Curio

State Library of New South Wales
Gold diggings, Ararat

Gold diggings, Ararat

c1858
Oil on canvas
Bequest of Sir William Dixson, 1929
DG 15

‘It is not only the diggers who make money at the Gold Fields. Carters, carpenters, storemen, wheelwrights, butchers, shoe-makers &c., usually in the long run make a fortune quicker than the diggers themselves, and certainly with less hard work or risk of life.’*

Artists also flocked to the diggings hoping to make their fortune. The British painter, writer and traveller Edward Roper visited Australia at least twice between1855 and the late 1880s. His scenes of the Australian bush and goldfields were especially popular among audiences in England, who were deeply curious about life in the colonies. As shown in the vivid detail in this view of Ararat, his paintings continue to provide a rich record of life on diggings and this extraordinary chapter in Australia’s history.

Every facet of life

In this painting, Roper has included every facet of life on an Australian goldfield. In the centre he has placed an Aboriginal family, silently witnessing the transformation of the land and the fervour around them. Under the line of mountains in the background, the town of Ararat is taking shape. Busy diggers and their possessions are in the foreground. Trees provide a safe place to store meat, and bark for roofing on new buildings. Ever-present at the diggings: hotels, stores and a trooper on horseback monitoring the diggers and making sure they have their licences.

Ararat’s Main Street

Boasting the Golden Age hotel and a bowling alley, Ararat’s Main Street (now Barkly Street) is shown on the left, then the major commercial and mining thoroughfare leading southwesterly.