science · 29 October 1891 · 133 years ago
death
Died 29 Oct 1891 at age 75 (born 7 Oct 1816).
Edward Hammond Hargraves was an English prospector whose discovery of gold started the Australian Gold Rush, which attracted many new migrants from around the world in search of gold. Previously, when he heard of the California Gold Rush (started 24 Jan 1848) Hargraves travelled there. He learned the necessary skills, but had no success. So he next tried in Australia. On 12 Feb 1851, aged 34, he rode on horseback along Lewis Ponds Creek, north of Guyong, New South Wales with a guide, John Lister, age 18. They stopped at a water hole. There, Hargraves was excited by the similarity of terrain to his days prospecting in California. Panning the dirt in a schistose dyke, he soon found a few specks of gold, and more in further explorations of the region.
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