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Migration 1851-1860 - Coggle Diagram
Migration 1851-1860
The gold rush decade brought great change to Victoria, demographically, economically, politically and socially
For a certain amount of time, gold supersedes wool as our main export
Much of the groundwork of Victorian society had been laid before 1850, in terms of infrastructure and the establishment of a gov, the discovery of gold simply accelerates and exaggerates these processes
After the discovery of gold in 1851, both assisted and non-assisted migration continues in the colony
A major demographic consequence of the gold rushes was the dramatic increase in population from around 80,000 to 540,000, there is also a large influx of Chinese and European migrants
Most gold rush migrants believed they would strike it rich and go home, this was not case, many stayed, changing the ethnic makeup of Victoria
May 1852, 6 ships carrying 8 tonners of gold arrive in England cause great excitement amongst the english
Overall, 580,000 emigrated to Victoria from July 1851 to December 1861, 40% of diggers came from other colonies within Australia
Squatters left desperate for labour demanded Gov La Trobe to gather as many assisted migrants as possible, criteria for migration was overturned to discourage single men to colony out of fear they would head to the diggings thus the migration of single women and families was strongly encouraged
Despite concerns raised by colonists about the quality of these migrants, Broome concludes that most of these assisted migrants were to live 'decent and useful lives in the colony'
Violent episodes erupted between ethnic groups, these episodes paled in comparison the 'prejudice and discrimination meted out to the Chinese' Broome
In response to demands of European diggers, the gov introduced a £10 landing tax on the Chinese, they also limited their entry to 1 person every 10 tonnes of shipping, the protectorate system was introduced to contain migrant communities and hopefully reduce violence
Chinese European relations reached a crisis in 1857, the vast number of Chinese entering the colony increased tensions, the Buckland River Riot occured on 4th July 1857 resulted in 100 armed Europeans ransacking/destroying Chinese camps, at least 3 Chinese men died
'Whilst such actions were carried out by a minority of Europeans, they were supported by the silence of the majority' Broome
Gov Hotham justifies the tax to his superiors in London, who were mindful of treatment of foreigners, he states the number of chinese threatened to outnumber British residents thereby causing unrest and endangering the colony
The European diggers would chop the ponytails of Chinese men, keeping them as trophey's
Further taxes were imposed on the Chinese, included an annual £6 tax, the Chinese fought this in several way, petitioning as law abiding citizens and finally just evading taxes all together
Ultimately the Chinese suffered discrimination because they were the most socially and culturally distinct group, they also posed a threat as they demonstrated they were hard-working economic competitors who increased the sense of failure among the unsuccessful European diggers
By the late 1850s 10,000 Chinese men had returned to China, whilst another 10,000 went to NSW as gold was discovered
Women on the goldfields preferred to buy vegetables from the Chinese and John Alloe was one Chinese man who set up a Chinese restaurant on the goldfields
There is a dramatic increase in the numbers of non-assisted migrants to Victoria, rising from 60,000 to 250,000, only 60% were labourers as opposed to the 90% of assisted, 20% were skilled tradesmen, 10% professionals
The common age of migrants was between 20 and 24, the irish were underrepresented due to the fare, as were women due to the nature of the labour
Whilst 85% of migrants came from the UK, down form 95%, other nations were soon represented on the gold fields. The Chinese were by far the largest group of foreign nationals on the fields. By December 1858, they number about 40,000 and comprise 20% of the mining population
Germans were the largest group of continental Europeans on the goldfields with around 8,000
8/10 diggers earned the equivalent of reasonable wages, paid their way or lost money, there was a quick turnover of diggers with half of those leaving within few weeks
The most money could be found with those who became merchants and publicans, filling the market with their business on the gold fields
Chinese men left their families back in China with only 2 women on the gold fields in 1857, this contributed to the European belief that they were going to take 'our women'
Half of those who arrived during the gold rush stayed on, by 1960 the colony's population was young and vigorous, its literacy rate was higher than other Australian colonies, almost 1 in 10 were not either British or Irish