He did not want to share the government reward so he claimed to have found the nuggets himself. Lister and the Tom brothers later found large gold nuggets. On February 12, 1851, Hargraves discovered flecks of gold in Lewis Ponds Creek. Hargraves taught the team different ways to look for gold.

He assembled a team of miners: John Lister and three brothers, William, James, and Henry Tom.

Hargraves went to the Bathurst region in east-central New South Wales to find gold. The government then claimed that he had brought the gold from California.įor many years Edward Hammond Hargraves was credited as the first person to find payable gold in Australia. In 1849 Smith went back to the government to ask for a reward for his discovery. To reverse these issues, the government offered a reward for the discovery of large amounts of gold in the colony. The loss of colonists caused a shortage of workers and an economic downturn. The New South Wales government changed its approach after thousands of people left the colony to head to California in North America for the gold rush of 1848. The colonial governments feared the discovery of gold would lead to an increase in crime or a convict uprising.

England had established the colonies as penal settlements, places where criminals were sent to live. However, when he told the government about his discovery they did not want the information to get out. (Payable gold means enough gold to be paid for it.) He found it in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. In 1848 a man named William Tipple Smith found the first payable gold in Australia.

California gold rush for kids