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Events/Discovery · 1885

Gold found in the Kimberley (Halls Creek)

Discovery, 1885, Australia.

What happened

The WA Museum says gold was first found in the Kimberley in 1885, but the venture was short-lived. A Southern Cross find followed in 1888.1,2

Why it matters

It was the first Western Australian gold excitement, before the 1890s rushes.1,2

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. Fraser River gold rush

    The rush led Britain to create the Colony of British Columbia in 1858, partly from fear of American annexation. The legislature dates this to 2 August and Parks Canada to 19 November (proclamation by Governor James Douglas).3,4,5

  2. George Carmack born

    George Carmack born (date from Wikidata).6

  3. General Mining Law of 1872

    The law remains the basis for claims to locatable minerals on US federal land.7,8

  4. Homestake Mine: inception

    Homestake Mine: inception.9

  5. Gold found in the Kimberley (Halls Creek)

    It was the first Western Australian gold excitement, before the 1890s rushes.1,2

  6. Gold find at Southern Cross

    A find at Southern Cross caused excitement in 1888, before the Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie rushes.10

  7. Gold found on Rabbit (Bonanza) Creek

    It set off the Klondike gold rush.11,12,13

  8. Dawson City at the height of the Klondike rush

    Parks Canada estimates 20,000 to 30,000 people at the height of the rush.14

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Where next

Events

Led toBayley and Ford find gold at CoolgardieKimberley gold in 1885 was short-lived. The 1890s rushes followed in the Goldfields.1

Places

Led toSouthern CrossA Southern Cross find followed in 1888.1

Sources

  1. The Rush for Gold (WA Goldfields) Western Australian Museum
  2. Halls Creek (item Q992686), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  3. Fort Langley National Historic Site: History Parks Canada
  4. 1858: The Mainland of British Columbia Becomes a Crown Colony Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
  5. Fort Langley National Historic Site (item Q1282806), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  6. Wikidata item Q720659 (George Carmack)
  7. Mining Claims and Sites on Federal Lands (PDF) US Bureau of Land Management
  8. Washington, D.C. (item Q61), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  9. Wikidata item Q2351504 (Homestake Mine: inception)
  10. The Rush for Gold Western Australian Museum
  11. Discovery Claim National Historic Site Parks Canada
  12. Gold Discoverers (Klondike Gold Rush NHP) US National Park Service
  13. Bonanza Creek (item Q2213604), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  14. Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site Parks Canada

From the Prospector Trails mining history dataset: each fact links to the source it was checked against. Figures are as the source gives them, in the money of their day. Not investment advice.

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Cover photos from Wikimedia Commons: Super Pit, Kalgoorlie by Kgbo, CC BY-SA 4.0.