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The discovery of gold heralded the origin of mining in Queensland. Mr Stutchbury, the Government Geologist of New South Wales, found gold near Port Curtis in 1853, and later in 1856, traces were reported on Canning Downs, near Warwick.
Reports of gold discoveries soon followed at numerous sites including Canoona (35 miles north of Rockhampton) and nearby Crocodile Creek in 1865. Each discovery set off a new rush and a scramble to register a mining lease.
Queenslanders were already in a state of excitement when, in October 1867, James Nash announced his discovery at Gympie of two large nuggets weighing 975 ounces and 804 ounces. Yet those finds were soon overshadowed when gold was discovered at Charters Towers in 1872.
The discovery of rich deposits at the reef, named ‘The World’, catapulted Charters Towers into the centre of Queensland’s goldmining industry. During the years 1879 to 1880, Charters Towers achieved world-wide fame with £2,000,000 paid in dividends by a private company.
Queensland owes much to the widespread discoveries of gold in the 19th century. The gold mining boom attracted thousands of people to the cities and towns, helping to create new townships and increased demand for new infrastructure.
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 | Goldmining workers at the Brilliant Mine, Charters Towers, c 1897
Queensland State Archives Item ID 1108415, Digital Image ID 2231 Lands Department, Survey of Lands Branch, Photographic Branch |
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 | The diversity of shareholders is shown in shareholding records for the Brilliant Goldmining Company, 12 May 1887
Queensland State Archives Item ID 1139518, Digital Image ID 2930 Mining Warden, Charters Towers
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 | 1867 Suez Canal opened | |
1869 Women got the vote in Wyoming | |
1869 British Parliament voted to stop transportation of convicts to Australia | |
1869 Mahatma Gandhi born |
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