Was the gold rush good for Australia?

Answer 1

Yes. The gold rush had positive lasting effects for Australia in a number of ways.

There were huge increases in the population. In 1851, Australia's population was 437,655. By the end of the gold rush, 1861, Australia's population had more than doubled and Victoria's, the site of the gold rush, had increased seven-fold. After the goldrush, many of the new towns shrank to just a fraction of their former size, resulting in ghost towns in many areas.

There was a new boom of Victorian architecture in cities such as Melbourne, and the richness of this architecture can still be seen today. The newfound wealth meant that Britain no longer had any reason to withhold self-government. New rules, policies and legislation were implemented, giving Australia more of an understanding of how to draft future legislation and, indeed, its own constitution.

Because of the rivalry between Victoria and NSW, a new site was chosen for the Australian capital. Canberra lies where it is today because of this very rivalry brought on by the goldrush. Of course, there quite possibly wouldn't have been the need for a capital city were it not for the goldrush: Australia now had the confidence to "go it alone" - to break free from 'Mother Britain" and aim for independence, which it achieved with the federation of the states in 1901.

The goldrushes helped bring improvements in transportation. The famous "Cobb and Co Coaches" ran successfully for half a century, thanks to the goldrush. Train lines were built, linking the major centres, and roadways were improved.

The gold rush paved the way for the establishment of democracy in Australia. The Eureka Stockade was the 1854 miners' uprising on the goldfields of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. For a variety of reasons, conditions on the Australian goldfields were harsh, leading a large group of miners to barricade themselves in a stockade they had built. The rebellion itself failed in its objective to improve certain conditions on the goldfields, but it gained the attention of the Government. A Commission of Enquiry was conducted and changes were implemented. These included abolition of monthly gold licences, replaced by an affordable annual miner's licence. The numbers of troopers were reduced significantly, and Legislative Council was expanded to allow representation to the major goldfields.