Gold diggers hut of canvas and bark in the Australian gold fields in the 1850s. The Australian population of 437,655 doubled in the 1850's stimulated by the gold rush.

When gold was discovered in Australia in the 1850s, it brought gold-seekers from around the world to the colonies. The first big discoveries of gold were at Ophir in New South Wales, and then at Ballarat and Bendigo Creek in Victoria. The gold rushes led to a bigger population and economy, as well as new ideas about how Australia should be organised and governed.