The colonial governments in Melbourne and Sydney imposed a licence fee to dig for gold. This licence gave a miner the right to peg out a small ‘claim’ of eight feet square (2.4m). Licences helped the government keep track of the large number of people moving to the goldfields.

How much did a gold mining licence cost?

The government imposed a 30 shillings per month licence fee in order for the miners to work their claim. Police were sent to the goldfields to enforce the payment and were known to use unwarranted force when dealing with miners who did not, or could not, pay.

How big was a claim in the gold rush?

In 1872 a large gold and quartz “Holtermann Nugget” discovered by the night shift in a mine part owned by Bernhardt Holtermann at Hill End, near Bathurst, New South Wales: the largest specimen of reef gold ever found, 1.5 meters (59 inches) long, weighing 286 kg (630 pounds), in Hill End, near Bathurst, and with an …

What was a gold Licence?

Gold licences were a way for the government to assert the rights of the Crown (under law all minerals belonged to the Crown), to tax the miners, and to attempt to control the number of people flocking to the goldfields. on the goldfields also had to purchase monthly licences.

What did gold miners have to pay for licences?

Miners in Victoria in the 1850s were required to pay a licence fee to the government for the right to dig for gold. Miner’s licences were first issued on 1 September 1851 and cost 30 shillings a month (later reduced to £1 a month or £8 a year). The licence fees were supposed to cover the cost of maintaining the police force on the goldfields.

Why was the Gold Licence important in the Gold Rush?

Licences helped the government keep track of the large number of people moving to the goldfields. They also raised money to pay for roads, administration and police. From the start miners complained that the licence was expensive and unfair, since they were required to pay whether they found gold or not.

When was the first miner’s licence introduced in Australia?

The miner’s licence or sandstormer’s licence was the colonial government’s response to the need to provide infrastructure including policing during the Australian gold rushes. The first Australian mining laws were enacted in 1851.

How did the Anti Gold Licence Association start?

There had been protests against the miner’s license from its inception. The miners’ grievance led to the formation of the Anti-Gold Licence Association in 1853, which resolved that miners pay no more than 10 shillings in license fees and, if this reduction was refused, to pay no more fees. On 30 August 1853,…