This first economic shift seen in Melbourne was the 1850s gold rush. The discovery of gold in Melbourne brought an influx of people (mostly from Britain) to the city. Daily thousands of people arrived. The discovery of gold made Melbourne a booming economy. According to Archer (1854), “The discovery of the Victorian Goldfields has converted a remote dependency into a country of worldwide fame; it has attracted a population, extraordinary in number, with unprecedented rapidity; it has enhanced the value of property to an enormous extent; it has made this the richest country in the world; and, in less than three years, it has done for this colony the work of an age, and made its impulses felt in the most distant regions of the earth”. During this time, people utilized the space by establishing businesses and institutions that would further generator wealth within the city. Some of the city’s new investments included the first railway, and the University of Melbourne. Places like those attended to the overall attractiveness of the Melbourne, and further encouraged people to come and build to the city.
CF Johnson, A Game of Euchre, col. wood engraving, Australasian Sketcher Supplement [Melbourne], 25 December, 1876. Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia: nla.pic-an8927787
Quick facts:
•Within a month, 300 miners were digging in Warrandyte's "Victoria Field". •Melbourne became "an instant metropolis" as the river’s southern banks became an overnight tent city. •In 1852 alone, 370,000 immigrants arrived in Australia and the economy of the nation boomed. •Because so many people were travelling to and from the goldfields, the 1850s also saw the construction of the first railway and the operation of the first telegraphs. •By 1860, the city had a resident population of 500,000 people and the 25 million ounces of gold that had been mined in the state during that period - worth about $10 billion today •Due to the gold rush, Melbourne saw some improvements i.e. gas street lighting •Gold wealth gave Melbourne some of its finest public buildings: The Treasury, Parliament House, the State Library, the GPO and the Town Hall. |
Gold Rush of the 1850sMelbourne started to grow and develop into a major world city as a result of the gold rush that lead to a 140,000 population count in 1857. By the end of the 1850s, the priorities of the city shifted, allowing the city to invest in gas street lighting, water infrastructure, and building infrastructure. Due to this investment, the 1850s and 1860s saw the commencement of Parliament House, the Treasury Building, Victoria Barracks, the State Library, University, General Post Office, Customs House, the Melbourne Town Hall, and St Patrick's cathedral. As Melbourne grew, so did its urban fabric and urban character. In its early years, As seen below, Melbourne's layout of it's inner suburbs was on a largely one-mile grid hoddle pattern, cut through by wide radial boulevards, and string of gardens surrounding the central city. These areas were rapidly filled from the mid 1850s by the ubiquitous terrace house, as well as detached houses and some grand mansions in large grounds. Four major neighborhood began to populate 1) North Melbourne, 2) South Melbourne, 3) Richmond and 4) Collingwood.
With the gold rush being Melbourne 2nd critical point in its history, it lead to the following events that helped shape it's political, fiscal, and urban environments.
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References
Archer, William Henry. The Statistical Register of Victoria, from the Foundation of the Colony; with an Astronomical Calendar for 1855. Melbourne: J. Ferres, Gov't Printer, 1854, 322
“The History of the City of Melbourne”, Records and Archives, City of Melbourne. Published November 1997.
Archer, William Henry. The Statistical Register of Victoria, from the Foundation of the Colony; with an Astronomical Calendar for 1855. Melbourne: J. Ferres, Gov't Printer, 1854, 322
“The History of the City of Melbourne”, Records and Archives, City of Melbourne. Published November 1997.