Victoria’s gold rush era was characterised by frequency of travel and great upheaval. People journeyed, sometimes over vast distances, to and from the diggings. Excited and filled with hope, they made their way to the goldfields, passing en route goods wagons, disillusioned diggers, and those who had become newly rich. Many ventured to other fields before finally settling down or returning home. One man commented, ‘since the commencement of this gold revolution society in the antipodean regions has become almost as migratory as the Bedouins.’