LIFE ON GOLD FIELD

BY DANIEL

People lived in tents first and later on they lived in huts made from canvas, wood and bark. Later on there were stores and traders but life was still hard for people because people had to wake up early and work hard trying to find gold. Children would have to change school and would take a while before a school was found in a new area so often there was no schooling at all. There was not much clean water because it was very muddy from the diggings. People often got sick and died from the diseases such as dysentery and typhoid

Fresh food at the gold fields was limited and the basic diet was mutton, damper (a bread of flour, water and salt cooked over an open fire) and tea. Traders brought food by cart to sell to the people at the fields but it was very expensive

damper tea

Miners and diggers wore striped flannel shirt or a cotton shirt with moleskin trousers with leather belt and heavy leather boots. They also wore high boots that came up to their knees with a wide-brimmed hat.

Gentlemen who were rich wore suits and the richer they were the higher the hat was which was more expensive.

Women wore long dresses with high necks and tight waists. They wore striped stockings, boots, cotton petticoat and bloomers underneath. They also wore a large bonnet hat to protect their heads from the sun. Rich ladies wore white gloves and lace sleeves.

Children on the goldfields wore outfits like their parents except boys wore dresses till they were 5 years old.

Groups were allocated duties such as mining, cooking and growing

People from all over the globe heard there was gold in Australia. Many people left their home and jobs and family and set out to digging for gold. Farmers, labourers, educated, people and teachers – thousands of them went to Australia to try their luck.

News of the gold rush in Australia reached China in 1853.The country had been suffering from years of war. When the Chinese reached the goldfield they stayed together in large teams with one man in charge. There was ignorance about Chinese customs and culture, and the Chinese were very strange and different to the European diggers. The people at the diggings were suspicious of their methods of mining . The appearance of the Chinese, with their pigtails and unfamiliar clothes, their habit of going barefoot and of carrying loads balanced from two bamboo poles, their religion, all made them the target of a great deal of racism .

What was life like for woman and children

Woman

In early years of the gold rush there were very few women at any of the goldfields. A few women were diggers, and some were shopkeepers at the diggings. A few years later, many women took their children and joined their husbands when conditions improved. However, there were always more men than women at the goldfields, and it was a hard life for all. Women's work consisted of washing, ironing and cooking. They made bread, butter, jams, soap and clothes for the family. The living conditions were cramped, and there were few comforts at the diggings.

Children

Life on the goldfields for children was very harsh. They were used as another source of labour. The children lived in the same poor and basic living conditions as their parents. Some children had jobs such as a messenger for shop keepers and miners to earn some money to help their parents. Many children died from diseases because their immune system was not very strong.