Life on The Goldfields
Life on the goldfields were extremely hard. But despite all the difficult things, they gave it their all and eventually found gold. Sadly, not all of the people found gold, even if they tried their best. But lets start from the beginning. Whilst everyone was busy completing their jobs, the government discovered gold in a particular area. They did not share this special information, not until the prime minister announced that gold was discovered near Ballarat in the 1800’s.
After this announcement, millions of people from all over the world came to Australia, to try their luck on the goldfields. Soon children, women and men were digging while holding onto their life. Food was scarce, and people were dying of thirst. Now you might be thinking how on earth do children around 10 years old would do such a job. Of course the children didn’t go, just because they wanted to, but they went to the goldfield because they were sent by their families who were extremely poor and could not afford enough food for the family. Children worked in mills, factories and mines as scavengers.
As the days passed by some people began to find their first nuggets of gold, while others came back to their hometown, only becoming poorer. Soon mining licenses were made and levy’s were paid. But all of the miners had enough, and demanded for their vote and better conditions. Of course the Gold Commissioner ignored this and sent soldiers to announce the new law. The miners did not listen and by electing a man named Peter Lalor to be their leader, burned their license and decided to build a stockade. Many miners were sent to court and others died.
As you can see, life on the goldfields wasn’t all fun and games. It was absolutely hard, but all the miners put their blood, sweat and tears into finding gold, to claim themselves and their families rich. But it wasn’t used on buying alcohol or having any large bets or ransoms. The gold would be used to purchase food and drinks and also to pay the landlord. We should all be inspired by the incredible work and not only does it tell us a piece of our history, but it tells us a moral : Even though times are hard, we can all endure them by remembering the ones we love the most- our families.
After this announcement, millions of people from all over the world came to Australia, to try their luck on the goldfields. Soon children, women and men were digging while holding onto their life. Food was scarce, and people were dying of thirst. Now you might be thinking how on earth do children around 10 years old would do such a job. Of course the children didn’t go, just because they wanted to, but they went to the goldfield because they were sent by their families who were extremely poor and could not afford enough food for the family. Children worked in mills, factories and mines as scavengers.
As the days passed by some people began to find their first nuggets of gold, while others came back to their hometown, only becoming poorer. Soon mining licenses were made and levy’s were paid. But all of the miners had enough, and demanded for their vote and better conditions. Of course the Gold Commissioner ignored this and sent soldiers to announce the new law. The miners did not listen and by electing a man named Peter Lalor to be their leader, burned their license and decided to build a stockade. Many miners were sent to court and others died.
As you can see, life on the goldfields wasn’t all fun and games. It was absolutely hard, but all the miners put their blood, sweat and tears into finding gold, to claim themselves and their families rich. But it wasn’t used on buying alcohol or having any large bets or ransoms. The gold would be used to purchase food and drinks and also to pay the landlord. We should all be inspired by the incredible work and not only does it tell us a piece of our history, but it tells us a moral : Even though times are hard, we can all endure them by remembering the ones we love the most- our families.