1. MELBOURNE – 1

2. ‘When the gold rush first began business,
Melbourne came to a standstill as people of all
trades and professions went off to the diggings
leaving the city almost deserted. A year later,
hundreds of new shops, hotels and businesses
were making small fortunes from the thousands
of diggers who passed through the city in the
way to the gold fields. The streets of Melbourne
were crowed with lucky miners on spending
sprees, with newly arrived colonials buying
supplies and mining equipment. Adding to all
this chaos were the immigrant gold seekers,
numbering about 250 a day, who were arriving
by ships for all over the world!!!’

3. QUESTION ONE
• After three months at sea the first sight
that greeted the immigrants on their arrival
in Victoria was the hundreds of vessels,
many of them deserted, that crowed
Hobson’s Bay. Write about why so many
of these ships were unable to leave the
colony…..

4. Why Hobson's Bay?
• At the time of Melbourne’s founding in 1835, the
river Yarra was too shallow (about three meters
in depth) to allow large ships to travel any great
distance upstream.
• Therefore most of the bigger ships had to anchor
at Hobson's Bay.
• Ships came from across the world including
America, China and England.
• Reports suggest that during the peak of the gold
rush in 1853 there were about 18 ships arriving
in Hobson's bay every day.

5. Map of Hobson’s Bay

6. Why were the ships deserted?
A) After the long journey to Australia, the ships
were too old and worn out to be used again.
B) The passengers had reached their final
destination of Australia, so they didn’t need the
ships anymore.
C) The majority of the passengers, the ships crew
and also some of the Captains all deserted the
ships they had arrived on to run off and join the
Gold Rush!

7. Why were the ships deserted?
• Everyone arriving in Australia at this time had ‘Gold Fever’. Not just the
passengers, but the ships crew and the ships Captains had also heard
about the discovery of GOLD and wanted to get rich too!
• Therefore, many of ships' crews and Captains abandoned their vessels
once they arrived in Australia, to try their luck on the gold fields.
• There were an extremely large amount of empty ships in the Bay - up to
278 in 1854,

8. Why were the ships
unable to leave?
• A) There were no crew or Captains to sail
the ships back to Britain because all the
men and woman had run off to the Gold
Rush.
• B) The Journey back to Britain was too
dangerous.
• C) As soon as the ships entered
Australian waters, the Government of
Victoria claimed the ships as their own.

9. Why were the ships
unable to leave?
• Because all the captains and crew, had run off with the
passengers to join the hunt for gold, no other crew could
be found, so the ships just sat there, unable to leave.
• Captains found it impossible find a crew for the journey
back to England. A sailor would be paid £40 or £50 for
his work on the return journey back to England.
• But this was not sufficient inducement to tempt sailors
away from this marvellous land of gold!!!!!!
• Some abandoned ships also became floating boarding
houses and the Government even took some to house
prisoners.

10. EMPRESS OF THE SEAS
• In August 1861, Empress of
the Sea berthed in Melbourne
after its voyage from England.
• Some of the crew deserted the
ship to seek their fortunes on
the goldfields and new crew
had to be found.
• The Gold rush also lured farm
labourers and city workers,
creating a shortage in the
labour market and a downturn
in export trade.
• So, it was many, many, many
months before Empress of the
Sea had sufficient cargo and
crew to return to England.

11. QUESTION TWO
• For most immigrants the ordeal of getting from
ship to the city was just the start of a very
unpleasant time spent in Melbourne. Write about
what it was like for people arriving by ship in the
1850’s -
- Why was it difficult to get ashore?
- Why did so many people throw their belongings
overboard?
- How did the get from Hobson's Bay to the city?

12. Why was it difficult to get ashore?
• People and their cargo
were loaded into small
boats and taken from
their large sailing ships to
the closest beach.
• The water was rough and
Hobson’s bay was
already crowed with
boats, which made the
journey difficult.
• Horses and cattle were
driven down the ramps
and they had to swim
ashore.

13. Why did so many people throw
their belongings overboard?
• A) Peoples clothes had become damaged on the
journey over to Australia, so they thought they
would throw them away and buy new clothes
when they reached Melbourne.
• B) The journey ahead was long, tiresome and
difficult at times, so there was just no room for
people to carry their belonging with them or to
take them with them on the journey ahead.
• C) To prevent the boats from sinking on the
journey to the mainland.

14. Why did so many people throw
their belongings overboard?
• The journey was not easy for
the immigrants.
• People had to be taken to the
shore in little boats, and
sometimes there was no room
for their luggage.
• Also the journey from the
beach to Melbourne was a
long and tiring journey through
swamp land, and extra
luggage would have slowed
the gold seekers down. So
they got rid of it overboard.
• Sometimes, the ship’s crew
would take the passengers
cargo in other boats for them,
but often the crew would just
dump the cargo on the sand
and mud or they were lost or
damaged before their owners
could collect them.

15. How did they get from Hobson’s
Bay to the city?
• A) By foot
• B) By horse and cart
• C) By train
• D) By small boats
• E) All of the above

16. How did they get from Hobson’s
Bay to the city?
• In the beginning when they
arrived, many passengers
faced the difficult journey from
the beach, through the swamp
land to Melbourne by cart or
on foot.
• Some people also took a
smaller boat up the Yarra river
to Melbourne.
• However, both of these options
were unpopular, long and
tiring…thus a new solution was
needed!
• The Melbourne and Hobson's
Bay Railway Company
conceived of a scheme to link
Melbourne to the bay with a
rail line and a large, deep
water pier in Hobson's Bay.
Now people could catch the
train to Melbourne!

17. Melbourne - 2

18. Question One
• Once they reached Melbourne, new
arrivals discovered that everything in the
city was incredibly expensive. Write about
how and why it was so hard to find
accommodation. What other problems did
the immigrants face?

19. Accommodation shortage
• The number of arrivals
seeking gold was so vast
that accommodation was
a huge problem in
Melbourne.
• There was simply not
enough accommodation
(houses, guest houses,
hotels) for the amount of
people arriving during the
Gold Rush.

20. What other problems did the
immigrants face?
• Melbourne was a wild colonial
town where packs of dogs
roamed the streets and men
carried guns in their belts.
• The sound of gunfire and
brawling rang in the street
every night.
• Bushrangers roamed the
countryside around the town.
• Dust, flies, mud, swamps,
disease caused further
aggravation.
• The famous Melbourne climate
was much too hot for an
Englishman, and prone to flash
flooding.
• Flooding washed rubbish out
to sea, but took livestock along
with it!!!

21. Question Two
• Many people had no choice but to sleep outside
and by late 1852 there were 7000 people
camped in a area south of the Yarra River. Write
about life in this tent city -
- What was it called?
- How much did it cost to stay there?
- What sorts of businesses were set up in tents
to serve the temporary residents?
- What sorts of problems did the residences
face?

22. • What was this tent city called?
A) Canvas Town
B) Tent Town
C) Yarra River Tent City
• How much did it cost to stay there?
A) Five Shillings per week per tent
B) One Pound per week per tent
C) Ten Shillings per week per tent

23. Canvas Town!

24. Life in the Tents

25. What sorts of businesses were set
up in the tents to serve the
residences?
A) General Stores
B) Butcher Shops
C) Doctors
D) All of the above and
more!

26. What sorts of businesses were set
up in the tents to serve the
residences?
• General Stores
• Guest Houses
• Butcher Shops
• Bakers
• Doctors
• Blacksmiths
• Dressmakers

27. What sort of problems did the
residence face?
• Life in the Canvas Town was
very unappealing….
• Most tents were just a sheet of
old canvas or sailcloth draped
over a couple of sticks in the
ground.
• Because of this many tents fell
down in the first storm/strong
winds or the would often roofs
leak.
• It was once described as 'a
floating city devoured by the
sun, inundated by the rain and
swept away by the wind'

28. • During the day
- it was hot and there were flies everywhere
- There were no proper toilets, showers, baths or sewage
systems.
- Disease was common ( in1853 a fever epidemic hit)
- Crime was a problem
Would you like to live here??

29. Question Three
• Most people stayed in Melbourne long enough to
equip themselves for the diggings. Write about
the problems that they had buying supplies and
mining equipment –
- What basic tools and provisions did the new
diggers need?
- What sorts of things were offered for sale?
- Why do you think many immigrants were fooled
into buying all sorts of useless equipment?

31. What basic tools and provisions did
the new diggers need?
• A diggers' toolkit included a
wide tin pan, pick axes,
spades, shovels, a
wheelbarrow, axes,
trowels, iron wedges, metal
buckets.
• A miners license
• Miners purchased these
tools from a general store
or they bought them off
exhausted diggers leaving
the goldfields because the
stores had run out of
supplies.

32. Why do you think many immigrants
were fooled into buying all sorts of
useless equipment?
• Because these people
had GOLD FEVER! They
wanted to get rich so
badly that they would
have believed anything.
• Some people would have
bought anything if you
told them it would
guarantee that they would
find GOLD!

33. MELBOURNE - 3

34. Question One
• From 1845 to 1856
Melbourne was
radically transformed
from poverty to
splendour! Write
about the effects,
good and bad, that
the Gold Rush had on
the city of Melbourne.
• (Collins st, 1858)

35. What good effects that the Gold
rush had on the city of Melbourne?
• Transport was built (train lines,
roads, ship ports)
• The arrival of more and more
immigrants, boosted the
economy.
• New businesses opened up
and existing businesses and
companies grew and
expanded (eg: In April 1852,
there were only two banks in
the state however, the
situation rapidly changed with
branches becoming
established on every
significant goldfield)
(Charted Bank of Australia 1862)

36. More good things…
• Gold provided the
wealth and the
confidence about the
future which
stimulated the
construction of
several important city
buildings
• (State Library, 1854)

37. What bad effects did the Gold Rush
have on the city of Melbourne?
• Whenever there was a new found discovery of
gold, all the diggers in Melbourne would rush off
to the new found goldfield and leave the city
deserted for weeks.
• http://www.egold.net.au/biogs/EG00013b.htm
• An agitated Governor La Trobe writes to Earl
Grey describing the upheavals caused by the
discovery of gold. This letter from La Trobe to
Earl Grey was written on 10 October 1851.

38. More bad effects….
• Everything in Melbourne was very
expensive during the Gold rush.
• Crime rates increased.
• The increased amounts of people coming
to Melbourne, increased incidences of
disease.
• Can you think of any more…

39. Melbourne -3

40. Question Two
• What was life in Melbourne like during the
Gold Rush? Write about the city, the
businesses and the shops and the types
of entertainment available for lucky
diggers who had money to spend.

41. What was Melbourne like?
• Melbourne was a major
‘Boomtown’ during the
gold rush (grew very
rapidly).
• The wharfs were always
jammed with newly
arrived gold seekers.
• New businesses had to
be established to deal
with the new arrivals.

42. Businesses & Shops
• Banks • Restaurants
• Grocery Stores • Guest Houses/Hotels
• Doctors
• Butcher
• Hospitals
• Blacksmiths • Coffee shops
• General stores • Churches
• Tailors • Schools
• Candy Shops
• Jewellers

43. Entertainment
• There was no TV, no Xbox, no
movies….. What did the people
living in Melbourne in the 19th
Century do for entertainment…
• Dances & Balls
• Shopping
• Played sport
• Theatre
• Gambling
• Can you think of any more?

44. The Melbourne Club
Built in 1856 - The exclusive club proved a haven for very wealthy gentlemen,
with the new premises sporting a billiard room, a card room and numerous
lounges. They would hold balls and parties here, for the rich people of
Melbourne

45. Diggers Journal -
• Pretend you have just arrived in
Melbourne on your way to the Victorian
Goldfields. Write about…
– Your impressions of the city
– The accommodation that you will find
– Your shopping expedition to buy supplies and
mining equipment for the diggings.

46. Your Impressions of Melbourne
When the gold rush first began business, Melbourne came to a standstill as
people of all trades and professions went off to the diggings leaving the city
almost deserted. A year later, hundreds of new shops, hotels and businesses
were making small fortunes from the thousands of diggers who passed
through the city in the way to the gold fields. The streets of Melbourne were
crowed with lucky miners on spending sprees, with newly arrived colonials
buying supplies and mining equipment. Adding to all this chaos were the
immigrant gold seekers, numbering about 250 a day, who were arriving by
ships for all over the world!!!’

47. The accommodation that you will
find?
• The number of arrivals seeking
gold was so vast that
accommodation was a huge
problem in Melbourne.
• People had to live in tents, and
they formed their own tent city
on the banks of the Yarra
River known as ‘Canvas
Town’.
• Living in the tents was not
nice,
– There was little shelter from
the heat.
– No running water,
– No sewage systems
– Disease was common
– The tents were poorly built

48. Buying supplies & equipment

49. Buying supplies & equipment

50. Off to the Diggings - 1
• Question 1: Write about the route from
Melbourne to the diggings at Mount
Alexander or Bendigo.
– How far was it?
– What were the roads like?
– How were they affected by the weather?

51. How far was it?

52. What were the roads like?
• In winter, rains turned dirt roads into knee-
deep mud.
• Main roads became raging rivers.
• In summer, hot winds whipped up dust
storms. People tied veils around their
heads to protect their eyes and nostrils.
• Deep potholes claimed many victims.
• There was also the constant risk of being
trampled by galloping horses

53. Question Two
• Write about the difference between a ‘new
chum’ and ‘an old hand’
• New Chum = a patronising term for
someone who is new at something or a
‘novice’
• Old Hand = a respective term for someone
who is an experienced workman