What effects did the gold rushes have on bushranging?
Bushranging had almost died out in the late 1840s. The gold rushes brought about an enormous influx of people and good. The gold moving out of the fields, often unprotected, which made an attractive target for bushrangers. The widespread gold fields with lonely miners and an almost non-existent police force also provided easy targets, as did the roads in and out. Large sums of money moved by escort were still vulnerable to ambush by determined men (McIvor and Eugowra for example) The high prices of meat saw an enormous increase in cattle and horse duffing. For many of those involved in that crime (which had a level of acceptance)the progression to bushranging was almost natural. Gold in Victoria attracted several ex-convict criminals from Tasmania while the fields themselves attracted all sorts of criminals and undesirable types. Many wannabe bushrangers became involved with such types while the sly grog tents became natural meeting places for criminal elements. Source: Stackpool, A. 1
