What were the Gold Rushes? Why did people from all over the world get ‘gold fever’?

What was life like on the Ballarat goldfields of Victoria, on Wada Wurrung Country?

With so many different groups of people, how did everyone get along?

Did First Nations people mine gold too? What was the Eureka Stockade?

How did the Gold Rushes change Australia?

Students from Preshill Primary School and Westbourne Grammar in Melbourne tell us what they know about the Gold Rushes.

Fred Cahir, Andrew Pearce, Sarah Van de Wouw and an oral history about a Chinese miner share the different experiences of goldfields life.

How to use this episode in your classroom

Play all the way through (28 minutes) or play half the episode (14 minutes) and pause.
We'll tell you when you've reached halfway, and recap the episode.
Use the 4 page Learning Materials worksheet PDF with your class, and find more resources on our website.

Voices

Professor Fred Cahir is a professor in Australian History at Federation University.
Andrew Pearce is the Learning Program Leader at Sovereign Hill, Ballarat.
Sarah Van de Wouw is the Education Officer at the Eureka Centre, Ballarat.
Gabrielle Wang interviewed by Anna Zhu for the Australians with Chinese heritage oral history project, from the National Library of Australia online catalog.

Gold panning dish. Image courtesy of the National Museum of Australia.

Hosted by Axel Clark.
Made on Gadigal Country by Anna Clark, Clare Wright, Jane Curtis and Britta Jorgensen.
Executive producers are Clare Wright and Anna Clark.
Podcast concept, design and development by Anna Clark.
Indigenous Cultural Consultant is Katrina Thorpe.
Story editor is Kyla Slaven.
Learning material by Nick Adeney, Victorian primary educator
Curriculum advisors are Nicole Laauw, Department of Education NSW, and Rose Reid, Association of Independent Schools of NSW

Impact Studios' executive producer is Sarah Gilbert.