People/prospector, miner

Billy Barker

Billy Barker (1817–1894), prospector, miner, from United Kingdom. Linked to gold.

The lucky break

He and seven partners struck rich gold at 40 feet on Williams Creek in 1862 after he had sold his first claim days before it paid.1

The downfall

He was born in Cambridgeshire, not Cornwall as often said, and left his family in poverty. DCB finds no evidence for the tale that his wife spent his fortune.1

Legacy

The boom town of Barkerville grew up around the strike and was named after him.1

Story cards

Drag to turn the globe

Where next

People

Rival ofJohn 'Cariboo' CameronTwo Cariboo claims struck rich within months of each other on Williams Creek.1,2

Places

Worked atBarkervilleA Cambridgeshire canalman struck gold at 40 feet and a town took his name.1

Sources

  1. BARKER, WILLIAM Dictionary of Canadian Biography
  2. CAMERON, JOHN (1820-88) Dictionary of Canadian Biography

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; Underground mining equipment by Kaupo Kikkas, CC BY-SA 4.0. Pictures: Gold prospectors constructing a long box with a filter for panning gold. Process print after H.M. Paget, 1899., Henry Marriott Paget (Public Domain Mark 1.0).