Gold in Australia Activities and BLMsshellharbour5b.weebly.com/.../blm_goldinaustralia.pdf · 2019....

Text by Justine Ryan Teaching framework designed by Charlotte Forwood and Sharon McCormack

Paged by Sarah K James

Gold Rushes

Famous People

On the Goldfields

How Gold Changed Australia

Titles in the series

Authors Melanie Guile and Cameron Macintosh

Gold in Australia Activities and BLMs

Copyright © Pearson Australia 2011 (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) ISBN 978 1 4425 4043 9 1

IntroductionGold Rushes describes where gold was found in Australia and how gold mining has impacted on the Australian landscape, economy and population. The text discusses many of the most important early gold finders and the nuggets they discovered. It also details the first gold discoveries in the 1820s and the gold rushes in the 1850s.

Australian Curriculum linksThis text links with the Australian Curriculum in History at Years 3 to 6.

Understandings • The discovery of gold in Australia had a major effect on many aspects of Australian life and on

Australia’s landscape.• Alluvial gold and some smaller nuggets were found all over Australia, particularly in central

Victoria.• Life on the goldfields was often rough and uncomfortable.

Vocabularyalluvial, apprentice, blacksmith, brutal, canvas, colony, convict, democracy, gold commissioner, immigrant, prospector, racism, riot, shaft, stockade, surveyor, tax, treason, trooper

FocusingDiscussion questionsHave students complete these questions orally to focus on the text.

Literal:• What is alluvial gold? (Surface gold)• Why did landowners and the government tell no one about the discovery of gold? (They

believed guards and convicts would run away to look for gold, leaving Australia lawless.)• What did Donald Cameron do with the gold he found? (He used gold-laden rock to make his

garden paths.)• What would the Welcome Stranger be worth today? (About $3.3 million)• What jobs did women do on the diggings? (Women set up stores and ran laundries and

boarding houses.)• What was the purpose of the gold licence? (For the government to keep control of the diggers)• Who was the leader of the Eureka Stockade? (Peter Lalor, an Irish digger)• Where was gold found in Queensland? (Gympie, Mount Morgan, Ravenswood, Charters

Towers, Cairns, Palmer River)

Inferential:• Why did everyone on the goldfields have an equal chance of finding gold?• Why did Aboriginal people not get excited about gold they came across?• How were gold diggers encouraged to search for gold in Victoria?• Why would people who had worked for low wages get gold fever?• What was the Ballarat Reform League aiming to do?• Why is Kalgoorlie considered the richest goldfield in Australia?


Gold Rushes

Evaluative:• Do you think the gold rushes changed Australia in a good way or a bad way?• Do you think the gold licence was fair to the diggers?• Why did the travelling druggists not really heal sick diggers?• Why was entertainment important to the miners?

EngagingLearning experience 1

The discovery of gold in Australia had a major effect on many aspects of Australian life and on Australia’s landscape.

Resources • Pages 4–13, page 16 and page 30 of Gold Rushes• BLM 1• Book and non-book resources about the gold rushes

Language and literacy skills focus

• Comprehending• Recording facts• Locating and interpreting relevant information• Reading maps

Thinking skills focus

• Identifying• Researching• Describing• Illustrating cause and effect

Activity 1 Re-read ‘Effects of the rushes’ on page 4 of the text and discuss with students the effects that the gold rushes had on Australia. Ask, What effect did the gold rushes have on Aboriginal people? What effect did the gold rushes have on the environment? What effect did the gold rushes have on the population of Australia? Have students use BLM 1 to identify causes of effects the gold rushes had on the environment and various aspects of life in Australia.

2 Consider with students the numerous changes Australia faced during the gold rush era. Record students’ ideas under these headings: People, Environment, Economy. Encourage students to use information from BLM 1 and pages 4–7 of the text.

3 Have students complete a timeline of gold discoveries in Australia using pages 8–11 of the text as a reference.

4 Have students read page 30 of Gold Rushes. Ask, Which major towns developed as a result of the gold rushes? What happened to the towns that ran out of gold? What remains of the glory days of gold? Discuss with students any goldmining towns they may have visited. Have students share their experiences with their classmates.

Going further 5 Look at the map of Australia on page 5. Ask, Where and when was gold found in Australia in the mid 1800s? Have students investigate and map where gold is still found in Australia today. Encourage students to compare their map to the map on page 5. Ask, Are there locations in Australia that still mine gold as they did in the 1800s?

6 As an extension, have students choose one gold finder to investigate further from the people introduced in ‘Early finders’ on pages 12–13 of the text. Have students research and present their findings to the class.


Gold Rushes

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand the effects of an event on a society through their cause and effect organiser and contributions to class discussions.

Learning experience 2

Alluvial gold and some smaller nuggets were found all over Australia, particularly in central Victoria.

Resources • Pages 14–17 of Gold Rushes• BLM 2• Book and non-book resources about the gold rushes


• Comprehending• Recording facts• Understanding thoughts, feelings and motives• Writing letters


• Describing• Considering options• Applying knowledge• Understanding

Activity 1 Have students re-read pages 14–15 of Gold Rushes and use BLM 2 to complete the information chart about famous nuggets.

2 Discuss with students how the prospectors who found the really large nuggets must have felt. Ask, Who would they have told? Would they have shared their new-found wealth with family and friends? Would they keep searching for more gold? Encourage students to imagine they are one of the men pictured on pages 14–15 and have them write a letter to a friend sharing their discovery.

Going further 3 Have students imagine they have found their own large nugget on the goldfields. Encourage students to give the following information: What is the weight of the nugget? What is the size of the nugget? Where did you find it? Who did you find the nugget with? Where is the nugget now? What is the value of the nugget? Draw a picture of you with your nugget and share the information with a classmate.

4 As an extension, have students describe to a classmate how the gold rushes influenced the population of Australia and Victoria.

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand the gold rushes of Australia through the information identified and recorded in their information chart and their letter from a prospector to a friend.


Life on the goldfields was often rough and uncomfortable.

Resources • Pages 18–30 of Gold Rushes• BLM 3• Book and non-book resources about the gold rushes


Gold Rushes


• Comprehending• Reading and identifying facts• Creating


• Designing• Understanding• Applying knowledge• Making connections

Activity 1 After reading pages 18–19 of Gold Rushes, discuss with students where the diggers lived. Ask, What is a tent town? What were the tents made of? What would it be like to sleep on the goldfields? Encourage students to create a model version of a tent that would be found on the goldfields using materials that are available. Create a class tent city using every student’s model tent.

2 After re-reading pages 22–24 of the text, discuss with students the events that led to the Eureka Stockade. Ask, Why did many diggers refuse to buy a licence? What happened to diggers if a trooper found them without a licence? Have students make a ‘chain of events’ chart to illustrate the chain of events that led to the Eureka Stockade.

Going further 3 Discuss with students what it must have been like to be a child living on the goldfields. Ask, Were there schools? Did many children die? What did they die from? Why do you think some children would not have survived on the goldfields? Would you like to have been a child living on the goldfields? Why or why not? Using BLM 3, have students record their ideas about how children would have experienced life on the goldfields.

4 Have students imagine they are a child on the goldfields. Create a list of activities that children might have taken part in to pass the time. Have them describe how they would have looked after themselves while their parents were working and explain what foods they would have eaten to stay healthy.

5 As an extension, find a picture of the Eureka flag. Discuss with students how the Eureka flag became a symbol for the diggers fighting for fair treatment on the goldfields. Ask, How did the flag represent the miners? What does the Eureka flag represent to this day? Have students draw or paint the flag.

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand life on the goldfields through their understanding of the events leading to the Eureka Stockade, their contribution to the tent city and their understanding of the lives of children on the goldfields.

ReflectingDid the gold rushes affect Australia’s growth?What else would you like to learn about the Australian gold rushes?


Gold Rushes

Name

Investigate and record a suitable cause for each effect.

Cause EffectWaterways were ruined.

Laws were passed to prevent some people from coming to Australia.

Aboriginal people were driven from their land.

Australia’s population increased.

Australia became a rich, thriving country.

BLM 1


Gold Rushes

Name

Complete the chart with the important information about each famous nugget.

Nam

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nu

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Wei

ght

Whe

re

foun

dW

ho

foun

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Whe

re it

is

now

Val

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then

Val

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now

John

D

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icha

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.5

kilo

gram

s

Bla

nche

B

arkl

y N

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12 0

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ds

$3.2

mill

ion


BLM 2Gold Rushes

Name

Use the Y-chart to record your ideas about what it would have been like to be a child on the goldfields.

Smells like

Feels like

Sounds like


BLM 3Gold Rushes

IntroductionOn the Goldfields describes how the gold rushes changed the Australian population and landscape. The text looks at the miners’ lives on the goldfields, how they coped with illness, built their huts and educated their children. It also outlines how immigrants from around the world interacted with the Aboriginal people, and the racism that flared when differences occurred.


Understandings • The gold rushes provided an opportunity for people from all over the world to live and work

together in the hope of finding gold.• As tent cities sprang up on the goldfields, basic facilities and services such as huts, shops,

cooking facilities and law and order appeared.• Life on the goldfields was tough, but people dealt with everyday living in a practical way.

Vocabularyblacksmith, bullock, canvas, claim, clog, colony, convict, dray, flint, forge, gold commissioner, immigrant, inhabit, native, nomadic, pension, racism, shaft, stout, tax, trade, trooper, yield


Literal:• What was the population of Australia in 1850? (Fewer than 500 000)• When was the first railway built in Australia? (1854)• Who was in charge of overseeing each goldfield? (A gold commissioner)• Why was a trench dug around each tent? (To prevent them flooding during rainstorms)• What was the simplest way to get gold on the goldfields? (From the gravel of a creek bed)• Where can a Chinese temple (dating back to the gold rush era) be found today? (In Bendigo

and Beechworth in Victoria)• Who visited the goldfields of NSW in 1851? (Henry Burton’s circus)• Why did people turn to bushranging? (Some settlers struggled to make a living in any

other way.)

Inferential:• What changed Australian society in 1851?• Why did diggers who shared the same nationality live in the same area?• Why were the rioters jailed after the 1857 attack in Buckland Valley?• How hygienic would the tent cities have been?• Why was drinking water unclean?• Which professions would have benefited from the gold rushes?• Why did the travelling druggists not really heal sick diggers?• Why was entertainment important to the miners?

On the Goldfields

9Copyright © Pearson Australia 2011 (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) ISBN 978 1 4425 4044 6

Evaluative:• Do you think the treatment of Aboriginal people and Chinese miners was fair? Why or why not?• Do you think children would have received a good education on the goldfields? Why or why not?• Do you think it would have been worth it for most people to rush to the goldfields? Why or why

not?


The gold rushes provided an opportunity for people from all over the world to live and work together in the hope of finding gold.

Resources • Pages 4–9 of On the Goldfields• BLM 4• Book and non-book resources about the gold rushes


• Comprehending• Interpreting pictures• Locating and interpreting relevant information• Researching and presenting information


• Identifying• Considering options• Describing• Illustrating cause and effect

Activity 1 Re-read the text on page 4 of On the Goldfields about children living on the diggings. Ask, Did many children live on the goldfields? Why was it dangerous for children to live on the goldfields? Using BLM 4, have students consider the effects of dirty water, lack of fresh milk and other problems on children’s lives on the goldfields.

2 Discuss with students the variety of ways people travelled to the goldfields. Record students’ suggestions in a class list. Have students choose one mode of transport and complete a Venn diagram that compares their chosen mode of transport with a modern-day car. Ask, How are the two modes of transport similar? How are the two modes of transport different?

Going further 3 Have students look at the sketch on page 7 of On the Goldfields. Ask how they would describe what is happening in the sketch to a classmate who has not seen the sketch. Have students work in pairs to suggest ways to improve conditions on the roads to the goldfields.

4 As an extension, have students investigate the treatment of Chinese people on the goldfields. Have students share with their classmates ideas for how the racism could have been reduced.

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand the effects of the gold rushes on children through their cause and effect organiser and contributions to class discussions.

On the Goldfields



As tent cities sprang up on the goldfields, basic facilities and services such as huts, shops, cooking facilities and law and order appeared.

Resources • Pages 10–19 of On the Goldfields• BLM 5• Book and non-book resources about gold rushes


• Comprehending• Illustrating• Identifying areas requiring change• Using language to influence others


• Designing• Considering options• Applying knowledge• Generating ideas• Applying prior knowledge

Activity 1 Have students consider life on the goldfields as set out by the rules ordered by the gold commissioner on page 10 of On the Goldfields. Ask, Do the rules sound fair? Why or why not? Would you like to live by these rules? Have students imagine they are the gold commissioner of a goldfield and write a set of rules to keep order among the diggers.

2 Have students look at the photos on page 13 of the text and re-read the information on page 12. Ask, What would security be like on the goldfields? How would miners take care of their belongings? How much privacy would a digger have in his tent? Have students design a tent that allows for some security of special items and protection against bad weather.

3 Have students re-read pages 10–17 of On the Goldfields and consider all aspects of the miner’s life on the goldfields. Have students use BLM 5 to show the good aspects of being a miner on a goldfield and things that miners might want to change on the Plus/Minus organiser.

4 Discuss with students the various methods used to find gold on the goldfields. Have students re-read pages 16–19 of the text and then outline three methods used for gold extraction.

On the Goldfields


Going further 5 Have students consider how goldfields grew as more people arrived on them and demand for services grew. Encourage students to design a planned goldfield. Have students consider how many ‘homes’ would be available and how they would be positioned on the goldfield. They will also need to consider what amenities would be necessary and where they would be placed on the goldfield.

6 As an extension, have students consider what diggers had available to eat while on the goldfields. Ask, Do you think this food is healthy and nutritious? Have students imagine they have been employed by the Victorian Governor to go to the goldfields to encourage miners to eat healthier foods. Ask, What foods would you suggest to the diggers to cut out of their diet and why? What food suggestions would you make for the diggers to include in their diets? Give reasons for your choices.

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand basic living conditions on the goldfields through their design of a secure tent, their plan of a goldfield tent city, and their Plus/Minus organiser.


Life on the goldfields was tough, but people dealt with everyday living in a practical way.

Resources • Pages 20–30 of On the Goldfields• BLM 6• Book and non-book resources about gold rushes


• Presenting information• Locating and selecting relevant information• Creating• Illustrating


• Designing• Investigating• Applying knowledge• Making connections

On the Goldfields


Activity 1 After reading pages 20–21 of On the Goldfields, have students do a sketch of a common digger’s uniform for men, women, children and the Chinese. Ask, How practical were the diggers’ clothes for gold mining? Where would they have got most of their clothes from? How different would the clothes of a modern-day miner be?

2 After re-reading pages 26–27 of On the Goldfields, discuss with students the lives of children living on the goldfields. Ask, What did children spend their days doing? Would living on a goldfield be a difficult life? Would you like to have lived on the goldfields? What did children do for education? Have students complete a concept map illustrating a child’s life on the goldfields.

3 Discuss with students the most common illnesses found on the goldfields. Have students investigate the cause, symptoms and prevention for either typhoid or dysentery. Ask, Why were typhoid and dysentery common on the goldfields? Are there places in the world where people still suffer from typhoid or dysentery? Have students write a report about either of these diseases on BLM 6, and share their findings with their classmates. Revise the structure and purpose of a report with students, reminding them that a report uses facts, gives details about a topic and doesn’t contain personal views.

Going further 4 Have students investigate one of the bushrangers mentioned on page 30 of On the Goldfields or another bushranger from the gold rush era. Ask, What is the bushranger’s name? Where did he come from? Why did he become a bushranger? Which area did he work in? What did he steal? Why is he so well known? Have students share their findings in the form of a biography chart.

5 As an extension, have students create an ‘Entertainment Tent’ for the miners. Encourage students to re-read page 29 of On the Goldfields to get ideas about suitable entertainment.

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand the tough life on the goldfields through their understanding of miners’ clothing, their concept map about children’s lives on the goldfields, their report about disease and their biography of a bushranger.

ReflectingIf you had lived in the time of the gold rushes, do you think you would have got gold fever and rushed off to the goldfields?What have you learned about the life of gold miners on the goldfields?How would a gold rush change Australia today?

On the Goldfields


Name

Consider the effects each of these problems may have caused for children living on the goldfields.

Cause EffectDirty water

Mine shafts

No fresh milk

No fresh food

Minimal formal education

On the Goldfields


BLM 4

Name

Plus–positive aspects of life on the goldfields

Minus–things that miners might want to change on the goldfields

On the Goldfields


BLM 5

Name

Name Disease

General opening statement:

Series of paragraphs about the topic:

Topic sentence:

Related points:

Topic sentence:

Related points:

Topic sentence:

Related points:

Concluding paragraph:

On the Goldfields


BLM 6

IntroductionFamous People presents the stories of famous people from the gold rush era. The text details the lives of Lola Montez, Raffaello Carboni, David Syme, Peter Lalor, Mei Quong Tart, Eugene Von Guerard and bushranger Captain Melville among others. It also outlines the impact of each famous person on colonial Australia.


Understandings • The gold rushes brought hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Australia.• A number of strong characters made their mark on Australian society through their participation

in the Eureka Stockade, work against racism, art work and dancing.• People who became famous during the gold rush often had new and interesting ideas.

Vocabularyafterlife, betray, citizen, claim, colony, convict, customs, debt, democracy, dominion, draftsman, engineer, Federation, feminist, fossick, foster care, immigrant, immigrate, immorality, kilt, magistrate, morals, noblewoman, pardon, parliament, patriotism, pension, preacher, quarryman, racism, rebel, shaft, stockade, tomb, treason, trooper


Literal:• What were gold seekers known as? (Diggers) • Who was Mungo Mungo? (An Aboriginal man who trained as a bareback rider for Ashton’s

Circus)• What book did Raffaello Carboni write? (The Eureka Stockade)• Who built The Age into a successful newspaper? (David Syme)• What title was Mei Quong Tart awarded? (Mandarin of the Crystal Button)• What was Catherine Helen Spence the first person to become in Australia? (Female journalist)

Inferential:• Why were Chinese diggers disliked?• What did Eugene von Guerard notice about the Aboriginal people?• Why was Lola Montez famous?• Why was The Age such a successful newspaper?• Why would Mei Quong Tart have been so important to the Chinese diggers on the goldfields?• Why did Charles O’Connor want to bring fresh water to the goldfields?

Evaluative:• Do you think the gold rushes helped to make Australia more or less accepting of differences?• Do you think the gold rushes helped Australians see each other as equals?• How would O’Connor’s legacy have benefited miners and future generations?


Famous People


The gold rushes brought hundreds of thousands of immigrants to Australia.

Resources • Pages 4–7 of Famous People• BLM 7• Book and non-book resources about the gold rushes


• Comprehending• Recording ideas visually• Locating and interpreting relevant information• Using persuasive language to influence others


• Researching• Describing• Considering cause and effect• Forming opinions

Activity 1 Re-read pages 4–5 of Famous People. Ask, Why did hundreds of thousands of people come to Australia? What skills did people bring to the goldfields? How did the increase in population change Australia? Have students consider the effects of the gold rush on Australian society by identifying effects of the events listed on BLM 7.

2 Consider with students the women, Aboriginal people and unlucky diggers mentioned on pages 6–7 of Famous People. Ask, Why did the gold rushes bring misery and despair to some people? What happened to some diggers? Have half the class put themselves in the shoes of an unlucky digger and the other half of the class in the shoes of a lucky digger. Have students describe their lives as this character and have a class discussion comparing the two lives.

Going further 3 Look at the sketch on page 7 of Famous People. Discuss with students how some diggers struck it lucky and had money to spend. Have students create slogans or an advertising poster to encourage lucky diggers to stop at this shop to spend their money.

4 As an extension, have students consider how Australia’s population has grown over time. Have students create a timeline that illustrates the growth of Australia’s population. Ask, At which times did Australia experience the most growth? Why did large growth happen at these times?

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand how the increase in population affected Australian society through their cause and effect graphic organiser, slogans and timeline.


Famous People


A number of strong characters made their mark on Australian society through their participation in the Eureka Stockade, work against racism, art work and dancing.

Resources • Pages 8–19 of Famous People• BLM 8• Book and non-book resources about gold rushes


• Comprehending• Recording facts• Understanding thoughts, feelings and motives• Writing letters


• Describing• Considering options• Applying knowledge• Understanding

Activity 1 Before reading Famous People, read the names of the famous people introduced on pages 8–19. Have students begin a KWL on one of the famous people. Have students do the ‘K’ and ‘W’ columns of the graphic organiser. Then have students read the relevant pages about their chosen character and complete the last column of the graphic organiser.

2 Discuss with students Lola Montez, Raffaello Carboni, David Syme, Peter Lalor, Mei Quong Tart and S.T. Gill from Famous People. Have students record relevant information for each famous person in the graphic organiser on BLM 8.

Going further 3 Have students think about the lives of Lola Montez, Raffaello Carboni, David Syme, Peter Lalor, Mei Quong Tart and S.T. Gill as described in the text. Ask, Which of these famous people do you most admire? Which famous person do you believe has left the largest legacy? Have students choose one of the famous people and do an in-depth research project about that person. Encourage students to record their findings on a poster that can be displayed for others to read.

4 Have students re-read pages 14–15 of Famous People. Ask, How will Peter Lalor be remembered? What major success for all Australians came out of the Eureka Stockade? As an extension, have students explain how Peter Lalor and the Eureka Stockade contributed to the beginning of a democratic society in Australia.

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand how a number of individuals made their mark on Australian society through their presentation of important details in the graphic organiser and their individual famous person poster.


Famous People


People who became famous during the gold rush often had new and interesting ideas.

Resources • Pages 20–30 of Famous People• BLM 9• Book and non-book resources about the gold rushes


• Investigating• Reading and identifying facts• Note taking• Summarising


• Designing• Explaining• Applying knowledge• Making connections

Activity 1 After reading pages 20–21 of Famous People, discuss with students how Spence went on to fight for women’s rights. Ask, Why was Spence so well known? Why was her job so important to many people? Who was Spence working to support? Have students investigate other famous women who worked towards women’s rights. Create a class list of other famous women like Spence.

2 After re-reading pages 24–29 of Famous People, have students take notes on either Morgan, von Guerard or Captain Melville. Encourage students to research and record where their chosen person is from, why they became famous and what impact they had on Australia.

Going further 3 Discuss with students the idea of looking at the ‘bigger picture’. Ensure students understand this concept. Using BLM 9, encourage students to consider how the ‘bigger picture’ was viewed by Spence, O’Connor and von Guerard.

4 As an extension, read ‘Places to Visit’ on page 30 of Famous People. Have students choose one of the places to visit and one famous person. Have students research their chosen person through the websites of the places suggested. Go to Library Place at Pearson Places and navigate to the weblinks for this book. Web Destination

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand the ideas presented by the people who became famous through their presentation of the ‘big ideas’ graphic organiser and their further investigation of a famous person on the internet.

ReflectingHow did the gold rush affect Aboriginal people?Do you think all of these famous people would have become famous in Australia in another way if the gold rush had not happened?What have you learned about famous people from the gold rush era?What else would you like to know about people from the 1850s?


Famous People

Name

Write an effect that occurred as a result of each of the events below.

Cause EffectA gold rush began in Australia.

Immigrants from around the world arrived in Australia.

People from all walks of life worked side by side on the goldfields.


BLM 7Famous People

Name

Wha

t wer

e th

ey

fam

ous

for?

Whe

re d

id th

ey

com

e fr

om?

Wha

t im

pact

did

they

leav

e on

Aus

tral

ian

soci

ety?

Lola

Mon

tez

Raf

fael

lo C

arbo

ni

Dav

id S

yme

Pet

er L

alor

Mei

Quo

ng T

art

S.T

. Gill


BLM 8Famous People

Name

What is the bigger picture as viewed by each of these famous people?

Bigger picture ideaCatherine Helen Spence

Charles Yelverton O’Connor

Eugene von Guerard


BLM 9Famous People

IntroductionHow Gold Changed Australia looks at the effects of the discovery of gold on the land, cities, laws and people of Australia since 1851. The text explains the importance of gold and where it was found and can still be found in Australia. It also introduces the towns that were built on wealth from the gold rushes.


Understandings • The gold rushes changed Australia from a small colony to a modern country.• A democratic nation grew out of the gold rushes.• Gold mining had a massive impact on the environment.

Vocabularyclaim, colony, convict, Crown land, culture, democracy, desolate, dome, engineer, export, Federation, immigrant, native, open-cut mine, peril, petition, racism, racist, rebel, remote, satellite, sieve, solar panel, soot, stockade, stonemason, tax, trooper, wage


Literal:• What does gold bring to Australia? (Billions of dollars each year)• What was Australia’s population 20 years after the gold rush started? (1.5 million)• Who won the first eight-hour work day? (Sydney stonemasons)• How much was a gold licence? (30 shillings per month)• How did the Victorian and New South Wales governments make money during the gold rushes?

(By taxing gold finds)• What is a dredge? (A machine that scrapes up earth from a creek bed)

Inferential:• Why is gold used for making many things today?• What is mateship?• How did working on a claim with a group of people encourage teamwork?• Why were the gold licences unfair to the diggers?• What is a Cinderella Colony?• Why would some country areas still show damage from gold mining?• Why are animals that are not native to Australia not good for the environment?

Evaluative:• What do you think would be the most difficult outcome for a family who left everything to try their

luck on the goldfields? • What skills do you consider would be most important to be a good digger on the goldfields?• What do you think were the negative effects of the gold rush on Australian society?




The gold rushes changed Australia from a small colony to a modern country.

Resources • Pages 4–13 of How Gold Changed Australia• BLM 10• Book and non-book resources about the gold rushes


• Identifying• Recording ideas visually• Locating and interpreting relevant information• Recording thoughts and feelings


• Researching• Describing• Making connections• Interpreting

Activity 1 ‘Australians were proud and saw their country as equal to any on earth.’ Discuss this statement from page 4 of the text with students. Ask, Why would Australians be proud? What was Australia like before the gold rushes? Which cities do you think Australians were comparing their cities to? What happened to Australian cities after the gold rush? Have students discuss differences between their capital city before the gold rush and after the gold rush. Using BLM 10, have students use the Venn diagram to compare the differences between their capital city before and after the gold rush.

2 Consider with students ‘gold fever’ after reading page 7 in How Gold Changed Australia. Ask, What is ‘gold fever’? Is it a real fever or an imagined fever? As a class, write a list of other ‘fevers’ that groups of people might catch, e.g. footy fever.

3 ‘New diggers brought many different cultures to Australia for the first time.’ Ask, Where did the immigrants come from? Discuss with students the advantages, new ideas, rights and freedoms being brought into Australia and how these ideas changed Australia.

4 Have students re-read page 6 of How Gold Changed Australia. Discuss with students the effects of the gold rush on the Chinese diggers and Aboriginal peoples. Have students further investigate the long-term effects of the gold rush on either Chinese or Aboriginal people. Have students present their findings in the form of a timeline.

Going further 5 As an extension, have students re-read ‘Racist laws’ on page 13 of How Gold Changed Australia. Ask, What was the purpose of the Aborigines Protection Board? Who were they trying to protect? Would such an agency be set up in modern times? Why or why not? Have students investigate further the ‘Stolen Generation’ and write a letter to the Victorian Governor of 1869 (Sir John Manners-Sutton) explaining the long-term disadvantages of setting up the Aborigines Protection Board.



Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand how the gold rushes changed Australia from a small colony to a modern country through their Venn diagram, understanding of gold fever and investigation into the Stolen Generation.


A democratic nation grew out of the gold rushes.

Resources • Pages 14–23 of How Gold Changed Australia• BLM 11• Book and non-book resources about the gold rushes


• Comprehending• Recording facts• Researching information• Presenting information


• Describing• Considering change• Designing• Understanding

Activity 1 Before reading How Gold Changed Australia, discuss the idea of ‘democracy’ with students. Ask, What is democracy? Why is democracy important? Why was Australia not a democratic nation before the gold rush? Have students read pages 14–17 of How Gold Changed Australia and consider how democracy did come to Australia. Have students read and take notes and present their findings in the form of a timeline on BLM 11.

2 Discuss with students the importance of the Eureka flag and its significance to Australian workers. Ask, Where was the Eureka flag first flown? What were the miners fighting for at Bakery Hill? Why is the flag still flown today? Have students consider whether the Eureka flag needs to be redesigned to reflect modern-day workers.

Going further 3 Have students consider what changes were made to the colonies when money from gold finds began pouring into the economy. Have students re-read pages 18–22 of How Gold Changed Australia. Compile a class list that illustrates the changes made to each colony. Have students choose one area of change to investigate further: Melbourne’s sewerage system, the first railway, magnificent buildings, or the overland telegraph line. Have students share their findings in the form of a poster.

4 Have students re-read pages 20–23 of the text and look at the maps on pages 20 and 23. Ask, Which towns were developed in Queensland as a result of the gold rushes? Why was Perth considered so remote? What did people turn to instead of digging for gold? Where was gold discovered in Western Australia? Have students choose a town in either Queensland or Western Australia to investigate further and present their findings in the form of a star graphic organiser.



Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand how a democratic nation grew out of the gold rushes through their timelines, their discussion about the Eureka flag, their investigation into areas of change for Australia and presentation of the star graphic organiser on a gold rush town.


Gold mining had a massive impact on the environment.

Resources • Pages 20–30 of How Gold Changed Australia• BLM 12• Book and non-book resources about gold rushes


• Considering options• Reading and identifying facts• Identifying cause and effect• Illustrating ideas


• Designing• Explaining• Applying knowledge• Making connections

Activity 1 ‘Many country areas still show the damage done by gold mining.’ Discuss this statement with students after reading pages 24–25 of the text. Ask, Why would damage still be evident? What would you see that shows gold mining had happened in an area? Make a class list of areas that suffered from the gold rush. Have students choose one area and suggest ways that the miners could have reduced the impact of their work on the environment. Have students record their findings about the four actions listed in the cause and effect graphic organiser in BLM 12.

2 After re-reading ‘Pests and weeds’ on page 27 of How Gold Changed Australia, discuss the statement, ‘Introduced plants and animals soon became pests.’ Ask, What animals were introduced to Australia? What plants were introduced to Australia? Why would introduced species become a problem? Why are they considered to be a problem today? As a class, create a table that shows ‘Native and non-native plants’ and ‘Native and non-native animals’.



Going further 3 Have students imagine they are forest manager John La Gerche and that they have been put in charge of rejuvenating land in Creswick, Victoria. Ask, What needs to be done to rejuvenate the land? How would you go about re-developing the forest? Have students formulate a plan and record their ideas in the form of a sketch using labels to describe the work that they will do.

4 As an extension, read about ‘Gold towns today’ on page 30 of How Gold Changed Australia. Have students choose one gold town and investigate what can be learned about gold mining from visiting the gold town. Have students visit Library Place at Pearson Places to gather further information for their investigation. Web Destination

Assessment Assess students’ ability to understand the massive impact gold mining has had on the environment through their cause and effect graphic organiser, their plan to rejuvenate a forest and their comparison of native and non-native flora and fauna, and.

ReflectingWhat would Australia’s environment be like if the gold rushes had not happened?What more would you like to learn about how the gold rushes affected the environment?

On the Goldfields


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BLM 10How Gold Changed Australia

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Name

Record the effect on the environment of each of the activities listed.

Cause EffectDigging for gold in creek beds

Digging for gold in forested gullies

Leaving a ‘worked out’ goldfield

Using steam engines, dredges and sluices for gold mining



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