Responses to Gold

The discovery of gold in Australia provided a new outlet for aspirations of a young, ambitious and growing population. The prospect of instant wealth and the associated rise up the social ladder, particularly for a population still very much influenced by its convict roots. The redistribution of wealth, and the dissolving of the traditional social classes is something that both the underclass craved, while the upper class feared.

With the discovery of Gold in Victoria, Melbourne became the largest exporter of Gold in the world. This newfound wealth allowed not just people to improve themselves, but also the society to improve. The Parliament building and the Imperial edifices’ in central Melbourne highlight the wealth that was available to the state. The building of public works, and the dissemination of wealth throughout the population allowed for a growing sense of purpose and potential. 

While gold bought a new sense of potential and hope, it also bought with it many complications. Financial responsibility is one of the many downward concerns of the upper class. They argued that many prospectors after striking lucky, were not known for their fiscal austerity, and were rather more likely to waste their new found wealth on the goldfields, instead of investing the money in responsible ways. The lower classes however had upward conflicts of their own when it comes to representation in Parliament, as well as breaking the squatocracy stranglehold on land ownership. The independence afforded by the ownership of ones own land, allowed one to improve himself without relying on another for employment and finances.

While these are more internal conflicts, newly growing national and imperial sentiments bought about racism and discrimination which had a more unifying and outward repercussions. The arrival of particularly the Chinese in Australia, chasing the wealth of gold, provided an added and in many cases, unwanted dimension to the goldfields. Thousands of Chinese workers migrated to Australia to strike gold, with the intent of sending it home to support their families. Not only were they generally harder workers than many of the Anglo prospectors, they generally would work for less money. This division and early segregation in society helped for form the basis of the White Australia Policy. This combined with the unity seen at events like Eureka, helped to build a lower and middle class strength that still exists in Australia today. And all of these sentiments can be attributed to the discovery of gold at a critical point in Australia’s history.

Source: Gare & Ritter, Making Australian History (Perspectives on the past since 1788), CENGAGE Learning, 1st Edition

This photo highlights the ruggen and manly aspect of the goldfields. It shows elements of camaraderie but also the hardship endured by prospectors on the goldfields.
(http://www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/galleries/2009/2476471/8.htm)