On his return he immediately searched for the
precious metal; Ophir, the Turon, and Bathurst well repaid his labour.
Thus commenced the gold-diggings of New South Wales.
The good people of Victoria were rather jealous of the importance given
by these events to the other colony. Committees were formed and rewards
were offered for the discovery of a gold-field in Victoria. The
announcement of the Clunes diggings in July 1851 was the result; they
were situated on a tributary of the Lodden. On 8 September those of
Ballarat, and on the 10th those of Mount Alexander completely satisfied
the most sceptical as to the vast mineral wealth of the colony. Bendigo
soon was heard of, and gully after gully successfully attracted the
attention of the public by the display of their golden treasures.
EFFECTS OF THE GOLD DISCOVERY
+Source.+--The Gold Digger (Rev. David Mackenzie, M.A.), pp. 28-31
The excitement produced throughout the colonies, but especially in
Sydney and Melbourne, by the publication of the gold discovery, may be
inferred from the following facts: In one week upwards of 2,000 persons
were counted on the road to the Bathurst diggings, and only eleven
coming down.
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