Gold

From the earliest days of the colony Johannes Menge and others had been seeking gold. ". . . armed with miner's pick, numberless explorers are to be found prying into the depths of the valleys or climbing the mountain tops. No place is too remote . . ." In January 1846 the Victoria mine at Montacute was the first recognised find. The discovery of gold in 1851 in NSW and Victoria renewed the eagerness of South Australians to seek gold in their own colony. The newspapers of the day recorded find after find, boast after boast. Many finds amounted to nothing or little. Some of the gold had been planted to entice the unwary.

The Victorian goldfields had a huge impact on South Australia. Men walked off farms and there were too few to harvest the crops. Shepherds abandoned their flocks. Crews deserted the ships in harbour. Shop-keepers and merchants closed their doors. Government employees were dismissed. Newspapers closed. The Kapunda and Burra copper mines were forced to reduce their workforce. Kapunda kept only four men to maintain the pumps to keep the mine from flooding. The Burra mine workers fell from 1,000 to 100. The colony's supply of coin was depleted. Men headed to Victoria by ship, horse, dray or on foot. They each withdrew £10 to £12 from the bank to purchase supplies of food, tents, shovels and other mining equipment. The cost of a ship's passage to Melbourne was £5 for a cabin or £2/10/- in steerage. Sinnett wrote "Shipload after shipload of male emigrants continued to leave the Port . . . while thousands more walked or drove their teams overland." By March 1852 it was claimed that one-third of the males had left for Victoria. In a few months the colony was in financial trouble. Wives and families were left to fend for themselves. (See Persons lost & found 1838-69 for those who received outdoor relief from the Destitute Asylum.) Some diggers were returning by ship bringing their gold but many more remained on the goldfields.

The Bullion Act

With little coin remaining in South Australia, returning miners could not sell their gold nor buy goods in shops. The government, after much prior discussion in the newspapers, passed the Bullion Act in January 1852. This allowed uncoined gold to be assayed by the government, reduced to ingots and stamped to denote weight and quantity. These ingots could then be received by the banks at a set price as legal tender. An Assay Office was set up in Adelaide and the price set at £3/11/- per ounce, higher than the Melbourne price of £2/15/-. Over 2,910 ounces of gold were deposited on 10 February 1852.

The Police Commissioner, Alexander Tolmer, was a flamboyant character who was often involved in disputes, but many of his ideas were worthy ones. Tolmer offered to provide a mounted police escort to bring back gold sent by the miners to their families. His suggestion was accepted and regular escorts for parcels of diggers' gold were established.

The usual route to the Victorian goldfields had followed the main route to the South-East settlements. For some years the mail had been carried by police troopers across the River Murray at Wellington, along the Coorong to Mosquito Plains (Naracoorte) and Mount Gambier. From there the gold seekers could travel to Portland, then northwards to the goldfields. Another route via North West Bend followed the River Murray upstream to Swan Hill until they were only about 60 miles from the goldfields.

The Gold Escort Route

Both of these routes were too long and a more direct route lacked permanent water supplies. On 28 January 1852 the Deputy Surveyor General, John McLaren and his team of sappers and miners were sent by the government to survey and clear a shorter route suitable for drays and carts to Mount Alexander where the majority of South Australians were digging. McLaren had been instructed to dig wells every 12 miles.

Alexander Tolmer set out along the proposed route on 10 February with two troopers and a packhorse. Tolmer noted a huge increase in traffic at the Wellington ferry over the River Murray. "I found that in the month just past more than 1,200 people had crossed the river on it, as well as many horses and bullocks, and 164 carriages." Tolmer passed McLaren's survey party near Binnie's Lookout. Meanwhile a spring cart driven by Constable Rowe was sent along the south-east route via Portland, collecting troopers along the way, including Sergeant Lamb from Mosquito Plains and Corporal Moulton from Mount Gambier. This party arrived at Forest Creek near Mount Alexander several days after Tolmer who immediately on arrival had announced the escort service. He was deluged with miners wanting to send parcels of gold and letters back to their families in South Australia. Within a few days Tolmer and his men set out for Adelaide with 5,199 ounces of gold. In Adelaide, on production of their receipt and payment of escort fees, the consignees could collect their gold.

A further 17 gold escorts followed at roughly 4-6 week intervals. With stronger carts and more troopers, they were able to transport greater amounts of gold, almost 44,000 oz on the eighth escort. Troopers were recruited, tenders were called for suitable horses, spring carts, sets of harness, hobbles and other equipment. "Horses - broken in to saddle, 15-16 hands high, 4-6 years old and in good condition". Owing to the arduous duty, insufficient equipment and heavy expenses, there was a high turnover of mounted police. Many only served on one escort. The names of troopers have been listed in an appendix to Blake's book Gold Escort. Extra police were stationed at Wellington to intercept horses stolen by men taking an easy way to the diggings.

There was no single Gold Escort route. The track wound its way across country according to the season and weather. In winter the flat mallee country could be boggy, in other places the sandy soil made difficult going. There were multiple routes in the Victorian section. The general route was through Mount Barker and Langhorne's Creek to the Wellington ferry. Cook's Sheep Station, Perkindoo, Hawk's Nest, Binnie's Lookout, Reedy Well, Limestone Well and Two Wells. Near Monster Mount (near present-day Keith) there were at least two routes. On to Kongal Spring, Scott's Head Station (Cannawigara), and Scott's Woolshed. Scott's Woolshed was set up as a staging post where horses and men could be rested. Later this cluster of slab huts grew up to become Bordertown. Over the border they travelled either side of Mount Elgin. Beyond Mount Arapiles they followed the Wimmera River to Horsham village, Glenorchy, around the Pyrenees to Amherst, on to the Loddon and Mount Alexander. In May 1853 Inspector Rose chose to return via Tilley's Swamp and along the Coorong.

During 1853 the quantity of gold being sent to South Australia dropped, even though the charge had been reduced. It was decided that the escort of December 1853 led by Inspector Wyndham would be the last. The government then arranged for the gold to be sent via the Victorian gold escort service to Melbourne. The gold was shipped by the Bank of Victoria to the Bank of South Australia and delivered on payment of the charge of 6 pence per ounce.

Unclaimed Gold

During 1852-53 the SA Government Gazettes published the names of those who had sent gold to South Australia but had lost their receipts. Some men were robbed or mislaid their receipts, others may have died. Mark Sullivan, master mariner, was robbed in the streets of Melbourne on 28 August of a gold escort deposit receipt for a parcel of gold containing 108 oz. Arthur Hiscock died on passage from Melbourne on board Candahar - his receipt was for 27 oz. By October 1853 further lists noted those who had failed to collect their gold. After due notice these uncollected parcels of gold were melted into ingots. After two years they were sold and the proceeds, less rent and escort dues, were paid into Treasury from where the value could be claimed. No gold actually remained in the Treasury. [These names, together with those of the consignors and consignees of the first three gold escorts, and some pre-escort depositors are included in a database.]

Thirty years later there remained eight men who had failed to collect their gold worth a total of £239/16/11:

Robert Hoad, £32/2/-
James Moore, £43/10/9
John Ware, £47/19/9
Thomas Cornelius, £45/2/-
Mathew Lennon, £22/16/4
George Wilesmith, £21/18/4
J J Thomas, £4/13/6
Charles Clinton, £21/14/3

These names were noted in the SA Parliamentary Paper 137 of 1883 which also recorded the amount and value of gold brought overland by the escorts. "The value of the 328,509 ozs 19 dwts of gold, at £3 11s per oz, would be £1,166,210 6s 6d." It has been estimated that this was 65% of the total Victorian gold brought into South Australia. After the first escort a charge of 1/4 per ounce was made. These escort fees brought the government over £19,400.

Chinese Diggers

In 1855 Victoria introduced a landing fee of £10 to curb the numbers of Chinese arriving. Over the next two years to avoid this, ships landed the Chinese at Port Adelaide and Guichen Bay (Robe). From there the Chinese made their way on foot to the Victorian goldfields. Not all went to Victoria, some walked to the copper mine at Burra. Again South Australia benefited. On arrival the Chinese hired guides and purchased supplies - food, tents, shovels, mining cradles, etc, thus helping South Australia's economy. Many thousands landed at Port Adelaide. Some 45 ships landed more than 20,000 Chinese at Robe. Lieutenant Saunders and 25 men from the 12th Regiment of Foot were sent to Robe to control the influx. The Chinese endured overcrowding on the ships, the handicap of being landed miles from their goal, and danger. Three of their ships were wrecked in Guichen Bay, Duilius, Phaeton and Sultana. However all passengers landed safely. Encouraged by Victoria, the South Australia government later imposed a poll tax on Chinese and limited the number and proportion of Chinese on board. Soon the streets of Robe were deserted.

South Australia's Goldfields

The South Australian government had offered a reward of £1,000 to the first to discover a payable gold mine in South Australia. In 1852 several areas near Echunga were a hive of industry for a few months. The reward was split between the finders of Chapel Hill and Jupiter Creek near Echunga. The licence fee was 30/- per month, later reduced to 10/-. In 1868 the Barossa mine opened near Williamstown. On the second day there were 40 gold seekers, 1,000 within a week and 4,000 within a month. The towns of Barossa and Victoria Hill were established nearby. Police troopers were stationed at Echunga and Barossa to maintain law and order. Other finds were at sites in the Adelaide Hills, including Forest Range, Birdwood and Woodside.

In 1878 a SA Parliamentary Paper recorded land reserved for the search of gold in the Hundreds of Para Wirra, Talunga, Barossa, Yatala, Onkaparinga, Noarlunga and Kuitpo. Among them was an area two miles north-east of Cherry Gardens and another one mile south of Golden Grove. Further north, gold was found at Waukaringa in 1873, Teetulpa in 1886, Wadnaminga in 1888 and Tarcoola in 1893. Even the Moonta and Wallaroo mines produced 1½ tons of gold as a by-product. Gold was found at Mongolata in the 1930s. Most of these mines continued to produce small amounts of gold for many years. During these depression years many men fossicked around the old fields - Echunga was one of those that had a brief revival.

Tracks of the gold escort were still visible near Cooke Plains in 1913. Little remains of the presence of the Chinese - some Chinese coins have been found near Robe. Many labourers returned to take up land in the mid and late 1850s as a result of a successful goldfields visit. Merchants and shopkeepers benefited by suppling flour, bread, bacon, ham and other food stuffs, even to the Victoria goldfields. The interstate finds encouraged men to seek out the South Australia gold mines and reefs. Some men did take the opportunity to desert their responsibilities, often leaving wives and families destitute. The major impact on South Australia was from the Victorian gold, the gold mines of South Australia had a lesser but continuing effect. The industry of South Australians who returned with their gold set the colony back on its feet.

Newspaper advertisements

A sample of the newspaper advertisements in January 1852 to attract the attention of gold seekers:

References

Bermingham Kathleen, 1961. Gateway to the south east ; a story of Robetown and the Guichen Bay District
Blake L J, 1971. Gold Escort
Drew G J, 1984. The Echunga Goldfield
Drexel J F, 1982. Mining in South Australia. A Pictorial History
Neighbour Arthur, 1967. Evidence of the old gold track Ballarat to Adelaide through portion of the 90 Mile Desert near Cookes Plains during the years 1906-1913
Parker Heather, 1971. All in the line of duty : danger and drudgery on the gold escort route Adelaide - Mount Alexander, 1852-53
Pascoe J J, 1901. History of Adelaide and vicinity
Pike Douglas, 1967. Paradise of Dissent. South Australia 1829-1857
Sinnett Frederick, 1979. An account of the colony of South Australia prepared for distribution at the International Exhibition of 1862
Sprengel Wilf, 1986. The Ecstacy and Agony of Guichen Bay
Sprengel Wilf, 1986. Robe's Chinese invasion
Tonkin Murray (ed), 1985. Some Adventures of Alexander Tolmer in Colonial South Australia 1840-1856
Wells Royce, 1980. The Echunga Goldfield
Wells Royce, 1980. The Barossa Goldfield
Various articles in the SA Register and Observer newspapers
SA Government Gazettes
SA Acts of Parliament
SA Parliamentary Papers
Discovery of gold in Australia, British Parliamentary blue books 1852-7