Robyn Annear tells the story of the 1852 gold rushes in imaginative detail ... she tells us how it felt to be there. You find yourself worrying about the problems long ago resolved, sharply aware of the gold diggers' hopes and ordeals, diverted by the high comedy of a chaotic time. Like all good narratives, it look easy because it is so easily read and enjoyed ... She makes a mosaic out of small moments of experience ... The physical realities of the diggings are evoked, with all the ingenious ways of managing tent space, cooking, guarding gold, finding feed for horses, keeping off wind and rain, ants and mice. - Brenda Niall
Contents:
Weights and Measures
A Note About Goldfield Names
Map of the Victorian Goldfields 1851-52
Prelude
1. Discovery
2. The Great Exhibition
3. Melbourne-bound
4. Diggings, Ho!
5. The Road
6. The Tent
7. Tentkeeping
8. The Land of Chops and Steak
9. The Neighbourhood
10. Time Off
11. Sundays
12. When the Dustwinds Blow
13. Rush
14. Dig
15. Perseverance
16. Diggers' Gold
17. The New Aristocracy
18. Licences and the Law
19. Police!
20. The Camp
21. Joe!
22. Keep Your Powder Dry
23. The Great Adventure
Coda
Bibliography
Index
Review:Examined in fascinating detail life of the goldfields in 1851, when gold fever was at its height - Castlemaine Mail
'A vivacious introduction to the actuality of life on the goldfields - Australian
'This account of the Australian gold rush era in the early 1850s is so lively and descriptive, you'll think you're reading a novel ... an informative and entertaining read - Family Circle
