Victorian gold rush Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capital for Melbourne, which was dubbed "Marvellous Melbourne" as a result of the procurement of wealth. The Victorian Gold Discovery Committee wrote in 1854: For a number of years the gold output from Victoria was greater than in any other country in the world with the exception of the more extensive fields of California. Victoria's greatest yield
Australian gold rushes Birdwood, Para Wirra, Mount Pleasant and Woodside. Gold was found in Queensland near Warwick as early as 1851, beginning small-scale alluvial gold mining in that state. The first Queensland goldrush did not occur until late 1858, however, after the discovery of what was rumoured to be payable gold for a large number of men at Canoona near what was to become the town of Rockhampton. According to legend this gold was found at Canoona near Rockhampton by a man named Chappie (or Chapel) in July or August 1858. The gold in the area, however, had first been found north of