|
Associated with the discovery of gold in
Australia. Hargraves was born in England in 1816 and first came to
Australia in 1832. He worked at various jobs before joining the
California gold rush in 1849. He returned intent upon finding gold in
Australia in payable quantities (numerous small finds had been made, and
the government had posted a reward for the location of payable
deposits). In 1951 he panned a small quantity of gold at a place he
named Ophir, near Bathurst in New South Wales. Hargraves taught his
companions Lister and the Tom brothers to pan using a cradle, and
travelled to Sydney to publicise his find. Lister and the Toms located
deposits in payable quantities at Ophir in April 1951, and Hargraves
staked the claim for the site and collected the 500 pound reward. He
later received a further 10,000 and a noted position in society but died
in poverty as authorities realised that Lister and the Toms had been the
ones to discover gold in payable quantities.
Copyright unknown
Explorer Index
|
|
![[Visit Oska]](../../images/oska003.gif)
