth analysis of what the Goldrushes meant for Australia this isn't the book.
May 11, 2016
I normally like Hill's work, but this book seemed hastily put together. There are often clear date errors that make it difficult to understand the chronology of events.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews