Difficulties faced by migrants and the lasting impact on Australia

Australia's first multicultural experience

The gold rush brought with it Australia's first experience of cultural diversity. Ambitious prospectors from all over the world came to try their luck in Australia.

In many ways, life on the goldfields was democratic. Status was determined not by social class, but by one's success at finding gold. Many put aside their cultural differences and customs, united by a single purpose - the discovery of gold. Men from all parts of the world and from all classes and occupations worked side by side.

With most of the mining activity focused around Victoria and New South Wales, these two States witnessed the largest waves of immigration. Victoria's population increased nearly sevenfold between 1851 and 1861, from 80 000 to 540 000. The goldfields population increased from 20 000 in 1851 to 150 000 in 1858.

The immigration wave continued long after gold production had slowed, with many equally attracted by the prospect of a new life and a fresh start as they were by finding gold. By far the largest migrant group was from the United Kingdom.

Between 1852 and 1860, over 290 000 people arrived in Victoria from the British Isles. In 1861, 29 percent of the population were born in Australia, 60 percent were from the United Kingdom and eleven percent were from other parts of Europe, America and Asia.

While the goldfields of New South Wales were less prosperous by comparison to those in Victoria, the State nevertheless experienced a large boost in population, from 200 000 in 1851 to 357 000 in 1861.

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Canvas towns

The massive influx of immigrants was more than the fledgling colonies of New South Wales and Victoria could handle. Room soon became scarce as lodging houses and hotels were quickly filled. Faced with the ongoing wave of immigrants arriving in ships almost daily, new measures had to be taken to provide some kind of accommodation for the new arrivals.

`Canvas towns' began to spring up in the south of Melbourne. New arrivals to Victoria were given a rough canvas tent and these were set up in rows, forming `streets'. The occupants of the canvas towns named the streets that were formed, mostly after prestigious English streets such as Bond Street, Regent Street and so on. The existence of these small canvas settlements was legalised by Governor LaTrobe in 1852, who imposed a weekly rent of five shillings per tent. See image 2

Impact on Australia

From a fledgling penal settlement, the gold rush and ensuing waves of immigration changed the face of the nation. The arrival of skilled workers and tradesmen provided a boost to the economy as new facilities were made available. The colonies witnessed widespread progress in many areas of industry, particularly in manufacturing as factories were gradually established and opened.

The presence of so many migrants from different countries created tensions between different groups. The infamous White Australia policy was established to limit the number of non-English-speaking migrants from entering Australia. This policy had its roots in the convict era, where the divisions between free men and newly emancipated convicts were sharply drawn. This social division developed into a cultural divide when migrants from non-English speaking backgrounds arrived in Australia.

These cultural conflicts persisted for many years, and were the cause of longstanding tensions between different groups. The immigration policies formed during the time of the gold rushes were rigorously enforced and persisted well into the 20th century. See image 3