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.

The discovery of gold at Ophir in central NSW in February 1851 triggered the first gold rush in the Australian colonies. Seven months later, diggers flocked to Victoria, where rich deposits of gold were discovered at Ballarat and then Mount Alexander.

At the beginning of the Ararat rush, European miners chased the Chinese miners from the area and burnt their tents. Yet despite these violent setbacks, many were successful, and often sent their earnings back to villages throughout Kwangtung province and its capital, Canton.

Diggers needed a high-calorie intake to sustain the long hours of physical labour. Their diet generally consisted of steak or mutton fried in fat for every meal, with plenty of bread. Tea was the standard drink, with watered-down milk for coffee and fresh bread delivered to miners each morning.