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Events/Rush · 1893

Hannan finds gold at Kalgoorlie

Rush, June 1893, Australia.

What happened

Hannan and Flanagan found gold in June 1893 at Mount Charlotte, nine months after Coolgardie. Alluvial gold had been found at Goongarrie in May 1893. Western Australian output reached 1,703,417 fine ounces in 1901 and a peak of 2,064,803 in 1903. WA passed Victoria as the top Australian producer in 1898.1,2,3

Why it matters

The Golden Mile became the centre of Australian gold mining.1,2,3

How this rush compares

Hannan finds gold at Kalgoorlie

  • Coolgardie find (1892)554 ounces4Bayley, September 1892
  • Bayleys reward output (1962)500,000 ounces over about 70 years4"over 500,000 ounces"
  • Goongarrie alluvial1893-052ABS Year Book
  • Kalgoorlie discovery1893-061Hannan and Flanagan
  • Wa gold output (1901)1,703,417 fine ounces2ABS table
  • Wa gold output peak (1903)2,064,803 fine ounces2Peak for WA and for Australia
  • Wa share of australian gold53.15 percent, 1901 to 1909 annual average2ABS table
  • Water pipeline length (1903)566 kilometres5Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, built 1898 to 1903
  • Water pipeline cost then2,500,000 pounds (debate figure of 1898)6"two and a half million pounds" quoted in the Assembly debate, WA Museum

California gold rush

  • Discovery1848-01-247Marshall at Sutter's mill
  • Population before rush (1848)14,000 people (non-Indian)8State population estimate when gold was found
  • Population end 1849 (1849)100,000 people8"nearly 100,000"
  • Population 1852 (1852)250,000 people8"some 250,000"
  • Census population (1850)92,597 people91850 US census count
  • Gold recovered (1855)750,000 pounds9Estimated recovered 1848 to 1855. About 340 tonnes at 0.4536 kg per pound (computed).
  • Value recovered then (1900)25,000,000,000 US dollars, modern equivalent8Mother Lode and Klamath fields together, "modern-day equivalent of more than $25 billion" by the turn of the century
  • News reached san francisco1848-039Rumours reached San Francisco in March 1848
  • Population after 50 years (1900)1,485,053 people9California census 1900

Klondike gold rush

  • Discovery1896-08-1610Parks Canada; staking on 17 August per its history text
  • News to outside world1897-0711SS Portland reached Seattle with over a ton of gold
  • People who set out (1900)100,000 people11Set out for the Klondike 1897 to 1900 ("more than")
  • People who came (1900)40,000 people11"No more than 40,000" reached Dawson City
  • Canada gold value before (1897)1,240,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2Canada national gold yield, ABS table; Klondike share not separated
  • Canada gold value peak (1900)5,742,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2Canada national gold yield, ABS table
  • World gold value (1900)52,086,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2World gold yield 1900, ABS table
  • Canada share of world gold (1900)11 percent2Computed from the two ABS values (5.742 / 52.086)

Witwatersrand gold rush

  • Discovery1886-0712Harrison, Langlaagte; his affidavit date is not on the opened page
  • Camp population (1886)3,000 people12About 3,000 inhabitants by August 1886, mostly White
  • Public diggings proclaimed (1886)9 farms12Proclaimed 8 September 1886
  • Towns founded (1886)1 town12Johannesburg named 3 October and declared 4 October 1886
  • Transvaal gold value (1897)11,654,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2ABS table, Transvaal
  • Transvaal gold value war low (1900)1,481,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2Output collapsed during the South African War
  • Transvaal gold value later (1909)30,988,000 pounds sterling (assumed)2ABS table, Transvaal
  • Transvaal share of world gold (1909)33.7 percent2Computed: 30.988 / 91.91

Story cards

Around the same time

  1. San Francisco ships US$724 million of treasure in 16 years

    Eastern ports took US$462 million, England US$168 million and China US$68 million.13,14

  2. Holtermann reef gold specimen unearthed

    The photographs form part of the Holtermann Collection of goldfield life.15,16

  3. Homestake Mine: inception

    Homestake Mine: inception.17

  4. Gold found in the Kimberley (Halls Creek)

    It was the first Western Australian gold excitement, before the 1890s rushes.1,18

  5. Gold find at Southern Cross

    A find at Southern Cross caused excitement in 1888, before the Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie rushes.19

  6. Jameson Raid

    Jameson Raid.20

  7. Steamship Portland docks at Seattle with a ton of Klondike gold

    The ship carried 68 miners from St. Michael, and news of the gold set off the stampede.21,22,23

  8. Goldfields Water Supply Scheme opens

    It let the dry goldfields grow after the 1890s rush.5,6,24

Open the full timeline

Where next

People

Discovered byThomas FlanaganCo-discoverer of the Kalgoorlie field with Hannan and O'Shea.25Led byPaddy HannanPaddy Hannan is part of this story: Hannan finds gold at Kalgoorlie.1

Mines

Located inKalgoorlieSee the mine behind this story: Kalgoorlie.1Came out ofGolden Mile, Kalgoorlie-BoulderRead what happened near Golden Mile, Kalgoorlie-Boulder: Hannan finds gold at Kalgoorlie.26Came out ofGreat Boulder mineRead what happened near Great Boulder mine: Hannan finds gold at Kalgoorlie.27Came out ofIvanhoe mine, KalgoorlieRead what happened near Ivanhoe mine, Kalgoorlie: Hannan finds gold at Kalgoorlie.27Came out ofLake View and Star mineRead what happened near Lake View and Star mine: Hannan finds gold at Kalgoorlie.28

Events

InspiredKlondike gold rushHannan found Kalgoorlie in 1893. In July 1897 a ship landed over a ton of gold in Seattle.11

Places

Located inKalgoorlie-BoulderSee the place where this happened: Kalgoorlie-Boulder.1

Sources

  1. The Rush for Gold (WA Goldfields) Western Australian Museum
  2. Year Book Australia 1911, gold chapter Australian Bureau of Statistics
  3. Kalgoorlie (item Q329503), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  4. Gold is discovered and Coolgardie is born Shire of Coolgardie
  5. CY O'Connor's Golden Pipeline celebrates 120 years of service (media statement, 24 Jan 2023) Government of Western Australia
  6. Building a Pipeline (WA Goldfields) Western Australian Museum
  7. The California Gold Rush (California National Historic Trail) US National Park Service
  8. Gold Rush Overview California State Parks
  9. History and the Census: The 1848 California Gold Rush (Jan 2018) US Census Bureau
  10. Discovery Claim National Historic Site Parks Canada
  11. Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (Teaching with Historic Places) US National Park Service
  12. Discovery of the Gold in 1884 South African History Online
  13. Peabody A., Early voyages to California (treasure shipped from San Francisco 1854-1869) Library of Congress (Essex Institute Historical Collections)
  14. Wikidata item Q62 (San Francisco)
  15. The Holtermann Collection State Library of New South Wales
  16. Hill End (item Q14202724), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  17. Wikidata item Q2351504 (Homestake Mine: inception)
  18. Halls Creek (item Q992686), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  19. The Rush for Gold Western Australian Museum
  20. Wikidata item Q916340 (Jameson Raid)
  21. Klondike Gold Rush begins on July 17, 1897 (Essay 699) HistoryLink.org
  22. History and Culture, Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park US National Park Service
  23. Wikidata item Q5083 (Seattle)
  24. Mundaring Weir (item Q1800878), coordinate location P625 Wikidata
  25. Patrick Hannan (Mining and Energy Western Australia exhibition) State Library of Western Australia
  26. Kalgoorlie Eastern Goldfields Historical Society
  27. Boulder Eastern Goldfields Historical Society
  28. Wikidata item Q21958210 (Lake View Mine) Wikidata (CC0)

Pictures on this page: Paddy Hannan.jpg, Library Information Service of Western Australia (Public domain).

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.