From Australia’s Past: Striking Gold in Australia – when and where did it begin
A little-known fact is that the very first gold found in 1851 in New South Wales by Edward Hargreaves, was actually given a Hebrew name – ‘’Ophir’’ – the name and place in the bible famous for its gold and wealth.
Victoria’s gold rush began in 1851 and, over the next ten years, close to 600,000 people flowed into the region in search of their fortune. 1,000 tons of gold were found in that first decade, worth 110,000,000 pounds in the currency at the time.
The gold rush years created a huge impact on Australia as a whole, inspiring remote settlements that became large cities. From largely convict colonies, free Jewish immigrants from the world over bolstered local economies and thus grew the development of the modern Australian nation. In the first half of the nineteenth century, 90% of Australian Jews were estimated to be of Anglo descent. In the first years of the gold rushes, Jews would soon make up half of the Jewish population in the colony.
And so came Jewish Settlement on the Goldfields
Ballarat was one of the most well-known Jewish settlements, situated in the heart of gold-mining country, where three million pounds of gold was found in the first four years.
Life was extremely hard, with primitive conditions and few amenities. Water, food and housing was scarce, and business was conducted in tents, sheds, shacks — the crudest of shelters.
Many Jews found it more lucrative to go into business becoming traders and exporters of the gold found. Others opened shops, selling mining equipment, jewellery, tailors, publicans, pawnbrokers, fruiterers, butchers, bakers, grocers, tradespeople, and clothiers.
A gold nugget found at Ballarat
1854 saw the revolt against unjust government licensing, known as the Eureka Stockade. Charles Dye, a Jew, took a leading part in the diggers’ revolt and later became mayor of Ballarat.
1858 was a very exciting year, when the Wittowski brothers, once tobacconists, purchased the famous 70-kilogram Welcome Nugget in Ballarat. The brothers took the nugget on tour as well as it being exhibited in Sydney, and it was then transported to Crystal Palace in London. The Royal Mint bought it in November 1959 and minted gold sovereigns out of it.
Another milestone was 1853 when a small group of Jewish miners gathered together to hold a Yom Kippur service in the Clarendon Hotel Ballarat, owned by Henry Harris, a Jewish businessman. The chazzan who led the service wore the red shirt and high boots of the gold digger, and the worshipers were mainly immigrants who no doubt remembered many different kinds of services in their home countries — yet these rough men were committed to honouring their faith and their traditions. A Synagogue was built in 1861 which still stands today. In these early years, Ballarat was regarded as the centre of Orthodox Judaism in Australia.
The Australian Jewish Historical Society is the keeper of archives from the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 right up to today. Whether you are searching for an academic resource, an event, a picture or an article, AJHS can help you find that piece of historical material.
The AJHS welcome your contributions to the archives. If you are a descendent of someone of interest with a story to tell, or you have memorabilia which might be of significance for the archive, please make contact via www.ajhs.com.au and of its Facebook page.
“In the first years of the gold rushes, Jews would soon make up half of the Jewish population in the colony.” Who were the other half?