From autonomy to federation

The discovery of gold in Australia is traditionally attributed to Edward Hammond Hargraves, near Bathurst, New South Wales, in February 1851[176] Traces of gold had nevertheless been found in Australia as early as 1823 by surveyor James McBrien. As by English law all minerals belonged to the Crown, there was at first, "little to stimulate a search for really rich goldfields in a colony prospering under a pastoral economy."[177] Richard Broome also argues that the California Gold Rush at first overawed the Australian finds, until "the news of Mount Alexander reached England in May 1852, followed shortly by six ships carrying eight tons of gold."[178]

 
A gold nugget from Hill End, unearthed in 1872The gold rushes brought many immigrants to Australia from Great Britain, Ireland, continental Europe, North America and China. The Colony of Victoria's population grew rapidly, from 76,000 in 1850 to 530,000 by 1859.[179] Discontent arose amongst diggers almost immediately, particularly on the crowded Victorian fields. The causes of this were the colonial government's administration of the diggings and the gold licence system. Following a number of protests and petitions for reform, violence erupted at Ballarat in late 1854.

 
Eureka Stockade Riot. J. B. Henderson (1854) watercolourEarly on the morning of Sunday 3 December 1854, British soldiers and Police attacked a stockade built on the Eureka lead holding some of the aggrieved diggers. In a short fight, at least 30 miners were killed and an unknown number wounded.[180] O'Brien lists 5 soldiers of the 12th Regiment and 40 Regiment killed and 12 wounded[181] Blinded by his fear of agitation with democratic overtones, local Commissioner Robert Rede had felt "it was absolutely necessary that a blow should be struck" against the miners.[182]

But a few months later, a Royal commission made sweeping changes to the administration of Victoria's goldfields. Its recommendations included the abolition of the licence, reforms to the police force and voting rights for miners holding a Miner's Right.[183] The Eureka Flag that was used to represent the Ballarat miners has been seriously considered by some as an alternative to the Australian flag, because of its controversial association with democratic developments.

In the 1890s, visiting author Mark Twain characterised the battle at Eureka as:

“ The finest thing in Australasian history. It was a revolution-small in size, but great politically; it was a strike for liberty, a struggle for principle, a stand against injustice and oppression...it is another instance of a victory won by a lost battle.[184] ”

 
A view of the goldfields near Castlemaine in 1852, painted by Samuel Thomas GillAlternatively, in 1999, the Premier of New South Wales, Bob Carr, dismissed the Eureka Stockade as a "protest without consequence".[185] During the 2004 Australian federal election, Deputy Prime MinisterJohn Anderson stated his view that "I think people have tried to make too much of the Eureka Stockade...trying to give it a credibility and standing that it probably doesn't enjoy." [186]

Later gold rushes occurred at the Palmer River, Queensland, in the 1870s, and Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, in the 1890s. Confrontations between Chinese and European miners occurred on the Buckland River in Victoria and Lambing Flat in New South Wales, in the late 1850s and early 1860s. Driven by European jealousy of the success of Chinese efforts as alluvial (surface) gold ran out, it fixed emerging Australian attitudes in favour of a White Australia policy, according to historian Geoffrey Serle.[187]

New South Wales in 1855 was the first colony to gain responsible government, managing most of its own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire. Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia followed in 1856; Queensland, from its foundation in 1859; and Western Australia, in 1890. The Colonial Office in London retained control of some matters, notably foreign affairs, defence and international shipping.

The gold era led to a long period of prosperity, sometimes called "the long boom."[188] This was fed by British investment and the continued growth of the pastoral and mining industries, in addition to the growth of efficient transport by rail, river and sea. By 1891, the sheep population of Australia was estimated at 100 million. Gold production had declined since the 1850s, but in the same year was still worth £5.2 million.[189] Eventually the economic expansion ended; the 1890s were a period of economic depression, felt most strongly in Victoria, and its capital Melbourne.

The late 19th century had however, seen a great growth in the cities of south eastern Australia. Australia's population (not including Aborigines, who were excluded from census calculations) in 1900 was 3.7 million, almost 1 million of whom lived in Melbourne and Sydney.[190] More than two-thirds of the population overall lived in cities and towns by the close of the century, making "Australia one of the most urbanised societies in the western world."[191]