The Tasmanian ‘49ers

 

In his History of Tasmania, James Fenton reflected that from around 1849 the ‘newly discovered gold fields in California engaged much attention.’ He concluded that many who travelled to the gold fields were unsuccessful, in some cases suffering from such poverty and illness that they were unable to return. The merchants who were hoping to profit from the adventure were also sorely disappointed at the losses they suffered.[1] Very little attention has otherwise been paid to the Tasmanian experience of the California gold rush: John West devoted only a few lines in his early history of the colony and subsequent histories by Michael Roe, Lloyd Robson and even James Boyce are surprisingly silent on the issue. However, L. S. Bethell painted a different picture in his cursory analysis of the rush claiming that goods from Launceston sold like ‘wild-fire as soon as they were landed.’[2] So, what was the extent of the engagement by the inhabitants of Tasmania in the California gold rush? And was the Tasmanian experience of the Californian rush as universally profitless as Fenton described?[3]

NorCal History, Public Domain, via Wikipedia Commons

It was a carpenter from Missouri named James Marshall who allegedly discovered the first gold of the rush at a place named Sutter’s Mill, located on the bank of the South Fork American River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.[4] Marshall had been engaged to construct the mill by Swiss emigrant, Johann Sutter who had been granted land in 1839 by the Mexican Governor of Alta California. According to several later declarations, it is possible that it was the son of Marshall’s assistant and the camp cook, 16-year-old John Wimmer, who in truth found the first nuggets when playing in the mill race. It was John’s mother, the cook Jennie, who first suspected that the material found was indeed gold. Jennie Wimmer, who had had previous experience working on gold fields, tipped off a teamster by paying him with a nugget. This man on his return to Sutter’s Fort paid for a drink with it which led co-owner Sam Brannan to soon after run through San Francisco famously yelling out the news: ‘GOLD!’[5] So even the exact origins of the rush proved to be a contested and confused scenario.

 

In turn the Colonial Times in January 1849 reported ‘Gold! Gold!! Gold!!! Fever’ in California to the population of Tasmania. It also went on to add that all the seaport towns in California were deserted, including San Francisco which had dwindled from a population of 1000 to around 50 or 60 souls and ‘those would leave if it were possible.’[6] Also at this time, news was received of a keg of Californian gold ore which had been transported to Sydney via the schooner Plymouth arriving via the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) as payment for sorely needed supplies of beef and flour.[7] The Sandwich Islands had already been cleared out of goods and a good portion of their population as well, in response to the discovery of gold in California.[8]

The excitement over the opportunity of the Californian gold fields appears to have electrified the local population of Tasmania. Within days of this news, four vessels were taken up in Hobart for the purpose of conveying labourers and provisions to California.[9] Notices relating to available charters providing direct passage to California began to appear in the local papers. The journey was estimated to involve seven weeks sail.[10] The Cornwall Chronicle even published shipping directions for the harbour of San Francisco![11] The first ship to depart the island may have been the schooner Eliza, a 97 ton vessel, on the 21 January it left Hobart destined for the Sandwich Islands and then California.[12] Although unreported at the time in Tasmania, six ships left Sydney on the same day as the Eliza.[13] In January 1849, it was observed that several vessels had been charted to leave from Hobart with supplies of wheat and flour. Despite this claim, only two ships from Hobart were on route to California by 22 February 1849: the Eliza and the Martha & Elizabeth.[14] The first large transport to leave Tasmania was likely the Thomas Lowry carrying approximately 150 persons direct to California sometime in mid-February.[15] Several vessels were reported on route to California from Tasmania in late May.[16]

On 1 April the first ship from the Australian colonies to arrive in California, the Eleanor Lancaster, was confronted by 400 ships anchored in San Francisco Bay.[17] Soon after arrival the crew deserted – a phenomenon that was to become common - and the Captain of the vessel was forced to turn it into a floating grog shop and hospital working the Sacramento River.[18] Some ships were afterwards sold cheaply, including the schooner May, and the yacht Psyche, both from Launceston.[19] Certainly, there were so many eluding the processing and issuing of passports that the Californian government eventually abandoned the policy in July 1849.[20] Perhaps as a reflection of the chaotic condition, the ‘Australians’ first collected on Rincon Hill located on the South side of Yerba Buena Cove but as it was military land were swiftly evicted. Subsequently, they migrated to the North side of the Cove which was coined ‘Sydney Valley’.[21]

 

1850 Men and Women in Californian Gold Rush via Wikimedia Commons.

On arrival, the 49’ers were met with highly inflated prices for basic goods and tools necessary for their schemes. Those that could afford to do so travelled to Sutter’s Mill up the Sacramento River but most could no longer afford it, and so had to walk the 225 mile journey on foot, facing the natural dangers of the open road.[22] Arriving on goldfields in California, men generally agreed to have 5 yards frontage to each claim and they protected any incursion with a gun.[23] In early 1849 those new arrivals who made it to the goldfields joined an estimated 6000 men engaged in digging over an area across 200 miles.[24] Sickness seems to have consistently pervaded the region as much as lawless violence.[25]

A first glimpse of the realities of the Californian gold fields was likely provided by a first-hand account from a Tasmanian participant published in a local paper in September 1849. The observer who had left in February, arrived in San Francisco on 7 May and had only been there a week before reporting back noting the high prices, the lack of government, the ‘lynch law’ and the general ‘paucity of crime and outrage’.[26] The Britannia and Trades’ Advocate lamented in January 1849 that California was attracting the ‘greatest concourse of scoundrels that ever met in one place.’ A general environment of vice and lawlessness was attributed to a lack of government and the presence of only small detachments of troops in the territory.[27] Locals read Governor Mason’s July 1848 declaration to organize a dragoon force for the purpose of identifying deserters from the army and navy (as well as those that employed them) on the goldfields in early February.[28] On the gold fields, grievances were dealt with through a very basic system of justice: each mining party elected a magistrate known as an Alcade and in response to a complaint, he summoned 12 jurors who then make a decision.[29] While not based on any constitutional law at all, punishments ranged from flogging to hanging. Another report describes a $5, 000 reward for the head of one Peter Raymond to the Alcalde (later Mayor) in San Francisco - although it appears he had not been officially convicted of the crime of murder. Similar rewards were being offered for various deserters and outlaws who had made their way to the goldfields.[30] Those who arrived from the Australian colonies developed a poor reputation during the Californian gold rush. Legislation was passed by the state of California to prohibit the influx of ‘vermin’ from penal colonies.[31] A gang called the ‘Sydney Coves’ were to terrorise San Francisco but eventually themselves fell victim to vigilantism.[32]

 

Chinese miners during the Californian Gold Rush, Dept. of Labor: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The gold fields also proved to be a scene of much class and ethnic antagonism. Many Americans felt that the wealth belonged to them and resented anyone not native to the country. Many minorities including Africans, Chilenos and the Chinese all experienced discrimination. Even European groups such as the French and Germans were discriminated against. Discrimination took the form of physical intimidation or violence as well as deliberate bias regulations.[33] Inversely there was a widespread feeling of resentment among the Mexican population over the presence of foreigners on ‘their’ land. A Tasmanian 49’er related in a letter the events of one nasty incident in 1849. A group of Mexicans raised their flag near their dig and some nearby Americans insisted on taking it down. Two Americans from Oregon were shot before twelve Mexicans were killed in revenge and one subsequently lynched.[34]

The harsh realities of the Californian gold rush dawned very gradually on the Australian colonies and more gradually still on the inhabitants of the island colony. A letter from a ‘Horace R.’ dated 12 September 1849 and published in the Courier is typical. Written to his father - a publican in Hobart – Horace insisted there was a fortune to be made and while there were ‘quitters’ and challenges, hard work would pay off.[35] The fact that this letter did not find its way back to Tasmania and into publication until February the following year could be attributed to staggered communication. This might have been exacerbated more by ship Captains who were reluctant to take sealed mail for fear of them passing on information that could affect markets.[36] Regardless, the accounts in the first half of 1850 do appear to be almost invariably positive, one editor adding: ‘Various rumours have been circulated as to the current positions of the Hobart adventurers; many of them, we feel it incumbent upon us to comment, are not founded on fact.’ The passage went on to admit that people were at one point confined to boats due to an outbreak of sickness and one man had been forced to break stones on a road to subsist, but insisted that the economic outlook was otherwise bright.[37] The press wasn’t alone though in their determined optimism. A book was published by a local publisher mid 1850 titled What I Saw in California, California as it is and As it May Be, which purported to provide maps and information relating to gold deposits as well as on a ‘new market’ for agricultural produce.[38]

Mainland and international media appear to have been less optimistic from the outset and their coverage contrasts starkly with the early coverage and analysis of the rush in the local press. An article from the London Weekly Times printed in the Cornwall Chronicle in late January 1850 was already claiming that: ‘…the markets in California are swamped with goods and the gold district is crowded with men… success is barely possible and failure all but certain.’[39] Soon after a report from Sydney reinforced this assessment by relating that recently in California wages had fallen to an average of $5 a day which given the inflated prices there was not fit for subsistence. One consolation earlier in the rush had been that men with skills could avoid the gold fields and still make a profit—now that option was void.[40] A contemporary report though in the Launceston Examiner suggested that wages averaged $12 a day and underemployment was only limited to carpenters because of a scarcity of wood.[41] The eyes of the local media at this time seems to be on the long term prize of new markets, one editor commenting: ‘The rage for gold will not last for ever, but will be succeeded by agricultural pursuits, and the various employments that enrich a community and state.’[42] For at least the first half of 1850, the pattern with the media seemed to repeat itself ad nauseum: enthusiastic editorial comment backed up by a (likely selective) positive account.[43]

It became increasingly clear throughout 1850 though, that California was not emerging as the trade miracle the mercantile class pined for. In January 1850 word was received that the vessel Bandicoot returned from California ‘her cargo not finding a profitable market.’[44] Regardless, an editorial by the editor of the Hobarton Guardian reflected the persistent mainstream view that there were ‘new markets’ to be exploited in California. He concluded: ‘…California, no doubt, may be singularly endowed with that “golden vein”… but people cannot live upon that mineral substance alone…’[45] However it was only several days later the Launceston Examiner briefly reported on the losses suffered by Melbourne traders.[46] Also in early 1850, the Britannia and Trades’ Advocate claimed that the rush had been an important economic stimulus to the economy with a dozen or so vessels preparing to sail to California.[47] However, in December the previous year, the Cornwall Chronicle lamented that ‘We are sorry to hear that the staples of these islands, sugar and molasses—recently shipped there, yield but indifferent returns.’ However, this is followed by a reassuring comment: ‘This will be but a temporary discouragement. Our productions will always be in demand there, and at remunerating prices.’ This seems contradictory as goods cannot both be turned away and always in demand (?!).[48] In fact, exports from the island to California did not even register as a separate category in the records of the port of Launceston for 1849.[49] In July the Launceston Examiner, with no detectable sense of irony or responsibility, announced: ‘It is no longer doubtful that the adventures from this island to San Francisco will on the whole prove ruinous speculations.’ Estimates at losses were put at £100, 000 which were attributed to the fluctuating market, lack of storage facilities and the ‘unsettled character of mercantile establishments.’[50]

The reasons for the merchant losses appear to have been complex and contested. A persistent barrier to success for both merchants and labourers was the high level of protectionism evident in California. Custom charges were soon recognized as exorbitant and probably impacted profits.[51] Additional trade was also restricted as no foreign vessels were being allowed to trade along the coast or up the rivers in the region and regulations were enforced by three American men of war.[52] However one observer, Martin Chuzzlewit in January 1851, acknowledged that while ‘produce shipped from Van Diemen’s Land has not generally realized the expectations of the shippers,’ this could be attributed to ‘the careless and slovenly manner in which goods had been shipped.’ The accusation was that the goods had sometimes been inferior and poorly stowed.[53] It is possible then that many traders were too enthusiastic to cash in on a prospective new opportunity and departed unprepared. The scandal of the Harmony emphasised the incompetence of some agents. It was revealed in February after several weeks of advertising the chance of passage to California, the owners found themselves in debt and unable to service the more than 200 passengers who had already paid for passage, many of whom had sold up to make the journey. Several merchants who had hired the ship to purchase were also inconvenienced – although this is probably one of those occasions wherein individuals were more disadvantaged than merchants.[54] Another example of this incompetence was the appointment of a ticket of leave man as Captain of the Psyche, who afterwards stole the yacht with the help of three other convicts, abandoning her on the Sacramento River before removing themselves to the gold fields.[55]

 

Ships abandoned in Yerba Buena Cove during the Californian Gold Rush in 1849 WIYC, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The prospects and fortunes of the miners were also exaggerated by the local press. In December 1849 a letter from the gold fields reported that ‘all our passengers have done well.’ Although of those he selects to describe, only one of them appears to have found success in the goldfields (having accumulated the modest amount of 5lbs), the others having sold their labour at very high rates. This can probably be attributed to the writer’s own admission that ‘gold digging is considered one of the hardest occupations a man can be set to...’ and clearly that was without any certainty of reward at all.[56] It is clear also that the tyranny of distance had the potential to have a negative impact on personal relationships.[57]

More realistic assessments of the Californian rush were generally not widely circulated in the local press before mid-1850 but then became more regular and savage. A firsthand account by G. F. Goble in July 1850 described California simply as ‘this most miserable corner of the earth.’ He elaborated on his assessment:

I certainly cannot think of advising any person to emigrate to this gold dust-hole, unless he makes up his mind and to save his funeral expenses, in attempting to make and save money. Neither can I advise what goods can be safely imported; provisions of course stands the best chance of success, and colonial timber decidedly the worst. – G. F. Goble, 1 July 1850.[58]

In January 1851 on the return of the Sabina to the island, the Colonial Times reported:

From all that we can hear none have done well at California. Fortunes made by physical labour in men who have never been brought up to it are very romantic notions, and only cherished by dreamy old gentlemen in arm-chairs, who, full of port and poetry, look upon this as the golden age, and California the grand idea of the 19th century.[59]

The reality of the Californian gold rush clearly proved to be a bitter pill for many.

The positive representation of the Californian gold rush in the Tasmanian press then probably accounts for the sustained amount of engagement throughout 1850 and into 1851. The gold rushes coincided with an extended period of economic stagnation that had afflicted the island since 1840 and would continue to do so until 1880.[60] Such was the desperation of the period that many jumped at any opportunity which presented itself. That attitude was reflected in the discussions at a ‘meeting of the working classes’ which occurred at the Commercial Hotel in Collins Street, Hobart on the evening of 25 February 1849. This meeting was held to consider the wisdom of mass emigration to the goldfields. The consensus appears to have been that ‘if there were no gold in California, the working classes… could not be worse off than they were here.’ It was reported that about 100 men present were already willing to emigrate.[61] Even if press coverage had provided an accurate portrait of conditions in California many might have chosen to go anyway, although its highly likely that many merchants would have reconsidered their involvement. Indeed, in early 1851 it was reported that despite negative reports the ‘rage for emigrating to California has broken out anew.’[62] In 1852, John West attested to determined faith in the example and opportunities available in the United States which may also explain this sustained engagement in the Californian rush.[63]

A major factor in the gradual decline in the engagement with the California gold fields by Tasmanian colonists was the instigation of the Australian gold rushes. This followed on from an upsurge in emigration to California from the Australian colonies in early 1851.[64] In February that year, a prospector named Edward Hargraves who had just returned from the Californian gold fields discovered gold while travelling through the Macquarie River country, New South Wales instigating the first of a series of Australian gold rushes.[65] The first reports of the discovery of gold in New South Wales were printed in the local papers in April 1851.[66] The Australian gold fields appear to have provided a more attractive draw over the following years. Their relative proximity in New South Wales and Victoria would have been the first thing to recommend them over the opportunities in California.[67] From a contemporary perspective at least, it was also thought that the environment of the Australian goldfields was safer and better policed than those in California.[68] The Australian gold fields proved to be even more productive than those of California and by 1852 it was estimated that more than two million pounds worth of gold had already been extracted.[69] However, Tasmania was to suffer a distinct population drain during this period, which had already become evident by early 1850.[70] It has been estimated that the male population almost halved between 1842 and 1854, falling from approximately 40, 000 to 22, 661. It has been argued that Tasmania never recovered from the sustained decline in population as a result of these successive gold rushes and this permanently retarded the development of the local economy.[71] The overall population of the colony only increased by 22% between 1848 and 1863.[72]

From an American perspective though, the gold rush in California proved to be a success and helped to stimulate and greatly expand the Californian economy; it probably also accelerated its movement towards statehood.[73] In January 1849 it was estimated that the market value of one ounce was worth 3 pounds 7s and 10 and ½ d.[74] Gold mining stimulated other aspects of the economy in relation to both production and markets. Agriculture often provided opportunities when the lust for gold proved fruitless. Manufacturing expanded to the extent that there were soon 13 foundries in San Francisco by 1861. The retail economy strengthened also with the demand for goods such as clothing, food and hardware. Furthermore, this economic development encouraged the establishment of banks and other financial institutions.[75]

 

Gold Rush Miner's Ball, Andre Castaigne, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

But while there were ‘winners’ of varying degrees, arguably there were far more losers. Real success was rare and although it was often put down to hard work, it’s clear that luck played a larger role.[76] Profit sharing schemes were rife in the period and many proved to be scams.[77] It was reported in mid-1851 that one of the worst vices on the Californian gold fields was gambling, it being estimated that the territory had also lost 25 million dollars to the habit alone from 1848.[78] It was perhaps as the rush died away to a trickle that the economic damage was properly revealed: there were 500 bankruptcy applications alone made under the Insolvent Act in Alta California in the first half of 1855.[79] The French consul actually had to recuse many of their citizens who had become effectively stranded in California.[80] Ultimately, even the men who had instigated the rush failed to profit from it. James Marshall planted a vineyard which failed and he died in poverty. Johann Sutter had his workforce desert him and his various farms and enterprises overrun by prospectors and squatters which caused him to go bankrupt. Despite never having been given title to his Mexican land grants by the United States Government after the Mexican-American War, he unsuccessfully sued for compensation.[81] There is no evidence however of widespread distress among the Tasmanians in California during the height of the rush as described by James Fenton.

Fenton’s assessment of Tasmania’s experience with the Californian gold rush then was probably exaggerated to some degree, but essentially true. While engagement with the Californian gold rush was high in Tasmania, it did not prove to be the economic panacea many desired. Due to its small population the island’s involvement was only fractional compared to that of New South Wales, although its collective enthusiasm was widespread and sustained. That was the case despite the challenging realities of California and its gold fields during this period. This sustained enthusiasm may to some degree be attributed to the staggered and delayed nature of communication at the time and a distorted picture provided by the local press who appear to have represented interests determined to put a positive spin on the rush (perhaps in expectation of rivers of gold flowing back to the colony which never eventuated). The positive media coverage may have given many merchants and individuals a misplaced confidence in the prospects of success. Success for both merchants and miners ran along a spectrum from great wealth to disaster, but the outcomes appear to have of course been clustered at either end. The export traders who tried their luck in the promising new market were frustrated by heavy custom fees, a lack of proper storage facilities and volatile markets, costing local investors an estimated £100, 000. Their failure may have been affected by a lack of preparation in the rush to take advantage of the opportunity. Overall, many Tasmanian prospectors fared better than their mercantile counterparts, although they too felt the sting of inflated prices for goods, unhealthy and violent conditions and often experienced little luck to reward their efforts. Although those who emigrated to work the diggings found more success in selling their labour in the burgeoning Californian economy, as wages were often high, many still found themselves underemployed. There appears to have been a shift in the local press towards the Californian gold rush from unrestrained optimism to a more balanced accounts about midway through 1850. This was probably instigated by increasing accounts of losses and misery that could no longer be dismissed as being the result of unscrupulous agents or work-shy quitters. Regarding the Californian gold rush, John West in the second volume of his Tasmanian History concluded: ‘California has added another to those warnings presented in the history of gold mining, that the absorbing pursuit, for a time, suspends the voice of reason and morality.’[82] Certainly there was much truth in that assessment but most who left for the goldfields survived to become a little richer or at least a little wiser.

- Dr. Colin Woollcott Mallett, 26 November 2021 (revised 21 September 2022).

 

 

Bibliography

 

Primary

 

Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer

 

Britannia and Trades’ Advocate

 

Colonial Times

 

Cornwall Chronicle

 

Courier

 

Hobarton Guardian

 

Launceston Examiner

 

 

Secondary

 

Bethell, L. S. The Story of Port Dalrymple: Life and Work in Northern Tasmania (Hobart, 1957).

 

Chang, S., “A People of Exceptional Character: Ethnic Diversity, Nativism, and Racism in the California Gold Rush’, California History, 79, 2, (Summer 2000), pp. 44-85. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25463688.pdf?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A9505823c65d49836cc574c33f4d59127 accessed on 21 April 2021.

 

Fenton, J. The History of Tasmania from its discovery in 1642 to the present time (Launceston, 1884). URL: http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUColLawMon/1884/2.pdf accessed 21 April 2021.

 

Nash, G. D., ‘A Golden State: Mining and Economic Development in Gold Rush California’, California History, 77, 4 (Winter, 1998/1999), pp. 276-292. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25462518.pdf?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aff6778071422621dc1fa472f888065c8 accessed 21 April 2021.

 

Reynolds, H. ‘The Island Colony’, Unpublished Masters’ Thesis, University of Tasmania, History and Classics, 1963. URL: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/9287/2/X_Reynolds_whole_thesis.pdf accessed 13 November 2021.

 

Reynolds, J. Launceston: History of an Australian City (South Melbourne, 1965).

 

Smyth, T. Australian Desperadoes (North Sydney, 2017).

 

West, J. The History of Tasmania Vol. II (Launceston, 1852).

 

 

Online Resources

 

‘Eleanor Lancaster’ in Ships Passengers – Seas Captains, The Maritime Heritage Project 1846-1899. URL: https://www.maritimeheritage.org/passengers/Eleanor-Lancaster-2April1850.html accessed 5 May 2021.

 

---

[1] James Fenton, The History of Tasmania from its discovery in 1642 to the present time (Launceston, 1884), p. 201. URL: http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AUColLawMon/1884/2.pdf accessed 21 April 2021.

[2] Llewelyn Slingsby Bethell, The Story of Port Dalrymple: Life and Work in Northern Tasmania (Hobart, 1957), p. 52.

[3] For the uninitiated, the colony of Tasmania was originally known as Van Diemen’s Land. The name was changed after the attainment of self-government in 1856. However, I have decided to refer to the island as ‘Tasmania’ and its population as ‘Tasmanians’ to avoid confusion.

[4] Gerald D. Nash. ‘A Golden State: Mining and Economic Development in Gold Rush California’, California History, 77, 4 (Winter, 1998/1999), p. 276. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25462518.pdf?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aff6778071422621dc1fa472f888065c8 accessed on 21 April 2021.

[5] Terry Smyth, Australian Desperadoes (North Sydney, 2017), pp. 11-16.

[6] Colonial Times, 9 Jan 1849, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8764206?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 21 April 2021.

[7] Launceston Examiner, 10 January 1849, p.6. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36256438?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 4 May 2021.

[8] Britannia and Trades’ Advocate, 11 January 1849, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226532513?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 4 May 2021.

[9] Launceston Examiner, 13 January 1849, p. 6. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36256470?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 4 May 2021.

[10] See early examples for the ‘Marianne’, ‘Eliza’ and ‘John Bull’ in: Hobarton Guardian 13 January 1849, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163503679?searchTerm=Gold%20California   & Britannia and Trades’ Advocate, 18 January 1849, p. 1. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226536808?searchTerm=Gold%20California both accessed 4 May 2021.

[11] Cornwall Chronicle, 18 January 1849, p. 317. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65977958?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 4 May 2021.

[12] See advertisement for the services of the Eliza in Courier, 13 January 1849, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2967062?searchTerm=Gold%20California & news of its departure in Launceston Examiner, 24 January 1849, p. 7. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36256533?searchTerm=Gold%20California both accessed 4 May 2021.

[13] Terry Smyth, op. cit., p. 21

[14] Britannia and Trades’ Advocate, 22 February 1849, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226534559?searchTerm=California accessed 23 March 2021.

[15] Launceston Examiner, 3 February 1849, p. 6. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36256614?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed on 4 May 2021. I have not yet found evidence of this ship’s departure but the voyage is still predicted in: Hobarton Guardian, 7 February 1849, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163503827?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 24 March 2021.

[16] Colonial Times, 29 May 1849, p. 3, URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8765009?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 24 March 2021.

[17] Colonial Times, 21 August 1849, p. 2. URL:  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8765526?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 21 April 2021  & Terry Smyth, op. cit., p. 21.

[18] ‘Eleanor Lancaster’ in Ships Passengers – Seas Captains, The Maritime Heritage Project 1846-1899. URL: https://www.maritimeheritage.org/passengers/Eleanor-Lancaster-2April1850.html accessed 5 May 2021. A similar account of desertion aboard the ‘Margaret Brock’ can be found in Hobarton Guardian, 13 July 1850, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173057680?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[19] Llewelyn Slingsby Bethell, op. cit., p. 52.

[20] Sucheng Chang, “A People of Exceptional Character: Ethnic Diversity, Nativism, and Racism in the California Gold Rush’, California History, 79, 2, (Summer 2000), p. 52. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25463688.pdf?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A9505823c65d49836cc574c33f4d59127 accessed 21 April 2021.

[21] Terry Smyth, op.cit., p. 22.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Hobarton Guardian, 13 June 1849, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163504321?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 21 April 2021.

[24] Courier, 31 January 1849, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2966910?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 23 March 2021.

[25] Courier, 13 February 1850, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2963651?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 21 April 2021.

[26] Hobarton Guardian, 19 September 1849, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163504868?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed on 21 April 2021.

[27] Britannia and Trades’ Advocate, 11 January 1849, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226532513?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 4 May 2021.

[28] Britannia and Trades’ Advocate, 1 February 1849, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226531549?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 4 May 2021.

[29] Launceston Examiner, 26 December 1849, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36259223?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[30] Britannia and Trades’ Advocate, 14 June 1849, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226531555?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 21 April 2021.

[31] Launceston Examiner, 16 November 1850, p. 16. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36267489?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed on 30 June 2021.

[32] Terry Smyth, op. cit., passim.

[33] Sucheng Chang, op. cit., pp. 59-74. URL:  https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25463688.pdf?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A9505823c65d49836cc574c33f4d59127 accessed 21 April 2021.

[34] Hobarton Guardian, 19 September 1849, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/163504868?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed on 21 April 2021.

[35] Courier, 13 February 1850, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2963651?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 21 April 2021.

[36] Launceston Examiner, 5 June 1850, p. 6. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8767238?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 2 June 2021.

[37] Cornwall Chronicle, 26 January 1850, p. 60. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65976009/6249146 accessed 21 April 2021.

[38] Colonial Times, 24 May 1850, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8767238?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 2 June 2021.

[39] Cornwall Chronicle, 23 January 1850, p. 52. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65975549/6249138 accessed 19 May 2021.

[40] Cornwall Chronicle, 16 March 1850, p. 171. URL:  https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65977700?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 2 June 2021.

[41] Launceston Examiner, 16 January 1850, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36264898?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[42] Cornwall Chronicle, 22 December 1849, p. 1018. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65974997?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[43] Cornwall Chronicle, 20 March 1850, p. 178. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65976954?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 2 June 2021.

[44] Cornwall Chronicle, 26 January 1850, p. 60. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65976009/6249146 accessed 21 April 2021.

[45] Hobarton Guardian, 12 January 1850, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173056733?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[46] Launceston Examiner, 16 January 1850, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36264898?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[47] Britannia and Trades’ Advocate, 10 January 1850, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/226530894?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[48] Cornwall Chronicle, 22 December 1849, p. 1018. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65974997?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[49] Launceston Examiner, 27 March 1850, p. 5. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36265590?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 2 June 2021.

[50] Launceston Examiner, 20 July 1850, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36266544/3628282 accessed 30 June 2021. There were still several accounts of profitable voyages during this period though including those made by the Margaret Brock and the Dorset. See Hobarton Guardian, 13 July 1850, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173057680?searchTerm=California%20Gold & Colonial Times, 13 Jul 1850, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8767688?searchTerm=California%20Gold both accessed 30 June 2021.

[51] Launceston Examiner, 16 January 1850, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36264898?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[52] Courier, 19 January 1850, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2963841?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 Mary 2021.

[53] Colonial Times, 7 January 1851, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8768527?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[54] Launceston Examiner, 23 February 1850, p. 6. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36265334?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 2 June 2021.

[55] Llewelyn Slingsby Bethell, op. cit., pp. 52-4.

[56] Cornwall Chronicle, 26 December 1849, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36259223?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021. The value of 5 lbs of golf was probably approximately £50. See material referenced in note 48.

[57] Hobarton Guardian, 28 September 1850, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173058111?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[58] Cornwall Chronicle, 7 September 1850, p. 586. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65975652?searchTerm=California%20Gold  Goble was the master of the Portland and one of the first traders from Launceston to arrive in California. See Cornwall Chronicle, 22 February 1851, p. 116. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65574498/6227029 both accessed 30 June 2021.

[59] Colonial Times, 24 January 1851, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8768625?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[60] John Reynolds, Launceston: History of an Australian City (South Melbourne, 1965), p. 75.

[61] Colonial Times, 26 January 1849, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8764322?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed on 23 March 2021.

[62] Hobarton Guardian, 19 March 1851, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173059173?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[63] John West, The History of Tasmania Vol. II (Launceston, 1852), p. 347. West observes: ‘They are now our nearest neighbours: their markets are affected by our own; their territory offers the quickest transit to Europe; every hour will develop the immense importance of this contiguity—that passage across the isthmus of Panama, once represented as the last achievement reserved for commerce and science in their highest maturity, has already been assured.’

[64] Britannia and Trades’ Advocate, 10 April 1851, p. 4. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/225556817?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[65] Terry Smyth, op. cit., p. 6.

[66] This was in the form of a letter from a Mr. Hudder who had returned from California and was now digging in the Macquarie River country reproduced in Courier, 16 April 1851, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2961050?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[67] Indeed, the provisional discovery of gold in Tasmania led to the claim that ‘people here need not proceed to California or New South Wales, to arrive at the “diggings.”’ See: Launceston Examiner, 18 June 1851, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36260557?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[68] Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer, 12 July 1851, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59772848?searchTerm=Bankrupt%20California%20gold%20merchant accessed 24 March 2021.

[69] John West, The History of Tasmania Vol. II (Launceston, 1852), p. 347.

[70] It is reported that: ‘The attraction of the gold mania still continues and is rapidly diminishing the population of this colony, not of the idle, useless and worthless, but of the mechanics and labourers that are willing and able to work.’ Colonial Times, 5 February 1850, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8766528?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 19 May 2021.

[71] Llewelyn Slingsby Bethell, op. cit., pp. 54, 137. In fact, the population of Launceston only increased from 10, 359 to 10, 668 between 1861 and 1870!

[72] John Reynolds, op. cit., p. 75. & Henry Reynolds, op. cit., p. 2. URL: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/9287/2/X_Reynolds_whole_thesis.pdf accessed 13 November 2021.

[73] The proclamation of the state constitution was reported as having been made the previous November in Launceston Examiner, 16 February 1850, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36265258?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 2 June 2021 & the new seal of the state of California is described in Launceston Examiner, 12 Jun 1850, p. 5. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36266241?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[74] Colonial Times, 12 January 1849, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/8764233?searchTerm=Gold%20California accessed 23 March 2021.

[75] Gerald D. Nash. op. cit., p. 276-280. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25462518.pdf?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3Aff6778071422621dc1fa472f888065c8 accessed 21 April 2021.

[76] In fact, one account claims that California is suited to two classes of men: those with money to lose, those with the strength to work with a remote chance of success, noting a ‘probationer’s life in Van Diemen’s Land is enviable to an emigrant’s here’. See Cornwall Chronicle, 13 July 1850, p. 441. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/65977562?searchTerm=California%20Gold accessed 30 June 2021.

[77] Sucheng Chang, op. cit., p. 62. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25463688.pdf?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A9505823c65d49836cc574c33f4d59127 accessed 21 April 2021.

[78] Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer, 12 July 1851, p. 3. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/59772848?searchTerm=Bankrupt%20California%20gold%20merchant accessed 24 March 2021.

[79] Courier, 29 October 1855, p. 2. URL: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/2493051?searchTerm=Bankrupt%20California%20gold%20merchant accessed 21 April 2021.

[80] Sucheng Chang, op. cit., p. 62. URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25463688.pdf?ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A9505823c65d49836cc574c33f4d59127 accessed 21 April 2021.

[81] Terry Smith, op. cit., p. 17.

[82] John West, op. cit., p. 350.