Womens History on the Gold fields
Below are resources you may use to help find out what life was like for women during the Gold Rush. You may use books or the Internet in addition to the information below.
Information
In the early years of the gold rush there were very few women on the gold fields. A small number of women worked as shop keepers or diggers. Most women stayed at home with the children and waited for their husbands to find gold!
Women and children would wait for conditions to improve or gold to be found before heading to the gold fields. The women who lived on the gold fields duties consisted of washing, ironing and cooking. A very small number of women also travelled around as entertainers.
Life on the diggings was very tough and many women died while giving birth, as there was very little medical assistance available to them.
An 1854 census of the Ballarat goldfields found there were 4023 women compared to 12,660 men living on the diggings and only 5 percent of these women were single.
Women and children would wait for conditions to improve or gold to be found before heading to the gold fields. The women who lived on the gold fields duties consisted of washing, ironing and cooking. A very small number of women also travelled around as entertainers.
Life on the diggings was very tough and many women died while giving birth, as there was very little medical assistance available to them.
An 1854 census of the Ballarat goldfields found there were 4023 women compared to 12,660 men living on the diggings and only 5 percent of these women were single.
Websites
You will find information about Women and the happenings of Gold Rush by following the below links:
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/goldrush/
http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/marvellous/gold/index.asp
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/
http://www.upfromaustralia.com/sovhilgolrus.html
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=110
http://www.historyofaustraliaonline.com/Discovery_of_Gold_in_Australia.html (Timeline about events in the Gold Rush)
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/goldrush/
http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/marvellous/gold/index.asp
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/
http://www.upfromaustralia.com/sovhilgolrus.html
http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.html?storyid=110
http://www.historyofaustraliaonline.com/Discovery_of_Gold_in_Australia.html (Timeline about events in the Gold Rush)
Images
You will find images of Women and the happenings of Gold Rush by viewing the below: