How was the government to maintain law and order in this fledgling colony in the face of the gold fever?
Amid all the riches of the goldfields, Victoria's new Lieutenant-Governor Charles La Trobe is desperately short of cash. He writes home to the Colonial Office in London: "It is quite impossible for me to describe to your Lordship the effect these discoveries have had upon the whole community. Not only have the idlers, to be found in every community, and the day labourers in town and their adjacent country shopmen, artisans and mechanics of every description, thrown up their employers, and in most cases, leaving their employers and their wives and families to take care of themselves, run off to the workings, but responsible tradesman, farmers, clerks of every grade and not a few of the superior classes have followed. It would be quite impossible to withstand such a general popular movement. There is but one way, and that, to let the current spend itself, and meanwhile see that as far as possible it is kept within proper bounds."
Governor La Trobe and many of his concerned contemporaries have two major problems:
• How was the government to maintain law and order in this fledgling colony in the face of the gold fever?
• How to cope with the shiploads of fortune seekers that are arriving in unprecedented numbers, clogging the docks and streets of Melbourne?
It is not just a matter of preventing a breakdown in the established towns. Makeshift settlements have sprung up wherever there was the promise of gold. Many of these had, just months ago, were nothing but forests or sheep pastures. Now thousands of hopeful diggers are crowding into places like Mount Alexander, Ballarat and Bendigo, far from any law, order or sites of government.
The gold is not public property. In fact, it lays under Crown land, owned by the Victorian government, and in turn owned by the mother of the colony, the British government. La Trobe is faced with appalling difficulties. In a desperate bid to regulate this scramble for this treasure, and with a view to raising urgently needed funds to meet the administrative and infrastructure costs of these goldfield towns, La Trobe copies a scheme that the New South Wales government has devised to manage its own gold rush. He announces that from 1st September 1851, the diggers can keep any gold ore that they find on Government lands, but that they must pay a hefty monthly licence fee of thirty shillings for the privilege. The fee entitles them to dig only to a small claim, and it must be paid whether they find anything, or not. This fee is more than many can afford, especially if they have just arrived. Living costs are high, especially as the canny merchants have realised that the real fortunes are to be made by charging astronomic prices for the basic food and shelter. The local press and the diggers are angry. Even La Trobe has reservations about the scheme.
The government’s administration of the costly licence led to resentment amongst the miners and the harsh treatment by the government inspectors lead to the rebellion Eureka stockade in Ballarat.
What else could have La Trobe done in the circumstances? Brainstorm some ideas.
The gold rush changed many of his decisions and his leadership was brought into consideration and he was considered to less than effective. Do you agree this analysis of his leadership?
Read the following articles to help with your decision:
Dianne Reilly ‘Duties of No Ordinary Difficulty’: La Trobe’s goldfields management (.pdf)
Trove articles
The Banner (Melbourne, Vic. : 1853 - 1854) Friday 31 March 1854 p 7 Article
... LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR LA TROBE AND THE DIGGERS. (From the London Times.)
Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850 - 1875) Monday 12 September 1853 p 2 Article
... GOVERNOR LA TROBE AND THE GOLD LICENSE.
State Library of Victoria
http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/golden-victoria/life-fields/charles-la-trobe
Miner's Right, for the colony of Victoria, No 75, ANMM collection
New South Wales Miner's Right ticket, ANMM collection