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Title
Information from the diggings at the Pyrenees
Description

Excitement in Victoria grew as reports of the quantity of gold to be found in the region were published in local papers.

Date
1 August 1851
Published Source
Australian National Dictionary Centre, The Gold Rushes and Australian English: a resource for researchers, teachers and students, Australian National University, 2005, http://www.anu.edu.au/andc/res/aus_words/gold/index.php. Details
Rights
This material is provided by the Australian National Dictionary Centre, a joint project of the Australian National University and Oxford University Press Australia.

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Transcript

MELBOURNE. OUR GOLD DIGGINGS. —Every day’s information from the diggings at the Pyrenees tends to confirm the certainty, that wealth of unlimited extent abounds at our own doors, and, however much the incredulous at a distance may be disposed to doubt the fact, in confirmation of our statement we consider that no better proof could be given, than to publish accounts from the spot. In addition to the constant arrivals, we had yesterday brought to our office a piece of solid gold, and a piece of platina embedded in quartz, both forwarded from the Pyrenees, accompanied with a letter, of which the following is an extract:—"We have had very bad weather for the last two or three weeks; raining almost every day. The gold mania still keeps very brisk. Our principal business here is selling rations to the diggers, and making cradles for gold washing; in fact there is no gammon at all about it, it is a real fact, we have had samples come to the store, brought by different parties, like platina. There is a young man come from the diggings this afternoon, who was cook at the inn about three months. He left and went to the diggings about a fortnight ago, and he has brought over both gold and platina, which he has left with us. He sold gold to the amount of two pounds at the diggings yesterday, to purchase rations, and I think he has nearly two pounds worth besides, some of which will be forwarded to town per mail to-morrow, to be sold on his account; and he says when once he has a cradle at work, he will be able to procure upwards of twenty shillings worth of gold per day, at the lowest calculation, but all those who have visited the diggings have been working to a disadvantage, having no proper tools to work with for the procuring of the gold. The geological formation of the ground, where the gold and platina are found, consists of a quartz or white flint rock, covered with a rich black soil to the depth of about a foot. The rock is interspersed with gold, and platina abounds most. I enclose you samples of both the gold and platina, which I got from the young man I have spoken of, and I can assure you both he and some others from this place, have high hopes with regard to the diggings." —HERALD. Geelong Advertiser, 1 August 1851