Welcome Spectators to my blog,
Today I'm going to be telling you about the gold rush in New Zealand. It happened about in the 1860s. The gold rush was everywhere after someone found gold in NZ, the British and Chinese started to go to NZ. When the gold rush started people went crazy. People began to have mines and claims.
They used to mine lots of stone and dirt until they found gold. Most people were lucky because there was so much gold in NZ that hadn't been obtained yet. However, lots of people were lucky to get lots of gold and sell it for a huge amount.
Anyways gold is valuable because it's rare to find and its shiny, and lots of people admire it. Many people think that wearing valuable gold makes them look so rich and have lots of friends but it will create fake friends for you instead. Some of them want to steal your stuff.
Sometimes gold is found through quartz or they could be found in the rivers coming around for years. They are the most common. Most miners dig tunnels because gold from mining is worth more than getting it from a river. If you are lucky you could find some flecks of gold in a quartz vein!
Most miners who came to NZ for the gold are mostly greedy and when you ask them where they found the gold and where they mined it they would say, "Where it be or there it be etc." They wouldn't tell where the most gold is discovered. They want the gold for themselves.
Sometimes gold is found through quartz or they could be found in the rivers coming around for years. They are the most common. Most miners dig tunnels because gold from mining is worth more than getting it from a river. If you are lucky you could find some flecks of gold in a quartz vein!
Most miners who came to NZ for the gold are mostly greedy and when you ask them where they found the gold and where they mined it they would say, "Where it be or there it be etc." They wouldn't tell where the most gold is discovered. They want the gold for themselves.
There are many places to find gold, but I'm going to list about 6 countries to find gold. Some of them are in the top best places to find gold. The places are China, New Zealand, Australia, The US, Russia and Canada.
Gold is a very rare and shiny element that only some people mined. And some people sold some for money. Gold is a pure and very rich colour. But its also heavy at the same time so if you have one bar it would weigh a lot.
Who was the first European to find gold in New Zealand? Well, it was Charles Ring he first found it in the Diving Creek near Coromandel Township. He found the gold in 1852 and that was when the gold rush started in Coromandel Township.
From 1852 and to 2003 the amount of gold found in New Zealand was crazy big. It could probably beat the billions by now with the gold price increased within the years. In the Coromandel Peninsula, over 312 tonnes of gold was found there and in the West Coast, there were approximately 274 tonnes. And in Otago there were 265 tonnes of gold found. After when you add all that its a lot. But there was still more.
When did the gold rush start in these four regions? Well in Coromandel it started one year earlier than Golden Bay so Coromandel probably found more gold than a Golden Bay. But the name Golden Bay was probably nicked named after when they were lots of gold there. The gold rush in Golden Bay started in 1853 and in Otago, it started in 1861. Lastly, on the West Coast, it started the same year as Otago. It started in 1861.
Thank you for reading my blog post. If you got here without skipping then thank you for reading. There is a lot of words to read but it was worth it in the end because you probably learned something new about New Zealand. Anyways I can't finish it this week the 200 blog post celebration I have a very very busy week. I got to practice dancing and acting and my drums and more. So maybe next week. Thanks.
This is SUPERB Aaron! You have posted a wonderful overview of the Gold Rush in Aotearoa/NZ in the 1800s and have also included some key dates up to 2003 this century! I like the fact that you've mentioned outer countries that have had their own 'Gold Rush.' Great to see you've used the reading to support your writing, but then added extra information from your own research. WOW!
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ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful writing .. well done. Your work is thorough, and nicely detailed. Would you like to know more about the NZ Gold Mining experience etc? The NZ expert on this history is a close friend of mine, has come to our kura before to talk with students, and I know would love to meet you if you were interested in this history.
Kia ora Aaron
ReplyDeleteThis is really good work! You've done a good job hunting out the details, such as the work of James Ring in 1852. There were a few earlier finds, such as one poor Australian-based convict who got punished when he found gold in 1838 on a small island off the Coromandel Coast. He showed it to the convict work group overseer, who thought that he must have stolen, and whipped him!
I am impressed with your quote from the Cornish: "Where it be, there it be." It is pretty annoying to have such a vague quote said to you, if you are a prospector wanting to start your own mining claim!
You are also 100% correct to note how the rush for gold (it used to be called 'gold mania' or 'gold fever') happened around the world. But of course, sometimes the world came to New Zealand. We had miners from Germany, Italy, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, China, Australia and from all parts of North America all arrive here, hoping to get rich. Some left mining and ran businesses, so if you go into a Hannah's Shoe store or a Hallenstein's store, you're going into an old goldfields firm!
There are lots of stories to read from the gold rush. But please keep researching and writing your own. You have started well, now please carry on! I've been writing about the gold rush for 35 years now, and I still love studying the subject.
So well done, gold rush scholar!
Kia Ora Aaron this is really an amazing blog post, I like how you put in a lot of information about Gold Rush. It has a lot of detailed information like when did they discovered the gold, the first person who discovered the gold, the value of a gold, places where gold were and what effects it could have having gold with you. Maybe next time you could add images of gold and maybe so pictures of miners.
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