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    Where is Buckland River located?
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    The Buckland near the Camp, 1862, by Henry Bowyer Lane (artist), courtesy of State Library of Victoria.
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Buckland River, VIC

Alternative Names
  • Upper Ovens Goldfield

Gold was discovered at Buckland River in 1853 and 6,000 diggers had rushed there by the following year. Known as the Upper Ovens Goldfield, the area (which today includes the townships of Harrietville, Bright, and Wandiligong) proved successful for both alluvial and quartz mining. The large and shifting population attracted to the area over a long period included many Chinese, whom by 1857 outnumbered Europeans on the Buckland River by at least three to one. Racial tensions developed, coming to a head on 4 July in a notorious anti-Chinese riot, known as the Buckland Riot.

Jessica Redmond

References
Adcock, W. E., The gold rushes of the fifties, (first published 1912), Poppet Head Press, Glen Waverley, 1977. Details
Bannear, David, Heritage Victoria, Historic gold mining information, Department of Sustainability and Environment. Details
Flett, James, The history of gold discovery in Victoria, The Hawthorn Press, Melbourne, 1970. Details

See also

Chinese