Other Rushes

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Tasmania.

Queensland.

Western Australia.

Lasseter's Lost Reef

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Other Rushes - Tasmania

The Tasmanian Government offered a reward of ú5000 for the discovery of payable gold in the colony. In 1852, James Grant found alluvial gold at The Nook, Fingal and in 1856, the Rev. W.B. Clarke, at the invitation of the Tasmanian Government, reported on the Fingal goldfield and the basin of the South Esk. Clarke was unable to accept the offer of the Tasmanian Government, in 1858 , to take up an appointment as their geological surveyor.

JOHN SKINNER PROUT. Malvina's Glen, Fingal, Van Diemen's Land , 184? Watercolour.
(State Library of New South Wales Z ML PXD 75, f.12)

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Other Rushes - Queensland

Gold was discovered in Queensland in the 1850s. Samuel Stuthcbury, as official geologist for New South Wales, which included Queensland until 1859, found traces of gold at Calliope, near Port Curtis. In 1867, the first important field was discovered at Gympie.

Towns such as Gympie and Charters Towers, another gold 'boom' town, owed much of their development to the gold rushes of the 1860s and 1870s.

Cooktown and other coastal settlements were largely developed because of their importance as service towns for the rich gold fields further inland. The rich Palmer fields, west of Cooktown became one of Queensland's most prosperous goldfields.

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Other Rushes - Western Australia

The first important finds in Western Australia were those of the Kimberley auriferous fields, which were discovered in 1883 by the government geologist E.T. Hardman. Development of this and other fields was beset by problems of distance , unexplored regions and lack of water.

In 1892, William Ford and Arthur Bayley found gold at Bayley's Reward (Coolgardie). Despite major problems of supply, particularly of water which had to be brought by horses and camels, the news of gold discoveries led to a rush just as it had in the eastern states.

Water was a constant problem and prospectors died of thirst if they were ill-prepared. The problem was overcome with the development of the railway and the Murchison Pipeline, the latter completed in 1902.

Another famous goldfield was discovered by Patrick Hannon and two friends in June, 1893. This field was near the East Coolgardie area and developed into Kalgoorlie. The Golden Mile is the name given to a rich auriferous reef in the East Coolgardie area.

Camp and bullion tents at Bayley, 28 Sept. 1893, Coolgardie
Post Office, Coolgardie
FREDERICK M WILLIAMS. 'Camp and bullion tents at Bayley, 28 Sept. 1893, Coolgardie' and 'Post Office, Coolgardie' in Views of Coolgardie. Wash and ink.
(State Library of New South Wales ML *D111, pt.1)

[Other Rushes][Rush to Riches][Gold 150][UOB Page]

Other Rushes - Lasseter's Lost Reef

Gold fever continued after the turn of the century and the decline of the alluvial fields. Lewis Harold Bell Lasseter, sometimes known as 'possum', claimed to have discovered a rich reef of gold in the region centering on the Petermann Ranges, on the border between Western and Central Australia.

In 1930, Lasseter organised an expedition to find this reef. Dissention broke out among the party members who lacked confidence in Lasseter's discovery and disaster struck when Errol Coote, the expedition's pilot, crashed his plane near Ayers Rock , culminating in Lasseter deciding to go on alone. He was not seen alive again.

Robert Buck organised a search party and later alleged that he had found Lasseter's remains. He also retrieved a valuable diary from which Ion Idriess wrote his account of the expedition.

Lasseter's Reef, as it has become known, has never been located.

LEWIS HAROLD BELL LASSETER. Diary, 1930.
(State Library of New South Wales MLMSS 3269)

Diary is opened at the entry which highlights Lasseter's despair over the failure of the expeditions.

This agony is awful 4 planes in three days. Why is no relief sent.... why do I cling so to life when a shot would end my torment its just because I want to know why everyone has failed me? to die a lonely horrible death is bad, but not to know why is worse.



[Other Rushes][Rush to Riches][Gold 150][UOB Page]

Project Coordinator UOB - Heather Mays [E-Mail : hjm@mfs1.ballarat.edu.au]
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