Victorian gold rush

Victoria had about 97,000 people in 1851. By 1861 it had 540,000, half the population of Australia. The rich finds at Ballarat, Bendigo and Mount Alexander in 1851 drew immigrants from Europe, America, China and New Zealand, and in just four months of 1852, 619 ships landed more than 55,000 passengers. Ballarat was the scene of the Eureka rebellion of December 3, 1854, a miners' revolt against the harsh enforcement of mining taxes, and it was proclaimed a city in 1870. Ballarat, Bendigo and a much larger Melbourne are the rush's legacy, all built on Aboriginal country the diggings took over.