1851 in Australia city in the Dandenong Ranges, Belgrave was first settled, making it the oldest town in the Dandenong Ranges. Governors of the Australian colonies: 1851 in Australia 1851 in Australia was a watershed year. It saw the start of the Australian gold rushes with significant gold discoveries in both New South Wales (near Bathurst) in February and Victoria in July. As a result of the Gold Rushes, the European population of Victoria increased from 97,489 in 1851 to 538,628 in 1861 and the population of NSW increased from 197,265 in 1851 to 350,860 in 1861. Victoria became a self-governing colony. Sentiment
New South Wales gold rush a universal rush to the diggings." Largely due to the gold receipts into the colonial government treasury bringing immense wealth to the colony of New South Wales, the British Government, in 1854, authorised the establishment of the Sydney Mint. This was the first Royal Mint to be established outside England. Ten years after the start of the gold rush in 1851 the population of New South Wales had grown from 200,000 to 357,000 people, an increase of 78%. A very productive gold field surrounded the area of Hill End. This is the location of the world's largest piece of gold-bearing