How did Edward Hargraves contribute to the Australian gold rush?
Edward Hargraves had carefully studied the geology of the Bathurst area and, convinced that it was similar to that of the California goldfields, from where he had just returned, went prospecting. He asked for assistance from John Lister, a man who had already found gold in the region. Lister led Hargraves directly to where gold was found, at Summerhill Creek, at a site which Hargraves named “Ophir”. After reporting his discovery, he was appointed a ‘Commissioner of Land’, receiving a reward of £10,000 plus a life pension. The New South Wales government made the official announcement of the discovery of gold on 22 May 1851.
