In the early days of the colony NSW was a struggling settlement and agriculture formed the basis of the economy. As the colony expanded, the sheep and wool industry played an important role in the developing economy.
But in the 1850s the gold rush in NSW and Victoria provided the wealth and confidence about the future which stimulated enormous growth. This growth spread to Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia as gold was discovered.
Try playing through this interactive Scootle resource about gold mining in Ballarat.
Complete an Internet search to follow the gold rush to other parts of Australia, such as Gympie, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie. Use the information gathered to construct a timeline (login required, can use G Suite account) of gold mining in Australia. For each location, include information like date of first discovery, how long the goldfields were active, and population at different times.
Using Scribble Maps, mark and label four places outside NSW and Victoria where gold was discovered.
1. See how new technologies and patents developed as gold mining changed from alluvial to reef mining. Choose (DOCX 125kB) to write a newspaper article, advertise one of the new technologies described or invent your own method or machine to extract gold.
2. Follow the economic growth of towns and cities as the demand for products and services created new businesses, and the development of primary and secondary industries, during and after the gold rushes.
Create a table showing the types of industries (DOCX 123kB) that sprung up in Bendigo as a result of the gold rush.