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Nothing But Gold

Nothing But Gold: The Diggers of 1852

Robyn Annear

Gold was discovered in Australia in 1851, and within a year the infant colony was transformed from a sump for convicts to a Land of Opportunity. Robyn Annear’s lively history describes in detail life on the diggings: the mud of winter and dust of summer, the pluckiness of the women and children, the grog shanties, the flies, the mania of mining, the despair and the delirium, and the much hated licensing system which was to culminate in the Eureka Stockade.

‘Robyn Annear tells the story of the 1852 gold rushes in imaginative detail … she tells us how it felt to be there. You find yourself worrying about the problems long ago resolved, sharply aware of the gold diggers’ hopes and ordeals, diverted by the high comedy of a chaotic life. Like all good narratives, it looks easy because it is so easily read and enjoyed … She makes a mosaic out of small moments of experience … The physical realities of the diggings are evoked, with all the ingenious ways of managing tent space, cooking, guarding gold, finding feed for horses, keeping off wind and rain, ants and mice.‘ Brenda Niall

Robyn Annear
About the Author

Robyn Annear’s books include Bearbrass: Imagining Early Melbourne, Nothing but Gold: The Diggers of 1852, Nothing New: A History of Second-hand and Adrift in Melbourne. Her podcast ‘Nothing on TV’ presents stories from Trove historical newspapers. Robyn also appeared in the popular 2022 documentary, The Lost City of Melbourne.

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Extent:
344pp
Format:
Paperback
Text publication date:
1 December 1999
ISBN:
9781876485283
AU Price:
$26.95
NZ Price:
$31.00
Australian
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Praise for Robyn Annear
andNothing But Gold

‘History from the inside; wonderfully entertaining.’

‘A welcome addition to Australian history, pointing to badly needed ways in which history can be made more reader-friendly.’

Other editions ofNothing But Gold
  • Nothing But Gold
    ebook
    ISBN: 9781921799891
    5 January 1999
    Buy ebook