History of the Building of the Australian Nation 澳洲建國史 – Chapter 1 第一章

Section 1 – Speculation of a Southern Continent in the Middle Ages

After geographers of the Middle Ages, particularly Greco-Roman geographers such as Ptolemy (c. 100 AD – c. 170 AD), established that the Earth was round, most people believed that the Earth’s climate varied in temperature in different regions. For example, it was thought that places near the equator were hot and that places far from the equator were cool. The farther away from the equator, the colder the climate. The world was therefore divided into tropical, temperate and polar zones. Based on experiences gained from travel, trade and habitation, most Europeans of the time knew that the countries along the Mediterranean Sea were in a temperate zone. Yet few travelled from this temperate zone to places near the equator. Many therefore wondered: Is the climate at the equator too hot for human habitation? There were many popular myths at the time, telling of heat at the equator so overwhelming that almost everything had been vaporised. Humans could not survive there. Wary of these myths, no one dared to venture to the equator to see it for themselves. Nonetheless, people still firmly believed that there was a southern temperate zone south of the equator. They believed that the climate there was mild and suitable for human habitation, just like the northern temperate zone. But, unfortunately, the scorching equator formed a barrier that made it impossible for humans to travel, trade or live in the Southern Hemisphere. Back then, some scholars also surmised that the southern temperate zone was the same as the northern temperate zone. They thought that there must be a continent rising out of the sea there and on the northern shore of the continent, perhaps near the equator, there must be human inhabitants. It was thought that the customs of these people were somewhat different from those in the northern temperate zone. However, it was also thought that they had a history of development just as long as us in the Northern Hemisphere. The above are all ideas and speculations from the Middle Ages about Terra Australis Incognita,[2] a once unknown southern continent that is today known as Australia. These ideas and speculations aroused much interest in geographers of the time and spurred Europeans to search for the Australian continent in the Middle Ages.

[1] There appears to be an error in the original here given Ptolemy did not live in the Middle Ages. He lived in the Roman Empire several centuries before the Middle Ages. See Klaudios Ptolemy, John Berggren and Alexander Jones, Ptolemy’s Geography: An Annotated Translation of the Theoretical Chapters, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000).

[2] Here the author provides the Latin alongside Chinese in his original text. However, there is a typographical error and ‘Incognita’ is spelt as ‘Incognila’. We have rectified this mistake in our translation. As for the term itself, Latin for ‘Unknown Southern Land’, ‘Terra Australis Incognita’ was used extensively throughout history to refer to a hypothetical southern continent. The term fell out of use after Europeans discovered the southern continents of Australia and later Antarctica.

自中世紀一般地理學家，尤其是希臘羅馬地理學者，如托勒密形圓說之後，一般人咸謂地上氣候，其寒熱溫涼，亦隨地帶不同而有差別，例如近赤道的地方則熱，距赤道遠的地方漸涼，愈遠而氣候愈寒冷，於是乃有熱帶溫帶及寒帶地域之劃分。當時歐洲人民，從旅行貿易及居住所得的經驗，大都知道地中海沿岸各國，是在地球的溫帶上；但甚少有人由此溫帶而旅行到赤道附近的地方。因此赤道一帶氣候炎熱，是否可以居人呢？當時竟成為一般疑問。且有許多流行的傳說，謂赤道一帶，熱不可當，萬物多被蒸化，人類至此，不可以生存，因此逐無人敢往赤道一帶以探其究竟；但一般人仍相信超過赤道之南，必有南溫帶，正如北溫帶一樣，氣候當較溫和，人類亦可以繁殖，惟惜為炎熱之赤道所隔阻，致人類無法前往旅行貿易或居住耳。當時一般學者中，亦有人想象揣測，南溫帶正與北溫帶相同，必有高出海面之大洲，大洲之北岸，或即濱於赤道，洲上亦必有人類居住，此類居民，其風俗習慣，或與北溫帶民居有不同之處，但其繁殖於南半球之經過狀況，亦正如吾人繁殖於北半球者，亦當有其千百年之歷史。以上種種，皆中世紀人對於南方大陸Terra Australis Incognila即今日澳洲之想像與揣測，由於此種想像與揣測，乃引起當時一般地理學家熱烈研究之興趣，亦即為歐洲人在中世紀探求發現澳洲大陸之動機。

Section 2 – Marco Polo’s Journey to the Orient

In the thirteenth century, Marco Polo (1254-1324) travelled through Eurasia from Venice, where he was born, to China. He returned from China via sea in a Chinese junk, departing from the port of Xiamen and landing in the Persian Gulf. He saw and heard many things new to him along his journey. For example, although the weather was hot, he was not vaporised by the scorching sun when passing through the Strait of Malacca in Malaysia, despite it being only two degrees from the equator. Speculation that the equator was impassable was therefore disproven. The famous geographer Ptolemy depicted Terra Australis Incognita as occupying an immense area in one of his maps. On the western side of his map, it was connected to southern Africa, and on the eastern side it joined with eastern Asia. The Indian Ocean was therefore shown as an enormous natural lake between the three continents of Asia, Africa and Terra Australis Incognita, isolated from the Pacific Ocean to the east and, in the west, separated by land from the Atlantic Ocean. This was how geographers generally portrayed maps of the world in the Middle Ages. No one dared to investigate whether they were accurate or not. However, after Polo’s return from the Orient, it was evident that there existed a sea route between the Indian and Pacific oceans as Polo had entered the Indian Ocean via the Strait of Malacca[1]. The idea that Terra Australis Incognita was connected to eastern Asia was thereby abandoned based on Polo’s sea journey. It was subsequently inferred that Terra Australis Incognita was not only disconnected to the Asian continent in the east, but also separate to the African continent in the west and therefore formed an independent continent in the South Pacific. This implied it was surrounded by sea and that the Indian Ocean was not an immense natural lake, but rather a body of water connected to both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. In his published journal about his travels to the Orient, Polo specifically mentions that there was a kingdom called Java south of the Malay Peninsula and that there were island kingdoms such as Kaqi, Pengtan and Maniuer[2] south of Java. According to Polo, these kingdoms produced all manner of things in abundance, including walnuts, spices, precious metals and stones, medicines and other valuable commodities. As such, European businessmen believed that Terra Australis Incognita abounded in untold riches, explorers considered Terra Australis Incognita to be full of mysteries to discover, while politicians deemed the continent suitable for colonisation and expansion of their territory. Therefore, Europeans of the 14th and 15th centuries travelled eastwards one after another hoping to find Terra Australis Incognita, all of them influenced by Polo’s reports from his journey to the Orient.

[1] The author uses the term ‘馬來海峽’ (Malai Haixia), literally ‘Malay Strait’ here. However, no such strait exists so we have translated it as ‘Strait of Malacca’, the Malaysian strait that Polo sailed through on his return journey to Europe.

[2] It is unclear what Kingdoms Kaqi (卡奇), Pengtan (澎潭) and Maniuer (馬紐爾) are referring to here.

馬可波羅Marco Polo在十三世紀的時候，從其出生地威尼斯，經過歐亞大陸，前往中國，當其返歐時，乃改海道而行，由廈門海口起程，乘中國人製造之帆船，航行至波斯灣登陸，沿途所見所聞，頗為新異，例如經過馬來西亞之馬六甲海峽時，地與赤道毗近，相距不過兩度之差，氣候雖熱，未見為烈日所蒸化，向之所謂赤道不可通過之一般揣測，至是乃證其為非。又著名地理學家托勒密所揣繪之南方大陸圖，其所佔面積甚為廣大，圖之一端，在西面與非洲南部相連接，另一端在東面與亞洲東部相貫通，如是印度洋竟變為亞洲非洲及南方大陸三大洲中之一個天然大湖，東與太平洋既然隔絕，西與大西洋亦無水道可通，此皆中世紀地理學家所繪世界地圖時之普遍現象，無人敢辯證其為不確；但自馬可波羅東方歸來，沿海航行通過馬來海峽而入印度洋，是印度洋與太平洋之間顯見有水道可通，向之所謂南方大陸與亞洲東部陸地連接之揣測，至是乃為馬可波羅之航行經驗所糾正，因此遂有人更作進一步之推斷，謂南方大陸既在東面不與亞洲大陸相連接，其在西面亦未必與非洲大陸相貫通，是南方大陸應在南太平洋中獨成一洲，四面皆為海洋，即印度洋亦與太平大西兩洋均有水道可通達，不成其所謂天然大湖矣。馬可波羅在其發表之東方旅行記內，特別指出馬來半島之南，尚有國名叫爪哇，爪哇之南，猶有 卡齊、澎潭、馬紐爾諸島國，此類島國，或產胡桃，或產香料，或產金玉，或產藥材，以及其他可貴之商品，舉凡人類所需要之品物，無不生產豐富云云。如是歐洲商人以南方大陸必有厚利可圖，探險家以南方大陸必有神秘可探，政治家以南方大陸必可移殖人民，藉以開拓領土。因而在十四世紀及十五世紀中，歐洲人紛紛東來以求發現南方大陸者，絡繹不絕，此皆受馬可波羅東方遊歷後，傳述其所見所聞之影響。

Section 3 – Portuguese and Spanish Expeditions to the East

The Portuguese made great contributions to navigation and exploration in the fifteenth century, which were particularly consequential for the discovery of Terra Australis Incognita. Firstly, driven by their adventurousness, the Portuguese organised expeditions to sail south along the west coast of Africa. By crossing the equator and reaching the Cape of Good Hope, they disproved claims that the equator was too hot to cross. Secondly, by rounding the Cape of Good Hope, the Portuguese opened a sea route between Europe and Asia. Prior to the Portuguese rounding of the Cape of Good Hope, the majority of European travellers could only make it to the East after long, arduous treks through the territories separating Europe and Asia. The opening of a sea route made travel to the East much more convenient. Thirdly, Portuguese seafaring experiences led to a myriad of important inventions, such as the construction of three-masted ships, the invention of navigational instruments, the introduction of pointers on compasses and the charting of sea routes.[1] These were significant contributions to navigation that benefited later navigators and explorers. The Portuguese first arrived in southern India in 1498, occupied Malacca in 1551, sailed to the southeastern coast of China in 1516 and discovered northern New Guinea in 1526. Over a period of more than 30 years, their maritime expeditions made immense discoveries. However, from 1526 onwards, the Portuguese devoted themselves to establishing colonies in Malacca, Java, India, as well as developing trade with these areas. Exploratory missions ceased as a result. Australia, then known as Terra Australis Incognita, was therefore not discovered by the Portuguese. After steadily declining from then on, Portuguese maritime hegemony was succeeded by the Spanish.

[1] Despite being well-versed in the navigational usages of the compass, it does not appear that the Portuguese made any significant improvements to compass technology. However, they did make important advances in the areas of ship design, navigational instruments and charting, as suggested by the author. Specifically, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, they developed a type of ship known as caravals. These ships were lightweight vessels with three or four masts, which were particularly effective at travelling up and down the African coast. They also invented the nautical astrolabe, sometimes referred to as the mariner’s astrolabe, a device that could be used to determine latitude by viewing the sun or certain stars. As for charting and cartography, state-of-the-art nautical charts and detailed maps were produced as a result of extensive Portuguese maritime exploration. See Martin Elbl, The Portuguese Caraval and European Shipbuilding: Phases of Development and Diversity, (Lisbon: Tropical Research Institute, 1985) and Roger Crowley, How Portugal Seized the Indian Ocean and Forged the First Global Empire, (London: Faber and Faber, 2015).

葡萄牙人在十五世紀時，對於航海與探險事業，有偉大之貢獻，尤其與發現南方大陸有極大之關係：（一）由於葡萄牙人之勇敢冒險，乃組織探險隊，沿非洲西岸向南航行，穿過赤道而至好望角，向之所謂赤道炎熱不能越過者，至是益證其為不確。（二）由於葡萄牙人之繞過好望角，歐亞兩洲之海上行程，自此開始，向日歐人之東來者，大都長途跋涉於歐亞大陸間之出地，至是航海而來，稱便實多。（三）由於葡萄牙人之航海經驗，乃有種種重要之發明，例如改造三桿桅船，發明觀測儀器，安置羅盤指針，以及測繪海上航線等等，便利於後之航海與探險者，為功不少。葡萄牙人在一四九八年先至印度南部，一五五一年佔領馬六甲，一五一六年曾航至中國東南部海岸，一五二六年發現新幾內亞北部，三十年間，航行探險，成功甚大；但自一五二六年後則專致力於印度瓜哇馬六甲各地之建設，與貿易之發展，探險工作，逐因而停頓，素所稱之南方大陸的澳洲，則尚未被其發現，葡萄牙人之海上霸權，亦自此日趨衰落，西班牙人乃繼之而起。

Spanish expeditions were conducted in the opposite direction to the Portuguese. For example, Columbus’ (1451-1506) discovery of the Americas was made by travelling westwards from Europe, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean until he discovered the New World. Similarly, Magellan (1480-1521) discovered the Moluccas and the Philippines by crossing the Atlantic Ocean, rounding South America and arriving on the western shores of the Pacific. Many South Pacific islands were discovered by the Spanish, such as the Solomon Islands and the Santa Cruz Islands, which were discovered by the Spanish explorer Mendaña (1541-1595) in 1567. In 1605, Torres, also a Spaniard, discovered a strait between Australia and New Guinea, which would later take his name and be known as the Torres Strait. However, Australia was never discovered by the Spanish. European scholars generally believe there are two main reasons why the Portuguese and Spanish failed to discover Australia. Firstly, these two countries had already discovered and occupied many places at the time. They were therefore compelled to focus their manpower and financial resources on development and construction in areas already under their control. Secondly, monsoonal winds and westerly trade winds struck explorers from these two countries each time they entered waters off Australia’s east coast, resulting in many casualties. The Portuguese and Spanish therefore abandoned their searches for Terra Australis Incognita.

Section 4 – Dutch Discovery of Northwestern Australia

The Dutch first arrived in the East Indies[1] via the Cape of Good Hope in 1595 and started developing trade operations there. Within a decade, they had established significant bases on the islands of Sumatra and Java. In 1605, the Dutchman Janszoon (1570-1630)^[2] took a small vessel east from Java, sailed through the Banda Sea and arrived on the southern shores of New Guinea. He then continued south until he reached northeastern Australia, making him the first European to discover the Australian mainland. However, Janszoon’s small vessel meant he was only able to sail along the Gulf of Carpentaria.^[3] Given the fierce natives he saw there,^[4] as well as the area’s barren landscape, which paled in comparison to the readily developable land on Java and Sumatra, Janszoon eventually decided to forego further explorations of the continent and turn back to the East Indies. In 1615, after navigating around South America and through the South Pacific, Jacob Le Maire (1585-1616) and Willem Schouten (c. 1567-1625) were the first Dutch explorers to make it to the East by crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. However, they were suddenly struck by storm winds when they reached waters off eastern Australia. They therefore made a course to the northwest and returned to Europe via New Guinea and Java. This expedition was considered a failure as few discoveries were made despite its length. Following this expedition, the majority of Dutch explorers to the East sailed west from the Cape of Good Hope into the Indian Ocean, before turning north to their base in Java.^[5] In the two years of 1616 and 1617, the vessels of many Dutch explorers were blown off course by roaring southwesterly trade winds, sending them to western and southern Australia. Consequently, Dutch explorers frequently made land and brief stays on Australia’s southwest coast, although most were unable to stay for extended periods because of the inhospitable landscape and fierce natives there. These discoveries attracted much interest from the Dutch government, which saw the exploration of Terra Australis Incognita as a valuable endeavour. As such, in 1642, Anthony Van Diemen (1593-1645), then Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, put together a large-scale expedition team led by the young Abel Tasman (1603-1659).^[6] After sailing south through the Indian Ocean to the 43^rd parallel south,[7] Tasman swung east, discovering a large island in waters off southeastern Australia. He named this island Tasmania. It would later develop into one of the federated states of Australia. However, the main purpose of this expedition was not to explore Terra Australis Incognita. His primary mission was to open up a sea route in the South Pacific for the Dutch Republicthat Dutch sailors would be able to sail directly to South America from the Cape of Good Hope, enabling them to compete for hegemony with the Spanish in South America. Therefore, Tasman did not sail north to explore the southeast of the Australian continent after discovering Tasmania. Instead, he pressed east to South America to complete his primary mission. Less than ten days after sailing east from Tasmania, Tasman discovered another two large islands, which today form the country of New Zealand. He was delighted with this discovery and decided it was unnecessary for him to continue any further east as he thought that the onward journey to South America would be straightforward and unobstructed. He thus navigated north and, after rounding the north of New Guinea, returned to Java to report the places he had discovered on this journey. After receiving Tasman’s reports, the Dutch authorities in the East Indies^[9] determined his discoveries to be valuable and worthy of further exploration. Tasman was consequently dispatched a second time in 1644 to answer the following two questions: 1) Is there a strait of water separating the island of New Guinea and the Australia continent? (At the time the Dutch were still unware of the discovery of the Torres Strait by the Spaniard Luis Váez de Torres (c. 1565 – c. 1615) in 1605); 2) Is there a waterway connecting the north and south of the Australian continent? Following this expedition, Tasman concluded correctly that the Australian continent was a single landmass without a waterway traversing it from north to south. As for the first question, he incorrectly concluded that the Australian continent and New Guinea were connected, and that there was no strait connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. The Dutch made no subsequent discoveries regarding Australia after this expedition as they were focused on developing the East Indies. So the fertile lands of eastern Australia remained untouched by European explorers, as if it was God’s will to have the area await the arrival of the British.

[1] Now an archaic term, ‘East Indies’ historically referred to the lands, primarily islands, east of India, which today comprise the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and other parts of Southeast Asia. See Ian Burnett, East Indies (Kenthurst: Rosenberg Publishing, 2013) for more information about the region and its colonial history.

[2] Willem Janszoon was a Dutch navigator and later colonial governor in the Dutch East Indies. More information regarding him can be found in Jan E. Heeres, The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia: 1601-1765 (London: Luzac & Co, 1899), iii-viii. It is worth noting that his name is sometimes abbreviated to Willem Jansz, and has been spelled inconsistently in English-language literature, appearing as Jansen, Janssen and Janzen. In Janszoon’s time, surnames were uncommon in Holland. Instead, people generally took their father’s first name combined with the Dutch word for son (zoon) as their second names. As such, Janszoon literally translates to ‘Jan’s son’ and was frequently abbreviated in Dutch literature given this convention was commonplace. However, Dutch to English translators unaware of this tradition sometimes made mistakes expanding his surname during the translation process, creating many different spellings of his surname in English-language literature.

[3] In this sentence, the author provides English alongside Chinese in his original text. However, there is a typographical error and ‘Carpentaria’ is spelt as ‘Carpenteria’. This mistake has been rectified in our translation.

[4] Far from just seeing Indigenous Australians, Janszoon and his men found themselves in conflicts with them, during which several of his men were killed. See Heeres, The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia, 5.

[5] The author appears to have made an error here. It is geographically impossible to sail west from the Cape of Good Hope and arrive in the Indian Ocean. Instead, you would arrive in South America. Although Le Maire and Schouten did in fact reach the East Indies via the South Atlantic and South Pacific, they did not do so via the Cape of Good Hope and their route was not adapted into a conventional sailing route. This western route to the East Indies was too lengthy and time-consuming to be a good choice for traders. Indeed, from 1616 onwards, it was compulsory for sailors of the Dutch East India Company to take the Brouwer Route to the East Indies, a route which took them not west but east from the Cape of Good Hope. See Harm Stevens, Dutch Enterprise and the VOC, 1602-1799, (Zutphen: Walburg Pers, 1998).

[6] The author has spelt ‘Anthony’ incorrectly in the original, spelling it as ‘Anthoney’. This mistake has been rectified in our translation. As for Abel Janszoon Tasman, the author refers to him as simply ‘Janszoon Tasman’ in the original, using his middle name – Janszoon – in place of his first name. This has also been rectified in our translation where he is referred to as ‘Abel Tasman’.

[7] The 43^rd parallel south refers to a circle of latitude 43 degrees south of the equator. It is part of a latitude known as the ‘Roaring Forties’, denoting the latitudes between 40°S and 50°S, where strong westerly winds expedite eastward marine journeys. The Dutch took advantage of these winds to facilitate trade with the East Indies, such as when taking the Brouwer Route. See Anna Brassey, In the trades, the tropics, and the roaring forties, (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1885).

[8] From the late sixteenth century until the late eighteenth century, the area now known as the Netherlands was known as the Dutch Republic (and sometimes the Republic of the United Netherlands), hence the translation of ‘Helanguo荷蘭國’ as ‘Dutch Republic’ here. During this period, particularly from the late sixteenth century to the seventeenth century, the Dutch were the dominant world power, establishing colonies and a trade empire across the globe. For more information regarding the Dutch Republic and this period of history, see Johnathan Israel, The Dutch Republic: Its rise, greatness and fall, 1477-1806, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998).

[9] The Dutch colonial authorities of the time were based in Batavia, the capital of the Dutch East Indies. Geographically, Batavia corresponds to Jakarta, Indonesia’s present-day capital located on the island of Java.

荷蘭人自一五九五年繞過好望角至東印度一帶，發展其貿易，十年之中，即在蘇門答拉爪哇各島，建立相當基礎。一六〇五年荷人詹松由爪哇乘一小舟向東航駛，經過班達海而至新幾內亞之南岸，由此後向南航行而至澳洲之東北部，此為歐洲人之首先發現澳洲本土者；但詹松之小舟，僅沿喀盆塔利灣Gulf of Carpenteria一帶航行，因見陸上土人性甚暴戾，而土地又甚荒瘠，似遠不如爪哇蘇門答拉等處之宜於建設開發，逐放棄其進一步之探求，而折返東印度。一六一五年荷蘭人第一次越過大西太平兩洋東來探險者，為休頓與賴爾二人，彼等係繞過南美洲而越渡南太平洋；但航至澳洲東部海面，忽為暴風所阻遏，乃折而西北行，至新幾內亞再經爪哇而歸返歐洲。此役航行頗久，發現新地無多，認為探險工作上之失敗。此後荷人東來探險者，大都經繞好望角由此直向西行至印度洋中，再北轉而至其爪哇根據地。在一六一六年至一六一七兩年中，荷人探險之船隻，航至印度洋時，先後被狂暴之西南貿易風吹送至澳洲西部與南部者為數不少，因而澳洲西南海岸一帶，荷人探險者亦常登陸，作短期間之居留；惟以地甚貧瘠，土人性少殘暴，多未能久留即去；然由於以上歷次之發現，荷蘭政府對於南方大陸之探求，甚感興趣，且認為有價值之舉動。於是在一六四二年，由荷印總督梵第門Anthoney Van Diemen主持組織規模較大之探險隊，並以少年達斯曼Janszoon Tasman為首領。當達斯曼南航至印度洋中南緯度四十三度之處，再折而東駛，乃發現澳洲東南海面一大島，即稱之為塔斯馬尼亞Tasmania，後因經營建設成為澳洲聯邦中之一邦。惟達斯曼此次航行主要目的，不在探求南方大陸，乃在為荷蘭國闢一南太平洋上之航路，以便荷人此後可由好望角直達南美洲而與西班牙人在南美洲一帶爭取霸權。故當達斯曼發現塔斯馬尼亞後，不向北面航行以探求澳洲東南部大陸，乃竟向東面航行，意在趕到南美洲而達其原來之主要目的。達斯曼向東航後，不及十日，又發現兩大海島，即今後之紐西蘭國，其為欣悅，並認為由此地前往南美洲乃輕而易舉之事，航路可通無疑，不必繼續東去，乃折而北繞新幾內亞囘到爪哇報告沿途所發現之各地。荷印當局聽達斯曼報告後，認為其所發現者，甚有價值，應繼續探求，乃於一六四四年，再命其出發探查以下二事：（一）新幾內亞島與澳洲大陸之間，有無相隔之水道？（按西班牙人托勒士於一六〇五年所發現之託勒士海峽Torres Strait此時尚未為荷人所知）（二）澳洲大陸本身，有無水道以貫通南北？以上二事，經達斯曼探查後，其所答覆一則正確，因其謂澳洲為一整個大陸，並無水道以貫通南北；一則不正確，因其謂澳洲與新幾內亞間陸地相接，未有水道以溝通太平洋與印度洋；但自此以後，荷蘭人因致力於荷印之開發，對於澳洲本土，再無新的發現，而澳洲東部肥美膏膄之地，亦久無歐人探險者足跡一至，此或天意使然以待英人之來臨。

Section 5 – British Discovery of Southeastern Australia

William Dampier (1651-1715) was the first British explorer to set foot on Australia. He arrived in the East Indies in 1687 working on a privateer ship pillaging sea merchants.^[1] Accompanying his shipmates, Timor was his first port of call. He then travelled to northwestern Australia in 1688 where he sojourned in the desolate desert there. He sailed into the Indian Ocean two months later, arriving in India the following year. However, full of resentment after an irreparable fall out with his companions, he decided to covertly return to Britain. As a well-educated young man and talented writer, Dampier decided to pen down in detail his experiences in the East Indies and northwestern Australia after arriving back in Britain. His tales were published as a book^[2] that became a popular sensation in Britain at the time. As such, in 1699 he was specially commissioned by the British government to lead a large expedition to further explore the Australian continent. Unfortunately, only coastal areas in northwestern Australia were explored during this expedition and no efforts were made to journey deep inland. The only discoveries made were two islands, New Britain and New Ireland, discovered when Dampier and his men were rounding New Guinea to the north. Dampier did not sail southeast from these islands to discover what is today eastern Australia.

[1] Privateering was essentially piracy with a sovereign mandate. Specifically, privateering involved the granting of sovereign commissions to private individuals to attack foreign vessels, generally enemy vessels during times of war. Those engaged in such privateering, known as privateers, were not only authorised to seize any property or persons captured in these naval conflicts, but were also permitted to sell on for profit anything or anyone captured. Trade ships were therefore often targeted because of their bountiful cargoes. It was therefore very lucrative and was an effective way for European powers to boost their naval power. European rulers encouraged privateering for much of European history until it was effectively abolished with the Declaration of Paris in 1856, although Prussia did engage in privateering in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. During Dampier’s time, British privateers generally targeted Dutch vessels, especially during the Anglo-Dutch Wars. See Kris E. Lane, Kris Lane and Robert Levine, Pillaging the Empire: Global Piracy on the High Seas, 1500-1750, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2015).

[2] Here the author uses the term ‘小本’ (xiaoben), literally ‘small book’, to refer to Dampier’s book, while it is referred to as a ‘小冊’ (xiaoce), ‘small booklet’, at the start of the next paragraph. However, Dampier’s book, A New Voyage Round The World, is hardly small. In fact, it contains over 400 pages. For this reason, and for more idiomatic English in the sentences that refer to his book, ‘small’ is not present in the translations of these sentences.

英人之首至澳洲探險者，為但披爾William Dampier，彼在一六八七年，至東印度一帶參加專以刧掠海上商人為業之盜船工作，因而隨同夥伴，先到帝汶島Timor。一六八八年再流至澳洲西北部，棲息於沙漠荒野之地，約兩個月之久，後又泛遊於印度洋中，次年到達印度。但披爾以與同伴在印發生齟齬，局勢甚僵，乃憤而潛歸英國，惟彼為一受有教育之靑年，文筆亦其流暢，到英後即將其在東印度及澳洲西北部一帶所見所聞，描寫盡致，編印小本，流行社會，頗引起當時英國上下之注意，因而在一六九九年，英政府特派其自率探險隊員多人，前往澳洲大陸再作詳細之探查，惜彼等此行，仍僅在澳洲西北部沿海一帶考查，未深入內地，即北繞新幾內亞，發現新不列顛New Britain新愛爾蘭New Ireland羣島而已。並未由此再向東南航行，而發現今日之澳洲東部。

British scholars of the early eighteenth century were influenced by Dampier’s book describing the beauty of scenery in the South Pacific and Australia. In fact, it became a trend to write about adventures in the East Indies and Australia. Alexander Dalrymple (1737-1808) was a notable author of this period who held positions in the East India Company for many years.^[1] While searching through previously unseen documents from the Spaniard Torres’ 1606 journey, Dalrymple discovered notes stating that there was a passable strait between the Australian continent and New Guinea, implying that sailors could navigate from the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean unimpeded. However, most Europeans at the time, having been influenced by the reports of the famous Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, wrongly believed that the Australian landmass and New Guinea island formed one connected continent that was not separated by any waterways or straits. Dalrymple was very well-read on Australia. He not only wrote about the continent, but also drafted requests to the British government to commission him to lead an expedition to Australia to study the continent in person. However, the British Admiralty^[2] regarded him as a simple scholar unaccustomed to life at sea. Concerned about Dalrymple’s competency to lead such an expedition, the Admiralty appointed the naval lieutenant James Cook (1728-1729) to lead a large-scale mission to Australia. In March 1769, he set off south from Britain to search for the Australian continent.^[3]

[1] Like its Dutch counterpart the Dutch East India Company, the East India Company, also known as the British East India Company or sometimes the English East India Company, specialised in trade in Asia. The company seized many territories, often administering them as colonies, and at its height it accounted for half of the world’s trade. See John Keay, The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company, (New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1994).

[2] The British Admiralty was the government body in command of the British navy – formally known as the Royal Navy – at the time. It was dissolved in 1964, when naval authority was transferred to the British Ministry of Defence. See Nicholas Rodger, The Admiralty, (Lavenham: Terence Dalton, 1979).

[3] This sentence is historically inaccurate given Cook was unaware he would be searching for the Australian continent when he departed. As outlined below, Cook’s primary mission was to view the transit of Venus from Tahiti. Only after doing so did he open his secret instructions to search for the Australian continent.

因為但披爾之印行小冊，描寫南太平洋及澳洲各地景物之可愛，英國學者在十八世紀初葉，頗受其影響，亦多以寫述東印度及澳洲各地探險之事為時髦工作，其中較著名者，有達爾雲普爾Alexander Dalrymple彼在東印度公司任職多年，曾搜集有一六〇六年西班牙人托勒士之密存文件，內容即述說澳洲與新幾內亞間有一海峽可通，航海者可由太平洋至印度洋而無阻；但歐洲當時一般人士，因受荷蘭名探險家達斯曼報告之影響，均謂澳洲本土與新幾內亞島為一連接之大陸，其間並無海峽或水道相隔絕也。達爾雲普爾對於澳洲問題既研究有素，除寫作描寫外，並擬詳求政府准其組織探險隊親至澳洲大陸再探查其實情，無如當時英之海軍部，以彼為一尋常文人，不習水性恐其難以勝任，乃選派海軍上尉詹姆士庫克James Cook率領規模較大之探險隊，於一七六九年三月，向南航行，以從事於澳洲大陸之探察。

At the time, Europeans postulated that there was another continent in the South Pacific in addition to the already-discovered Australian continent. Referred to as Terra Australis Incognita,^[1] it was hypothesised that this continent was located between the Cape of Good Hope and the Australian continent or between the Australian and South American continents. There were a myriad of differing myths and opinions about this continent, which, if found, would supposedly provide boundless riches. Against adversity, the British gradually came to rule the seas in the late seventeenth century and were extremely interested in these tales about Terra Australis Incognita. They therefore sent several expeditions to search for the continent, all to no avail. They were only able to discover islands lying off the coast of Australia, the landmasses that make up New Zealand.

[1] Interestingly, Cook did not refer to the Australian continent as Terra Australis Incognita but as New Holland, the name given to the continent by Abel Tasman. During Cook’s time, Terra Australis (sometimes suffixed with Incognita) referred to a then undiscovered landmass postulated to exist in the Southern Hemisphere. This hypothetical continent was eventually found in the nineteenth century and is now known as Antarctica. As for the term ‘Australia’, it was first suggested by the English explorer Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) and in the early nineteenth century colonial administrators in Sydney adopted the term to refer to the present-day Australian continent. It subsequently became easy to conflate the two continents, eventually precipitating the term ‘Antarctica’ to denote what was previously known as Terra Australis. See Matthew Flinders, A Voyage to Terra Australis, (London: G. and W. Nicol, 1814) for his suggestion of the term ‘Australia’ and Margaret Cameron-Ash, Lying for the Admiralty, (Kenthurst: Rosenberg Publishing, 2018) for accounts of Cook’s language when referring to the landmasses now known as Australia and Antarctica.

當時歐洲人士仍多揣測南太平洋方面，除已發現之澳洲外，尚另有一大陸，即所謂南方大陸，或位於好望角與澳洲之間，或位於澳洲與南美洲之間，此大陸一旦發現，其中實藏必甚豐富，探掘無窮，傳說紛紜，莫衷一是。英人由於在十七世紀末葉，艱難困苦之奮鬥，漸漸握有海上霸權，對於以上種種傳說，極感興趣，乃先後遣派探險隊至南太平洋一帶從事探求；但終無結果，而所發現者，仍為澳洲周圍之海島及紐西蘭一帶之陸地而已。

Of that period, Cook’s expeditions were perhaps the most successful in finding Australia. In 1769, under orders from the Admiralty, he sailed south through the Atlantic Ocean, bypassed the Strait of Magellan[1] and navigated to Tahiti in the South Pacific Ocean. Cook had a mission from the Royal Society[2] to observe the transit of Venus from Tahiti. He had scientists such as Joseph Banks (1743-1820)^[3] with him to investigate and study the lifeforms of all the places visited on this journey so that detailed reports could be created for the government. The secret instructions given to Cook were roughly as follows:^[4]

[1] The middle character in the three characters the author uses for ‘Magellan’ is illegible. When referring to the Strait of Magellan, ‘Magellan’ is typically written as ‘Maizhelun麥哲倫’ in Chinese, although, based on what can be seen of the original characters in this sentence, it appears that the author may have written ‘Maileilun麥雷倫’ in the original. ‘Lei 雷’ is therefore used in the Chinese text here.

[2] Still operating to this day, the Royal Society was founded in 1660 after a lecture by the famed Christopher Wren (1632-1723). It is an organisation that strives to support scientific excellence and utilise science for the benefit of humanity. The Royal Society was heavily involved in astronomy at the time and therefore sent Cook on an important mission to make astronomical observations. See “History of the Royal Society,” The Royal Society, last accessed June 8, 2021, https://royalsociety.org/about-us/history/.

[3] As a botanist, Banks described, illustrated and collected samples of the plants he encountered on this voyage, many of which were unknown to Europeans at the time. His discoveries catapulted him to fame upon his return to Britain. Subsequently, he became the president of the Royal Society, a position he held for four decades, and even advised King George III on botanical matters. See Patrick O’Brien, Joseph Banks, (London: The Harvill Press, 1997).

[4] A copy of the secret instructions given to Cook can be found at “Secret Instructions to Lieutenant Cook 30 July 1768,” Museum of Australian Democracy, last accessed June 8, 2021, https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-67.html. As the secret instructions are over three pages long, the author summarised them instead of translating them. This translation back into English is therefore also a summary of the original instructions and differs significantly from what Cook received from the British Admiralty, although the original instructions were consulted in the translation process.

詹姆士庫克為當時探險隊或發現澳洲之最成功者。彼於一七六九年奉海軍部令，由大西洋南航，繞過麥雷倫海峽而至太平洋南部之大溪地，Tahiti因彼同時奉有英國皇家學會Royal Society之令，在大溪地島觀測是年太白星穿過地球與太陽間之一種天文形態，彼同時並帶有科學家如班克斯Joseph Banks等沿途考察研究發現諸地之種種生物情形，以便詳細報告政府。按庫克當時所奉政府之密令，大概如下：

After completing the mission bestowed upon you by the Royal Society to observe an astronomical phenomenon from Tahiti in the South Pacific, you are to command your vessel south until you reach the southern latitude of approximately 40 degrees and then sail west in an attempt to discover the long-fabled Terra Australis Incognita. If unable to discover this continent, you are to continue sailing west between the 35^th and 40^th southern parallels until you reach New Zealand.^[1] You are to survey this island’s eastern shoreline as its full extent remains unknown given Tasman, the great Dutch explorer, only discovered its western shores. If you are fortunate enough to encounter the postulated Terra Australis Incognita on this voyage, you are to chart its complete shoreline, while also investigating in detail the resources present there. You are also to establish contact with the peoples of this continent. You are to cultivate goodwill with them, bestow gifts upon them and form alliances with them. If circumstances allow, you are also to establish several trading posts in the name of the king to act as a bases for future trade with this continent.

[1] The author uses the characters ‘紐西蘭’ (Niuxilan) for ‘New Zealand’ in the original text. This is a dated translation of the term, which, strictly speaking, is actually a transliteration based on the Cantonese pronunciation of these three characters. Nowadays, ‘New Zealand’ is generally translated as ‘新西蘭’ (Xinxilan), where ‘新’ (xin) is a translation of ‘New’ and ‘西蘭’ (xilan) is a transliteration of ‘Zealand’. ‘新西蘭’ is therefore a product of both translation and transliteration.

「在南太平洋大溪地島完成皇家學會所委託觀察天文現象之使命後，應即率隊向南航行，直至南緯度約四十度處，再向西航行，以求發現傳說多年之南方大陸；倘此大陸不能發現，則沿南緯度三十五度至四十度之洋面，再向西航行，直至紐西蘭島而探查該島之東部海岸線，因荷蘭大探險家達斯曼當年所發現者，僅為該島之西岸，固未知該島全部狀況也。如果此行幸而發現所揣測之南方大陸，務將大陸之全部海岸，測繪完竣，而陸上物產狀況，亦詳細查明，並與該大陸之居民，多方聯絡，發生好感，或賜予禮物，訂結盟交，如事勢可能，即以英皇名義設立若干商務站，而奠立異日與該大陸相互貿易之基礎」。

Cook set off from Britain after receiving the secret instructions. He sailed around South America to Tahiti, not discovering the fabled Terra Australis Incognita. He navigated southwest from Tahiti, still failing to see any signs of Terra Australis Incognita. He therefore made a course northwest until he reached New Zealand, where he remained for over six months, during which time he gradually charted the entire shorelines and topography of both the North and South Islands.[1] As per the secret instructions from the Admiralty, he could return to Britain after finishing mapping New Zealand. However, considering the distance he had already travelled, and with provisions sufficient for another few months, Cook thought he ought to take advantage of his circumstances and search for the east of the Australian continent, an area that remained undiscovered.[2] He therefore decided to leave New Zealand for the northwest and, from the 37^th parallel south on the 20^th of April 1770, he sighted the Australian continent from afar. Upon setting foot on the continent, Cook discovered fertile soil and dense vegetation. The area was suitable for human settlement. Delighted with this discovery, he proclaimed the area as New South Wales there and then. Banks, a botanist accompanying Cook, bestowed the name Botany Bay upon the place where they made landfall. From there, Cook sailed north along Australia’s fertile east coast until he reached the northeast corner of the continent, mapping the shoreline as he went. Cook formally proclaimed that the areas he discovered on Australia’s east coast belonged to the Great British Empire, marking the beginning of Britain’s occupation of Australia. Cook’s discoveries on this expedition were the first to disprove the idea that the Australian continent was a vast, boundless desert unworthy of cultivation, as was thought by pre-eighteenth century European explorers. Cook’s second voyage to the South Pacific took three years, during which time he sailed between New Zealand and Tahiti. He even passed by the ice fields of the Southern Ocean, yet he did not discover Terra Australis Incognita, a continent that had existed in European imaginations since the Middle Ages. Cook’s voyages, having disproved the existence of Terra Australis Incognita and discerned the arability of the Australian continent, rectified long-held yet mistaken European notions about the Southern Hemisphere. Given Cook’s success, it can be said that the British were the first to truly discover Australia.

[1] The original text appears to suggest that Cook only mapped one island, however, in reality, he mapped both the North and South Islands of New Zealand. This has been elucidated in translation, to clarify Cook’s activities. See Peter Aughton, Endeavour: The Story of Captain Cook’s First Great Epic Voyage, (London: Cassell, 2002).

[2] Specifically, it remained undiscovered to Europeans. Aboriginal Australians had discovered this area thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of years before Cook did.

庫克接奉上項密令後，即由英起程，繞過南美洲前往大溪地島，途中並未發現所傳說之南方大陸，再由大溪地向西南航行，亦未見南方大陸之蹤影，於是再向西北航行，至紐西蘭島，居留島上六月有餘，逐將全島海岸及面積地形均測繪完竣。按照英海軍部之命令，紐西蘭測繪完竣後，即可起程回國；但庫克自念遠道而來，所帶食物猶可供數月之用，應乘此際，探求尚未為他人所發現之澳洲東部，於是決定離紐西蘭島向西北航行，果於一七七〇年四月二十日，在南緯度三十七度處、遙見澳洲東部海岸，迨登陸後，即發現地質肥美，草木暢茂，宜於居人，極為欣喜，當即稱呼此地為新南威爾斯New South Wales，其所同來之植物學家班克斯亦即稱呼登陸之處為植物灣Botany Bay。由此再沿東岸向北航行，直至澳洲東北岸之頂角為止，全部肥沃之地，一一繪測完竣，庫克乃正式宣布凡以上所發現者，均為大英帝國所佔有之領土，亦即英國開始佔領澳洲之日。由於庫克此次探險之發現，凡在十八世前歐洲探險家均認為澳洲乃一廣大無垠之沙漠，無開墾之價值的觀念，至是始得一不正確之反證，又因庫克第二次之南來探險，往返於紐西蘭與大溪地之間，三年歲月，洋海探求，甚至航近南冰洋冰雪之區，猶未見中世紀以來歐人想像中所謂之南方大陸。於是「南方無大陸澳洲可耕種」自此之後，歐洲人數百年來之錯誤觀念，始為之糾正，而澳洲之真正發現，亦可謂成功於英人。

Section 8 – Large gold mines found in Australia

第八節 – 澳洲發現大金礦

The initial stage of the discovery of gold

There is a place called Bathurst[1], located about 150 miles from the Sydney Harbour[2] to the west side of the Blue Mountains[3]. This is the place where gold was first discovered in Australia. There were road workers who found small gold nuggets along the riverside near Bathurst since 1823, and they reported it to the government of the colony. However, these reports were all disregarded by the government[4]. In 1839, Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki (1797-1873)However, Gipps warned him and said: “There are about 45,000 convicts exiled in Sydney. If they know they can mine the gold nearby, then it would be foreseeable that we will face a great difficulty in regulating them. The British government transports those convicts here, aiming at exiling them to the foreign land for punishments. If they can get a large amount of gold here, they will get rich in no time. Then it would be a reward rather than a punishment to send them here.” Later in 1841, the famous Reverend William Branwhite Clarke (1798-1878)[8] also found gold stones in the same place and presented a small piece of the stones to the Governor in person for examination. The Governor rejected it at once and said: “Put it away, Mr. Clarke, or we shall all have our throats cut once the society loses control!”[9] In the view of Governor Gipps, though the gold was discovered in Australia quite early, everyone was unduly reticent about this issue and dared not start gold mining. At the same time, some British also reported to the Colonial Office[10] that the government should assign experts to instruct gold mining as the gold had already been discovered in Australia. However, as the wool business in Australia was thriving at the time and British textile factories heavily relied on its wool supply, the Colonial Secretary Sir Henry George Grey (1802-1894)[11] worried that if the government announced the discovery of gold at this point and assigned experts to instruct the gold mining work, then all the people in Australia would be tempted by the gold and quit the wool business that they were currently working on, which would hugely affect the future of the colonies. Therefore, Sir Grey always discarded suggestions and pushed memorandums[12] related to gold mining aside. As the British government and the colonial authorities in Australia had many concerns about the gold mining, the gold mines were still not excavated for 20 to 30 years after they had been found. Until 1848, gold mines were found in California in the United States, and the United States authorities rewarded people around the world for coming there to work on gold mining. As a result, people from Australia travelled across the Pacific Ocean to the United States in droves to engage in gold mining and the population of Australia greatly reduced, which left the authorities in a great concern. Therefore, the authorities changed their previous views, and also began to discuss mining plans for the local gold mines.

[1] The English place name of 巴塞斯特 is unclear in the original text. Based on the given geographical details of 巴塞斯特 in the text, it refers to the place Bathurst in New South Wales today. – Trans.

[2] Sydney Harbour is also called Port Jackson, an inlet of the South Pacific Ocean with more than 240 kilometres of shoreline encompassing approximately 54 square kilometres of water. It is located in Sydney, New South Wales, the first European settlement and colony on the continent of Australia. Europeans reached Sydney in 1788, and Sydney Harbour is of great importance in the history and the development of Sydney. See Ian Hoskins, Sydney Harbour: A History (Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2009), 7. – Trans.

[3] The original text here is the phrase lanshan zhiyou 藍山之右, translated in this context as “to the west side of the Blue Mountains”. In a geographical sense, the right side (you 右) refers to the west side. Luo Jiezi was taking a particular perspective of being in Australia in the Southern Hemisphere and facing the direction of south to see the position of Bathurst and the Blue Mountains, so Bathurst is to the right side of the Blue Mountains. As readers are not necessarily expected to view the position as the author did, translating to “the right side of” could be problematic. The geographical relationship between Bathurst and the Blue Mountains can also be seen from the map of Australia so Bathurst is to the west side of the Blue Mountains. See Richard E. Bohlander, World Explorers and Discoverers (New York: Macmillan Reference, 1992), 212. – Trans.

[4] The word 政府當局 in this sentence refers to the 殖民政府 in the previous sentence. The British Colony of New South Wales was established in 1788. It was ruled by the government of the colony and the Governor appointed by the British Government. The context of this sentence is in the year 1832 during which the government was called “the government of the colony”. See Thomas C. Hansard, The Parliamentary Debates (London: Pater-noster-Row Press, 1826), 628. – Trans.

[5] Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki (1797-1873) was a Polish explorer, geologist, gold discoverer and immigration promoter. He is well-known for his contributions to the exploration of Australia. See Helen Heney, “Strzelecki, Sir Paul Edmund de (1797–1873),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1967, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/strzelecki-sir-paul-edmund-de-2711/text3808. – Trans.

[6] Lithgow is a town in New South Wales, Australia, 150km from Sydney. It is located on the west of the Blue Mountains. “Region summary: Lithgow,” Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed June 2021, https://dbr.abs.gov.au/region.html?lyr=sa2&rgn=103031070. – Trans.

[7] Sir George Gipps (1791-1847) was the Governor of the colony of New South Wales from 1838 to 1846. See Samuel C. McCulloch, “Gipps, Sir George (1791–1847),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1966, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/gipps-sir-george-2098/text2645. – Trans.

[8] William Branwhite Clarke (1798-1878) was an English geologist and Anglican clergyman. In 1841, he discovered particles of gold and later added evidence from Bathurst to the Liverpool Range proving that the country would be found “abundantly rich in gold”. In April 1844, he reported Governor Sir George Gipps of his finds. See Ann Mozley, “Clarke, William Branwhite (1798–1878),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1969, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/clarke-william-branwhite-3228/text4865. – Trans.

[9] The translation of the Governor’s quote is adapted from the original words “Put it away, Mr. Clarke, or we shall all have our throats cut” said by the Governor Gipps to Reverend William Branwhite Clarke. See Ann Mozley, “Clarke, William Branwhite (1798–1878).” – Trans.

[10] “The Colonial Office was the British Government department chiefly responsible for the administration of the Crown colonies, communications between Britain and self-governing colonies and for the formulation of imperial policy.” Quoted from Australian Joint Copying Project. Part 2: Colonial Office – Class and Piece List (Canberra: National Library of Australia and the Library of New South Wales, 1974), 11. – Trans.

[11] Sir Henry George Grey (1802-1894) was a politician. He was known as Viscount Howick from 1807 until he succeeded to the earldom in July 1845. He was under-secretary for the colonies in his father’s administration from 1830 to 1833. He was under-secretary in the Home Office in 1834, and secretary from 1835 to 1839. Later he became a highly independent private member. See John M. Ward, “Grey, Henry George (1802–1894),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1966, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/grey-henry-george-2126/text2693. – Trans.

[12] The original text here is tiaochen 條陳. Tiaochen is a noun used in ancient times, referring to memorandum to a superior officer. The translation of 條陳 is “itemised memorandums”. New Century Chinese-English Dictionary, ed. Yu Hui (Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2004), 1660. – Trans.

發現金礦初期 

距雪梨港一百五十英里越過藍山之右，有一地方名巴塞斯特Rathurst，為澳洲金礦發現之原始地。自一八二三年後，即有築路工人先後在巴塞斯特附近之河畔，拾得小塊金石，報告殖民政府，而政府當局，均不置理。在一八三九年時，一著名之波蘭地質學家斯基勒奇Strzelecki移居在澳，亦在利斯哥Lithgow地方，發現金礦石，當即報告總督基布斯Governor Gibbs，而總督即警告斯基勒奇曰：“以雪梨四萬五千人之犯民社會，如聞附近有黃金可掘，其秩序之難以維持，可以預見，尤且英政府輸送犯民至此，意在予彼等以放逐異域之處分；如犯民在此可得大量黃金，卒然致富，是輸送彼等至此，非處分也，而實獎勵之。”其後在一八四一年，又有一著名牧師葛拉爾克Rev.D.B.Clark亦在同一地方，發現金石，並將含金之石攜一小塊，面呈總督化驗。總督即拒之曰：“葛拉爾克牧師！迅即收藏此金石，不然社會發生危險，你我均有生命之虞”！從總督之心理與態度觀之，黃金在澳發現雖早；但皆諱莫如深，不敢開掘。又同時英倫方面亦有人士向殖民部報告，謂澳洲既發現金礦，政府似應遣派專家前往指導採掘工作；但殖民大臣格勒Sir Grey有恐澳洲羊毛業正在繁榮發展之際，英國紡織工廠亦多賴其供應羊毛，如由政府此時宣布發現黃金，並派專家指導採金工作，則全澳人民必將為黃金所誘動而放棄其現所努力從事之羊毛業務，影響殖民地前途自屬重大，故任何有關開採金礦之建議與條陳，格勒氏多置之不理，由於英國政府與澳洲殖民地當局對採金問題之諸多顧慮，故金礦發現二三十年後猶不從事掘采，直至一八四八年，美國加里福尼亞California發現金礦，美國當局獎勵各地人民前往開發，澳洲人民因而成群結隊越渡太平洋前往參加採金者，絡繹不絕，因而澳洲人口大為減少，當局頗為憂慮，於是乃改變其前此之心理與態度，對於當地金礦，亦開始研討採掘之計劃。

The people in a gold rush

In 1851, given the consideration of the requirements of the times, Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy (1796-1858)[1], the Governor of New South Wales, thought that since the gold had been discovered in many places in Australia, its discovery could not be kept concealed and the government should set out to excavate. Therefore, he requested the British government to send the famous geologist Samuel Stutchbury (1798-1859)[2] here to instruct the gold mining work. In the same year, a miner in Australia called Edward Hammond Hargraves (1816-1891)[3] returned to Australia and immediately went to Bathurst to prospect for gold on his own because he had previous experience in gold mining in California. He found a large source of lodes as expected on the banks of the Macquarie River near Bathurst and reported it to the Governor at once. Stutchbury soon proved this to be quite true. However, after the news that the Governor was planning to excavate the large gold mines with government power leaked, and people all knew there was gold to be mined near Bathurst. This message was widely spread and believed by a huge amount of people.[4] People came in flocks to mine the gold. Afraid that they would arrive too late, large numbers of Sydney residents rushed across the Blue Mountains to join the search for gold. Even those who were emaciated, still sick, and not suitable for working as gold miners also rushed to mine the gold. Bathurst residents were only equipped with tools like iron sticks, iron shovels and washbasins for gold mining and gold panning. This could absolutely reflect how reckless people were at that time, and their excessive enthusiasm for mining the gold. At the same time, Hargraves was appointed as a Commissioner of Crown Lands[5] by the government for his credit in finding the mine sources. Later he found more than ten gold mines successively with Stutchbury, which further excited people. The gold rush shook the entire Australia and shocked the world. At that time, the Governor reported to the Colonial Office and said: “The residents in Bathurst and Sydney are feverish to celebrate the discovery of gold. I firmly believe that the great capitalists and entrepreneurs will vie with each other successively from all over the world to work hard on gold mining.” The radical changes in Australia since the discovery of gold thus can be seen.

[1] Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy (1796-1858) replaced Sir George Gipps and was chosen as the tenth Governor of the Colony of New South Wales in 1845. In 1851, he received commissions as governor of New South Wales, Van Diemen’s Land, South Australia and Victoria and also as governor-general of all the Australian possessions. See John M. Ward, “FitzRoy, Sir Charles Augustus (1796–1858),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1966, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/fitzroy-sir-charles-augustus-2049/text2539. – Trans.

[2] Samuel Stutchbury (1798-1859) was an English geologist and biologist. In 1849, there were rumours about gold finds in New South Wales. Stutchbury reached Sydney in November 1850 because of a successful request from Australia that a geologist be sent to the colony. He confirmed the discovery of gold and instructed the gold mining work. See David F. Branagan and Thomas G. Vallance, “Stutchbury, Samuel (1798–1859),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1976, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/stutchbury-samuel-4664/text7711. – Trans.

[3] Edward Hammond Hargraves (1816-1891) was a gold rush publicist. He sailed for California in July 1849 and returned to Sydney in January 1851. He claimed to the government that gold had been found in Australia in 1851, which started the gold rush in Australia. See Bruce Mitchell, “Hargraves, Edward Hammond (1816–1891),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1972, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/hargraves-edward-hammond-3719/text5837. – Trans.

[4] The original text here is fengsheng suochuan, yichang baihe 風聲所傳, 一唱百和. They are Chinese idioms, meaning rumour or news is spread over, and many people respond and agree to it. The word 一唱百和 was originally written as 一倡百和, derived from the Records on the Sinology in Qing Dynasty (Hanxue shicheng ji 漢學師承記). Zuo Xiuling 左秀靈, Shiyong chengyu cidian 實用成語辭典 [Practical Chinese idioms dictionary] (Taiwan: Taiwan shangwu yinshuguan, 1999), 11. – Trans.

[5] In 1851, Hargraves became a Commissioner of Crown Lands for the gold districts. See Bruce Mitchell, “Hargraves, Edward Hammond (1816–1891).” Commissioners of Crown Lands were first appointed under the provisions of Act 7 Will. IV no.4 (1836), who were the sole officials of Government in areas outside the settled districts. They had magisterial authority and were responsible for preventing Crown Land being occupied without a licence, collecting the proceeds of the assessment on stock, and ensuring that law and order were maintained throughout their districts. See “Commissioners of Crown Lands Guide,” The State Archives and Records Authority of New South Wales, accessed June 2021, https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/archives/collections-and-research/guides-and-indexes/commissioners-crown-lands-guide. – Trans.

人民採金狂  

一八五一年新南威爾斯總督斐資若伊Sir Charles Fitzroy鑒於時代環境之要求，澳洲金礦既已發現多處，不能長此隱瞞，必須着手採掘，乃請准英政府派遣著名地質學家司都基伯力Samuel Stutchbury 前來指導開掘工作，是年有一澳洲礦工名哈格里甫Edward Hargraves因在加尼福尼亞得有採金之經驗，回澳後即往巴塞斯特自行勘察，果在巴塞斯特附近之麥格爾河畔，發現一大礦源，當即報告總督，並由地質學家斯都基伯力察驗證明，認為其所報告甚為正確；誰知總督甫正計劃以政府力量開採此大金礦消息泄露後，人民皆知巴賽斯特附近有金可采，風聲所傳一唱百和，成群結隊，前往採金。雪梨居民，在爭先恐後狀態中，奔越藍山參加採金者，為數尤眾，甚至有身體瘦弱，猶在病中，不適於金礦工作者，亦奔往採金。巴塞斯特居民僅執有鐵簽鐵鏟及洗面盆等件，為採金淘金之工具，足見當時人民鹵莽狀態，及採金狂熱之一般。同時哈格里甫因發現礦源有功，政府特委為皇家土地勘察委員會委員，彼偕斯都基伯力等又先後發現金礦十餘處，益使人民興奮，採金狂潮，激盪全澳，舉世震驚。當時總督報告殖民部云：“巴塞斯特居民如瘋如狂，雪梨居民且歌且舞，以歡迎黃金髮現之消息。吾甚信世界大資本家大企業家，將由各地接踵而來努力於黃金之採掘。”是黃金髮現後，當時澳洲丕變情形，可以相見。

The discovery of New Gold Mountain[1]

In 1851, the famous Ballarat[2] gold mines were also found in Victoria in southeastern Australia. Their output was found to be far greater than that of Bathurst’s in New South Wales. It shocked the world as more than ten tons[3] of gold was dug during the first four months since the mines had been found. Chinese people who went to Australia at that time called Ballarat “New Gold Mountain” since the place where gold mines were found earlier in the eastern United States was called “Old Gold Mountain”, namely San Francisco[4], and the name had long been known. Apart from the Ballarat gold mines in Victoria, Bendigo[5] gold mines also produced a great amount of gold. The mines in these two places were not far from Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. Therefore, people called Melbourne New Gold Mountain and the gold production was the major contributor to the prosperity and development of Melbourne today.

[1] New Gold Mountain here refers to the Ballarat gold mines excavated in Victoria, Australia. People use “New Gold Mountain” to make a comparison with the gold mines that had already been excavated in the eastern United States. For more information see: Ching Fatt Yong, The New Gold Mountain: The Chinese in Australia, 1901-1921 (Melbourne: Raphael Arts, 1977). More information about the concept of “New Gold Mountain” can also be found in another author’s book. See Michael Symons, One Continuous Picnic: A History of Eating in Australia (Adelaide: Duck Press, 1982), 75. – Trans.

[2] The English place name given by the author is “Balarat” in the original text. Considering the potential printing issues in old days, the translators believe that the author referred to Ballarat. Ballarat is the third-largest city in the Central Highlands of Victoria, Australia. In 1851, within months of Victoria separating from the Colony of New South Wales, gold was discovered near Ballarat, which sparked the gold rush and brought thousands of prospectors here to dig. This was also known as the Ballarat diggings. See Richard H. Norwood and Charles S. Bull, A Cultural Resource Overview of the Eureka, Saline, Panamint, and Darwin Region; East Central California (California: Riverside, 1980), 137. – Trans.

[3] The character in the original text is dun 頓 whose exact meaning was same as dun 噸 in modern Chinese. Dun 噸 is a unit of measurement in China equivalent to ton in English. Li Shen’an 李慎安, Xinbian changyong jiliang danwei cidian 新編常用計量單位辭典 [Newly edited dictionary of frequently used units of measurement] (Beijing: Zhongguo jiliang chubanshe, 1993), 109. – Trans.

[4] San Francisco is a cultural, commercial, and financial centre in Northern California, the United States. It was founded on June 29^th, 1776 by the colonists from Spain. Later in 1849, the California Gold Rush brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. People from all over the world came here to seek fortune and capitalise on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush. Chinese immigrants called here “Gold Mountain”. After the discovery of “New Gold Mountain” in Australia in 1851, people called San Francisco “Old Gold Mountain” to distinguish it from the one in Australia. See Rand Richards, Mud, Blood, and Gold: San Francisco in 1849 (San Francisco: Heritage House Publishers, 2008), 7. – Trans.

[5] Bendigo is a city located in the Bendigo Valley in Victoria, Australia. The discovery of gold there in 1851 transformed it from a sheep station to one of colonial Australia’s largest boomtowns. Migrants from all over the world, especially those from Europe and China, were attracted by the gold rush here to mine and capitalise. See William Howitt, Land, Labor and Gold; Or, Two Years in Victoria: With Visits to Sydney and Van Diemen’s Land (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1855), 4. – Trans.

發現新金山

澳洲東南部維多利亞地方，亦於一八五一年發現著名之金礦即巴拉哇Balarat金礦，其產量遠過於新南威爾斯之巴塞斯特，因其開始之四個月中，竟掘得黃金十頓以上，一時聲震世界，華人當時赴澳者，即稱此地為“新金山”，因美國東部發現金礦在先，而早有舊金山之稱也。維多利亞境內除巴拉哇金礦外，尚有奔地戈Bendigo金礦亦出產大量黃金。以上二礦，均距維多利亞之首都美爾缽Melbourne不遠，因而世人即以新金山稱美爾缽，而美爾缽之繁榮發展，有如今日者，其黃金出產，當為主要之因素。

Chaos during the period of gold mining

Since the gold mines had been found in various places like Bathurst, Ballarat and Bendigo, people in southeastern Australia were feverish to rush to the mines for excavation and there was no way to stop them. As a result, there was a shortage of workers, and factories were shut down. No one ran pastures and most of the sheep died. Therefore, the wool business was hugely affected. Other industries also experienced a shortage of workers and successively stopped their business after the discovery of gold. Even many of the police resigned to join the rush. It is said that there were only two police officers on guard in the capital of Melbourne in the spring of 1852 and all the rest had resigned, which reflects the great appeal of gold at the time. Additionally, due to the imbalance between supply and demand, the skyrocketing prices were also shocking. For example, after mines in Bathurst were excavated, the prices in Sydney, especially those of daily necessities, surged sharply by 50% to 100% within a month. The original price for flour was 20 pounds per ton. It rose to 30 pounds suddenly and increased to 70 pounds three months later. In Melbourne, in addition to the soaring prices of daily necessaries, the price of two buckets[1] of drinking water also rose over five times due to a shortage of workers. The prices of items in gold districts were extremely high and shocked people. During this short period, the biggest cause of price fluctuations was neither the surge in the population in Australia nor the lack of supplies. The true reason was that tens of thousands of workers quitted their jobs and left for gold mining from where they lived and were crowded to live in the vicinity of the gold mines. This led to inconvenient transportation, tight supply, out-of-balance distribution and soaring prices at a time. Therefore, removers and those who ran eateries made huge profits at that time. In particular, there were even a few unscrupulous people who took advantage of the opportunity to hoard and corner the market, causing food panic and gaining great wealth in their so-called “Golden Age”[2]. At one time, people lived in anxiety. The Sydney Morning Herald[3] published an editorial concerning this situation which contained a main idea that “we really hope that the gold production in Australia is not so abundant. If the production is rich and the gold is of high purity, then it will be much easier to transport the gold to Britain for sale and the development of the colonies in Australia will be ruined! We cannot bear to see the scourge of gold today to be something like earthquakes and the Black Death!” This could reflect the chaotic situations after the discovery of gold.

[1] The original text here is “飲水一挑之價”. Tiao 挑 is a traditional unit of measurement in China equivalent to two buckets. Although the exact volume of one “tiao” changes throughout time and depends on the volume of buckets, people in old times often used it as a kind of unit of measurement when transporting liquids like water. Guo Shaoyu 郭紹虞, Hanyu yufa xiuci xintan 漢語語法修辭新探 [New research on Chinese grammar and rhetoric] (Shanghai: Shangwu yinshuguan, 1979), 61. – Trans.

[2] The period from 1851 to 1861 was called “Golden Age” as a large amount of gold was discovered in many areas in Australia at that time. See Geoffrey Serle, The Golden Age: A History of the Colony of Victoria 1851-1861 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Publishing, 1968), 2. – Trans.

[3] The original text here is “Spdney Morning Herald”. Considering the possibility of printing issues and the historical background, the translators think that the author might refer to The Sydney Morning Herald. The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1831 as The Sydney Herald, it is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia and “the most widely-read masthead in the country”. See Robert Johnston, 160 Years of the Sydney Morning Herald: Major News Stories 1831-1990 (New South Wales: John Fairfax Group, 1990), 23. – Trans.

掘金期間之紛擾

自巴塞斯特，巴拉哇奔地戈各地金礦發現後，澳洲東南部人民如醉如狂，奔往礦山，採掘黃金，莫可遏止。因而工人缺乏，工廠關閉，牧場無人料理，綿羊大多死亡，羊毛業務，因而大受影響。其他各種事業，亦因黃金髮現後，均感工人不足，紛紛停頓；甚至守衛警察，亦多辭職奔往採金。據云，在一八五二年春，美爾缽首都僅有警察二人站崗，其餘均已辭職，可見當時黃金吸引力之大。此外因供求之不調，物價之飛漲，亦足駭人聽聞，例如當巴塞斯特金礦開採後，不一月間，雪梨物價尤其一般日用品驟漲至百分之五十至百分之百者，麵粉每噸原為二十鎊，忽漲至三十鎊，三個月後又漲至七十鎊。美爾缽方面除日用品激漲外，因缺乏工人之故，飲水一挑之價，亦漲至五倍以上。金礦區之物價尤高漲驚人。在此短促期間，物價波動，最大原因並非澳洲人口激增，亦非物資缺乏，實因成千成萬工人，捨棄本業，離開原地，前往採金，並擁擠居住於金礦附近之地帶，一時交通未便，供應困難，分配失調，物價飛漲。故當時搬運工人及開設小食店者，獲利獨豐，尤有少數不肖之徒，乘機囤積居奇，造成糧食恐慌，而大發其“黃金時代”財者。一時社會人心，甚為浮動。雪梨晨報Spdney Morning Herald特發表社論一篇，內中大意：“吾人甚望各地金礦產量不豐，如果產量既豐，質又純美，運送英國變賣復易，澳洲殖民地其休矣！吾人不忍見今日所受黃金之禍，有如地震與黑死病者”！足見當時社會，因黃金髮現後之紊亂情形。

Issuance of gold mining licences

On May 14^th in 1851, after the news that Hargraves reported the discovery of gold in Bathurst to the Governor of New South Wales[1] spread around, over 400 residents rushed to the gold mines with unsuitable tools, conducting gold mining by themselves on May 19^th. Afterwards, hundreds of thousands of people went after the gold in Bathurst in droves and more were on their way. The Governor of New South Wales thus issued the proclamation: “Whereas by law, all mines of gold, and all gold in its natural place of deposit, whether on the lands of the Queen or any of Her Majesty’s subjects, belong to the Crown; And all persons within any of the Waste Lands which have not yet been alienated by the Crown digging for and disturbing the soil in search for such gold, metal or ore without having been duly authorised by Her Majesty’s Colonial Government will be punished according to the law.” At the same time, the Mining Act[3] was enacted. It regulated that people held a gold mining licence should pay a monthly licence fee of 30 shillings, then they would be permitted to dig for gold. Gold miners should present their licences if the police and detectives inspected the gold mines, or they would be punished in accordance with laws. Sir Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801-1875)[4], the Governor of Victoria, also issued a similar Act for the issuance of gold mining licences.[5] Later, a huge strike wave was provoked as the licence fees rose too much. Thus, there were some people proposing abolishing the issuance of the licences and adopting a way of imposing export duty[6] on gold. However, the purposes of issuing the licences at that time were to restrict the workers to quit their original jobs and to compensate for the loss of other taxes by increasing income.

[1] The original text here is “哈格里甫向雪梨總督報告”, whereas, after in-depth research on the timeline (1851-1860) of Australia, the translators found that the one whom Hargraves reported to should be the Governor of New South Wales. The phrase “雪梨總督” also appears in the third sentence of this paragraph and the same strategy was adopted. See Bruce Mitchell, “Hargraves, Edward Hammond (1816–1891).” – Trans.

[2] The original text here is “所有金礦主權，均屬於英皇陛下，凡人民未得政府許可擅自前往開採者，依法懲辦之”. According to the timeline (1851-1860) of Australia, it was on May 22^nd, a proclamation was issued in the Colony of New South Wales declaring all gold found on private or Crown land to be the property of the Crown. See “Timeline: 1851-1860,” Australian History Timelines, accessed June 2021, http://www.pocketoz.com.au/afe/timeline-1851.html. This translation is an adaptation of a similar proclamation issued on August 18^th, 1851 in the Colony of Victoria, Australia. See “The licensing system,” School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, The Australian National University, accessed June 2021, https://slll.cass.anu.edu.au/centres/andc/licensing-system. – Trans.

[3] The first mining law in Australia was enacted in 1851 in New South Wales, marking the beginning of Australian mining law and introducing the gold mining licence system. See Arthur C. Veatch, Mining Laws of Australia and New Zealand (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1911), 91. – Trans.

[4] Sir Charles Joseph La Trobe (1801-1875) was a superintendent and lieutenant-governor. He was appointed superintendent of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales in January 1839. After Port Phillip District was separated from New South Wales and the Colony of Victoria was established in 1851, he became its first lieutenant-governor. See Jill Eastwood, “La Trobe, Charles Joseph (1801–1875),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1967, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/la-trobe-charles-joseph-2334/text3039. – Trans.

[5] The gold licensing system was introduced in Victoria in 1851, starting from 1^st September. Victoria enacted the Mining Act 1852 and supplemented by the Mining Act 1853. See William J. Tenney, The Mining Magazine and Journal of Geology, Mineralogy, Metallurgy, Chemistry and the Arts, Volume 2 (New York: 98 Broadway, 1854), 188. – Trans.

[6] Export duty is “a fee charged on goods (usually luxury or non-essential commodities like alcohol and tobacco) entering or exiting a region.” Quoted from “Export Duty,” Glossary, State Library of Victoria Ergo, accessed June 2021, http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/glossary/term/147. Export duty was proposed for increasing the amount paid on gold leaving the colony. However, this proposal was not voted to pass by the council, as it would encourage smuggling across different colonies and further lead to necessary physical searches of all men. See “Land, taxation & revenue,” Impact on society, Golden Victoria, State Library Victoria, accessed June 2021, http://ergo.slv.vic.gov.au/explore-history/golden-victoria/impact-society/land-taxation-revenue. – Trans.

頒發採金執照

一八五一年五月十四日，哈格里甫向雪梨總督報告發現巴塞斯特金礦消息傳出後，五月十九日即有居民四百餘人，攜帶不適宜之工具奔往金礦，自行採掘。其後載道而來者，千百成群絡繹不絕，雪梨總督乃下令宣告：“所有金礦主權，均屬於英皇陛下，凡人民未得政府許可擅自前往開採者，依法懲辦之”；同時並頒布核發採金執照條例，凡領有採金執照者，每月繳納照費三十先令，始可准予採金。警察偵探，如到金礦巡查，採金者必須出示執照；否則依法懲罰。維多利亞總督萊脫勃Governor Latrobe亦同樣頒布核發採金執照條例。後因增加照費過高，引起甚大罷工風潮。於是有主張取銷發給執照辦法而實行徵收黃金出口稅者；但當時頒發執照之目的，一在限制工人離棄原來職業，一在藉以增加收入而彌補其他稅收之損失。

Gold output in the first ten years

After gold valued at £1,319,932 was mined in 1851, a total amount of gold worth £124,000,000 was produced in the 11 years until 1861. The amounts of gold produced in New South Wales and Victoria during the ten years from 1852 to 1861 are listed as follows:

最初十年黃金產量

自一八五一年開採黃金一、三一九、九三二鎊後，至一八六一年止，十一年之間，共產黃金一二四、〇〇〇、〇〇〇鎊。茲將新南威爾斯及維多利亞兩地自一八五二年至一八六一年，十年產金數量分列如下：

Section 9 – The influence of the discovery of gold on the founding of Australia

第九節 – 黃金髮現後之建國影響

The negative effects in the first one or two years since the gold was discovered, such as soaring prices, shortage of labour, factory shutdown and unattended pastures, have been stated as above. Afterwards, the gold production increased greatly, and the economy improved. The social order became stable, and there was also a progressive increase in the number of people moving from Britain to Australia. The above difficult issues were gradually resolved respectively. The influence of the so-called Golden Age on the later founding of Australia is now stated as follows:

黃金髮現初一二年所發生之不良影響，如物價之激漲，勞工之缺乏，工廠之倒閉，牧場之荒蕪，已如上述；但至後來產金數量大增，經濟情形好轉，社會秩序安定，人民由英移澳者亦日見增加，以上困難問題，逐漸分別解決。茲將所謂黃金時代對於澳洲日後建國所發生之影響，分述如次：

I．The impact on immigration

After the excavation of gold mines, the news of the discovery of gold spread widely at that time. Besides a large number of British people who moved to Australia, many other people around Europe, including those from Ireland, Germany and Italy, also set out to the south to Australia for gold mining. In 1855, there were 21,000 Chinese people working in the gold mines in Victoria. In 1856, the number reduced to 18,000 due to the oppression from the white gold miners. However, the number rose again, reaching 42,000 in 1859. Then in 1861, the wave of Chinese exclusion[1] broke out. Especially, in the gold mines in Bendigo, the tragedy of Chinese people being shot occurred. At the time, the white gold miners thought that since the Chinese people could endure hardships so much and they were so industrious and meticulous in their work, they were more likely to be hired by the governments and mine owners. The white gold miners believed if they did not try to resist the Chinese people and expel those people from Australia, all the gold mines in Australia would be occupied by Chinese workers. Due to such fear and jealousy, colonies across Australia were gradually consistent in Chinese exclusion. Governments also issued various harsh regulations to restrict Chinese workers from getting into Australia. After 1861, the number of overseas Chinese in Australia decreased sharply as expected while that of British people moving to Australia grew considerably. When gold was first discovered in 1851, there were only 405,000 people in Australia. By 1861, the population in Australia rose to 1,168,000 and 92% of them were British. The influence on the British people moving to Australia after the discovery of gold can thus be reflected from the figures above.

[1] During the period of gold rush in Australia’s history, a series of violent anti-Chinese demonstrations and riots took place due to the tension between white workers and Asian workers. There were a large number of Chinese workers among the Asian workers and they were more willing to endure the hardships in gold mining. The white workers assumed that Asian workers, especially those Chinese workers, occupied jobs and gold that should belong to them. Therefore, they initiated demonstrations and riots and the governments also enacted laws to exclude Chinese. See Hugh H. Lusk, “Chinese Exclusion in Australia,” The North American Review 174, no. 544 (Mar 1902): 369, https://www.jstor.org/stable/25119217. More information about the Chinese exclusion in the gold rush can also be found in another author’s book. See Alan George Lewers Shaw, The Economic Development of Australia, 7th ed. (Melbourne: Longman Cheshire, 1980), 103.

（一）移民方面之影響

金礦開掘後，一時風聲所播，歐洲各地除英國人大量移澳外；愛爾蘭人德意志人及意大利人等，亦皆紛紛南來採金。中國人在一八五五年時，即有二一、〇〇〇人工作於維多利亞之金礦。一八五六年，因受白種工人之壓迫，人數減至一八、〇〇〇人；但在一八五九年，又增至四二、〇〇〇人，至一八六一年，排華風潮爆發，尤其在奔地戈金礦，竟有槍殺華人之慘案發生，白種工人當時心理，以華人如此忍苦耐勞，工作勤謹，當為政府及礦主所樂用，如不設法抵制華人，將其驅逐出境，則全澳金礦勢將盡為華工所侵佔。由於此種畏懼及妒嫉心理之醞釀，全國上下排華行動，漸趨一致，政府並頒訂種種入口苛例，以限制華工之入口。自一八六一年後，華僑在澳人數果然銳減；但英國人之移居澳洲者自是數量大增。在一八五一年黃金初發現時，全澳僅有四〇五、〇〇〇人，至一八六一年，則增至一、一六八、〇〇〇人。其中百分之九十二均為英人。此黃金髮現後所影響於英國人民之移澳者，從上列數字，即可窺見其一般。

II．The impact on livestock farming

During the initial stage of gold discovery, livestock farming, especially sheep farming was hit hard as the shepherds successively left their pastures and rushed for gold mining. But one or two years later, the pasture owners adopted a new approach of fencing the sheep pastures and raising sheep inside to save workers. At the same time, workers heading for gold mines were relatively living a hard life and not sure that they could obtain a lot of gold at all times. As a result, many shepherds were willing to return to the pastures if the owners could reasonably increase the original wages. However, due to the increase in shepherds’ wages, the cost of wool rose, and the British wool market was inevitably affected. Wool was not selling very well in Britain. Fortunately, at that time, the population in Australia increased sharply and most people liked to eat sheep meat. The annual rises in the consumption of sheep meat were also striking. Consequently, the revenues of livestock farmers from selling sheep meat in Australia far exceeded those from selling wool abroad at that time. The wool business was hence sustained by the good sale of sheep meat instead. It was not until the British market gradually recovered that the value of wool increased greatly. For example, the wool sold at only one shilling and one penny per pound in Britain in 1851 while it sold at two shillings and two pennies per pound in 1861. In addition, the prices tended to increase as demand exceeded supply. As a result, sheep meat was in a good sale at home while wool sold well abroad. The livestock farmers were further motivated to develop their sheep business. Wool then became the main commodity among Australia’s exports and the economic base was thus progressively strengthened.

（二）牧畜方面之影響

牧畜業尤其牧羊業，在黃金髮現初期，因牧羊人之紛紛離棄牧場，奔往採金，以致遭受重大打擊；但一二年後，牧場主人採用新的辦法，將其牧羊場四周圍以籬笆，然後畜養羊群於籬笆範圍內，以節省工人；而同時工人之前往金礦採金者，生活比較辛苦，且無一定把握時時可獲多量黃金，故當牧場主人如能將原給薪資酌量增加，牧羊人亦多有願回原來之牧場者；但由於牧羊人工資之提高，羊毛之成本加大，英國羊毛市場，自亦受其影響，銷路不甚暢旺，所幸當時澳洲人口激增，大都喜食羊肉，每年羊肉消費數量，亦足驚人。故當時牧畜家在澳洲本土，出賣羊肉之營業收入，實遠過於羊毛之運銷國外者。因是羊毛事業，反因羊肉之暢銷而賴以維持。迨後英國市場逐漸好轉，羊毛價值大見提高，例如一八五一年時，羊毛在英國每磅僅售價一先令一便士，至一八六一年時，則每磅售價二先令二便士，且有供不應求價格愈有提高之趨勢。於是國內暢銷羊肉，國外暢銷羊毛，牧畜家益得鼓勵而發展其牧羊事業，因而羊毛遂為澳洲出口貨物之大宗，國家經濟基礎，由是益見鞏固。

III．The impact on agriculture

At the early stage of gold discovery, farmers successively left their farms and estates in the country, rushing to the gold mines in the hope of gaining unexpected fortune. Hence, agriculture was gradually in decline. But soon, because of the appeal of gold, the population in Australia soared, leading to a growing demand for food grains. The price of food grains thus rose considerably. Farmers thought that they could still gain profits by producing grains. Then again, they returned to their farms from gold mines in succession. In 1851, there were only 491,000 acres of cultivated land suitable for farming in Australia, but surprisingly, it increased to 1,000,000 acres in 1858. However, the food grains produced were still not enough to supply the local demands and large quantities had to be imported from abroad. As a result, guided by government policies, the landowners and ordinary farmers in Australia not only actively increased the amount of cultivated land, but also studied agricultural science, and invented and applied machines to farming. In 1860, there were even twenty factories that specialized in manufacturing tools for agriculture to supply the needs of the local community in Victoria, which reflects the progress of agriculture in Australia at that time and the trend of its development.

（三）農業方面之影響

黃金髮現初期，農人紛紛離棄農場田莊，奔往金礦期得意外之幸運。因而農業日趨衰敗之境；但不久期間，因受黃金之吸引，澳洲人口驟增，需要食糧愈多，糧價因而高漲，農人以生產糧食仍屬有利可圖，乃又相率離開金礦而回到農場。一八五一年時，全澳僅有可耕之熟地四九一、〇〇〇英畝，至一八五八年，竟增至一、〇〇〇、〇〇〇英畝；但所產之糧食，仍不足供應地方之需要，尚須國外之大量輸入。於是澳洲地主及一般農人在政府政策指導之下，除積極增闢耕地外，並研究農業科學，及農場機器之發明與運用。在一八六〇年時，維多利亞一地竟有工廠二十家，專門製造農業生產工具，以供應當地社會之需要，足見當時澳洲農業進步情形，及其發展之趨勢。

IV．The impact on industry

During the Golden Age from 1851 to 1861, only New South Wales had industries at an embryonic stage that are worth mentioning. However, the number of manufactured products was far too inadequate to satisfy the demands of society at that time. Therefore, a large quantity of manufactured goods had to be imported from abroad every year to ensure that supply could meet demand. People at that time held a general idea that it was not easy to hire workers during the gold rush. Now that the workers’ wages had risen and costs had increased, it was better to import inexpensive and high-quality finished products from abroad for compensation. Additionally, at that time, people in Britain and Australia held a general impression – it was easy for Australia to excavate the gold but difficult to manufacture goods. Workers in Australia would better mine more gold to buy finished goods from Britain. Meanwhile, it was not hard for Britain to manufacture goods while difficult to acquire gold. In order to obtain gold, Britain had better produce more goods to exchange with Australia. If Britain and Australia could work in full cooperation and exchange with each other for what they did not have, then both of them would share the mutual benefits. As such impressions were formulated, Australia’s industry was particularly difficult to develop during the gold discovery period. But when the Golden Age was about to end, after 1861, the British capitalists considered that they could take advantage of the opportunity to develop and construct since there had already been a surge in the population in Australia and the economy was prosperous as well. As a result, there were many people continuously heading to Australia to invest in and establish various industries with the aim of making huge profits. Therefore, in 1865, there were 403 factories involving a total of 3,803 workers from all industries in New South Wales. Factories had different types like farming implements factories, hardware factories, tanneries, breweries and wineries, brick and tile factories, sawmills, sugar refineries and so on. All of them were flourishing and popular over a period, and the foundation of the industry in Australia was hence laid.

（四）工業方面之影響

自一八五一年至一八六一年之黃金時代，僅新南威爾斯地方尚有雛形工業之可述；但所製造物品，遠不足供應當時社會之需要，故每年必須自國外輸入大量製成品，以資補救。當時社會人士一般心理，以為在此黃金狂熱時期，工人不易僱用，工資既漲，成本加高，反不如由國外輸入價廉物美之成品為愈。又當時英澳兩國人民一般印象，以為澳洲方面“採取黃金易，製造物品難”澳洲工人不如多采黃金，以購買英國之製成品。英國方面則“製造物品易，求取黃金難”英國欲求黃金，最好多制物品，用向澳洲掉換，如是英澳兩方通力合作，以有易無，均沾其利。由於此種心理及觀念之形成，故在黃金髮現時期，澳洲工業殊不易發展；但當黃金時代行將結束之際，即一八六一年之後，英國資本家以澳洲人口既已激增，經濟情形，亦甚富裕，大可乘此機會，開發建設。於是相率前往投資創辦各種工業期獲厚利者，絡繹不絕於途。故在一八六五年，新南威爾斯一地，即有工廠四〇三家，各業工人共有三八〇三人，工廠之類別則有農具製造廠，五金鑄造廠，製革廠，釀酒廠，磚瓦廠，鋸木廠，以及製糖廠等等，皆蓬蓬勃勃，盛極一時，澳洲工業，自是奠立其初基。

V．The impact of socio-political factors

The quality of people in colonies in eastern Australia used to be quite low, and in the earliest times, most of them were convicts transported from Britain. From 1837 to 1851, the number of people whose liberty was not deprived and moved to Australia from Britain continuously increased. This cohort of free men requested the government not to send new convicts after the existing ones were gradually released to improve the social structure. After numerous disputes, the government granted their requests. However, most of these free men came to Australia with government support. Therefore, they were experiencing financial hardships, and they could not contribute to the society as they had been expected to. Even worse, they increased the burden on society. It was not until the so-called Golden Age began after 1851 that many people with a relatively huge amount of assets in Britain moved to Australia on their own without government support. The population in southern Australia increased to a total of 740,299 within 10 years as those people continued to move south to Australia. Since there was a huge population, its composition was complex. Many of those people came from the European continent, experiencing the baptism of the ideologies of the French Revolution[1] and highly influenced by socialism at that time. They were certainly in a difficult situation to stay in their home countries. Initially, they escaped to the British Isles, and then managed to leave for Australia secretly. The majority of these people did not have proper jobs after reaching Australia and had to engage in gold mining to maintain their livelihood. Hence, gold miners’ ideas and actions were highly influenced by those people’s propaganda and instigation. Whenever gold miners went on strike to rebel against the governments or oppose the imposition of heavy taxes, those people would instigate events among them and be their leaders. Before the Golden Age, livestock farmers or people working on wool production were the most powerful community in the society. Their power could even influence local governments’ decisions for policies and measures of general administrative affairs. But after the Golden Age, the socioeconomic power gradually shifted to those who possessed the gold. Then within this community, people who were influenced by socialism organised them and took the leadership in return. Therefore, the power of people running the business of gold mining progressively overtook that of the people working on wool. In other words, the power of the gold miners and workers in other general factories to organise people in the society was far greater than that of the shepherds. The labour movements in Australia were initiated since then. Afterwards, the Labor Party, the most powerful political party in Australia today, was formed through developments. Political commentators deem that this is the most typical example of the gold discovery’s impact on society and politics in Australia and everyone would acknowledge that.

[1] The French Revolution was a period of fundamental political and societal change in France that started with the Estates General of 1789 and ended in November 1799 with the formation of the French Consulate. Many of its ideas and revolutionary symbols have profound influence on later campaigns in human history. Many historians regard the French Revolution as one of the most important events in human history. See Jocelyn Hunt, The French Revolution (London and New York: Routledge, 1998), 1. – Trans.

（五）社會政治方面之影響

澳洲東部殖民區之人民素質，原甚低劣，最早時期，大都為英國運送之犯民。自一八三七至一八五一年間，由英遷移來澳之自由人民，為數漸眾。彼輩要求政府，原有犯民逐漸解放後，應勿遣送新的犯民，以便改進社會組織。幾經爭議，政府許之；但此輩自由人民，其本身大多因政府之資助而來澳，故經濟情形，甚為困迫，對於社會上之貢獻，自難如所期願；甚且增加社會之負擔。直至一八五一年後，所謂黃金時代開始時期，英國較有資產之人民不賴政府資助而自助移澳者，為數不少。十年之間，由於此輩之不斷南來，澳洲南部人口合共增至七四〇、二二九人。人數既多，份子亦自較為複雜，其中有許多來自歐洲大陸者，因受當時法國革命思想之洗禮及社會主義之熏染，勢難立足於本國，先行逃至英倫三島，然後設法潛往澳洲。此輩到澳後多無適當職業，惟有加入金礦工作，以維生活。於是金礦工人之思想行動，因受彼輩之宣傳蠱惑，影響甚巨，每次金礦工人罷工，反抗政府，或反對徵收重稅，皆由此輩從中策動而為其領導者。再在黃金時代以前，牧畜家，或從事羊毛生產者，皆為社會上最有力之組成份子，甚至其力量可能左右當地政府政策之決定，及一般行政業務之措施；但自黃金時代以後，社會經濟力量，漸見轉移於操有黃金者之手，而此輩社會主義思想者，又從中組織領導之，故經營金礦業之勢力，漸駕羊毛業之勢力而上之，亦即金礦工人與其他一般工廠工人之社會組織力量遠較牧羊工人之力量為大也。澳洲之工人運動，亦可謂自此開端，後經諸多演變，而產生澳洲今日最有力之政黨——工黨。政論家咸謂自黃金髮現後，澳洲社會及政治上所受之影響，此為最顯之例，無可否認者。

VI．The impact on finance

[1] Sir Henry Edward Fox Young (1803-1870) was the fifth Governor of South Australia. He was transferred to South Australia in June 1848 from the Eastern Districts of the Cape Colony where he had been knighted and appointed lieutenant-governor. He arrived in Adelaide on 1^st August 1848, taking up the position of Governor of South Australia on 2 August 1848 and serving in this role until 20 December 1854. See Herbert J. Gibbney, “Young, Sir Henry Edward Fox (1803–1870),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1976, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/young-sir-henry-edward-fox-4902/text8207. – Trans.

[2] The Bullion Act was enacted in 1852. South Australia was greatly affected by the discovery of gold in its neighbouring colonies of New South Wales and Victoria and faced a financial hardship. Therefore, in 1852, Sir Henry Young assembled the Legislative Council for a single session of a single day and passed the Bullion Act. See “YOUNG, Sir Henry Edward Fox,” State Library of South Australia, accessed June 2021,  https://archival.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/prg/PRG46_HenryYoung_serieslist.pdf. The Bullion Act is a measure framed to resolve the crisis in South Australia induced by the discovery of gold. See Boyle T. Finniss, The Constitutional History of South Australia During Twenty-One Years, from the Foundation of the Settlement in 1836 to the Inauguration of Responsible Government in 1857, (Adelaide: Burden & Bonython, Advertiser Office, 1886), 67. – Trans.

[3] The Assay Office was established in Adelaide in 1852, under the control and management of Mr. B. Herschel Babbage. Its establishment is coupled with the passing of the Bullion Act. The Adelaide Assay Office was opened for receiving and evaluating the gold since 10^th February, only thirteen days from the passing of the Bullion Act. Gold was converted into a form of currency in the Assay Office. See Boyle T. Finniss, The Constitutional History of South Australia During Twenty-One Years, from the Foundation of the Settlement in 1836 to the Inauguration of Responsible Government in 1857, 84. – Trans.

[4] The Colonial Treasurer of the Colony of South Australia in 1852 was Sir Robert Richard Torrens (1814-1884). He served in this position from 1852 to 1857. See Douglas J. Whalan, “Torrens, Sir Robert Richard (1814–1884),” Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1976, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/torrens-sir-robert-richard-4739/text7869. – Trans. 

（六）金融財政方面之影響

澳洲各殖民區最初通用之錢幣，均由英國鑄造運來。在一八五一年時，南澳居民大多奔往維多利亞各地採金，因而社會流通之有限錢幣，亦皆隨之外流，幾告凈盡。故當大量黃金條，由維多利亞金礦運到南澳時，南澳政府及人民竟無現幣以資購換，數月之後，只將上項金條厚數運還，足見當時南澳金融情形枯竭一般。復因南澳總督楊格氏採用非常手段，頒布金條使用法，並設立金條兌換評價局，將金條大小一一評定價格，使其流行社會，視為法定通貨；同時並令南澳銀行發行紙幣，且規定紙幣七十一先令，可兌換黃金一兩。於是現幣紙幣相輔而行，以奠立南澳金融之基礎；惟英國方面殖民大臣與財務大臣，對此均抱激烈反對態度，因鑄造錢幣發行紙幣，皆英皇之特權，殖民地不可違法紊亂幣制，幾經談判，交涉抗議，引起甚大風潮，最後英國政府卒承認澳洲各殖民地有鑄造錢幣及發行紙幣之權。自是澳洲金融基礎奠立而財政亦走上自立自主之途。

VII．The impact on transportation

Due to the discovery of gold and the increase in population, issues also emerged in transportation. Particularly, the construction of railroads became the top priority. Construction of a 14-mile rail line from Sydney to Parramatta[1] and a 20-mile rail line from Newcastle[2] to Maitland[3] were successfully completed in 1850 and 1853 respectively as planned. In Victoria, the constructions of a 50-mile rail line from Melbourne to Geelong[4] and a 100-mile rail line from Geelong to Bendigo were also started by private organised companies successively. However, the construction work was paused midway due to massive loss and debts of those private entities. Thus, the government took over these railroad construction projects in succession and completed them with public funds. But people at that time strongly opposed the nationalisation of the railroads, especially because, due to different opinions, the railroads designed and built by the governments of New South Wales and Victoria differed in the width of rail tracks and could not be connected, causing multiple issues, such asinconvenience in transportation and waste and leading to great dissatisfaction among people. However, after that, the railroads in Australia were actively put into construction and the transportation issues in places around Australia’s south-eastern coast were gradually resolved. Furthermore, in terms of maritime traffic, the original merchant ships travelling between Britain and Australia were not enough for use because of the discovery of gold and the rise in imports and exports. The governments in Australia hence negotiated and reached an agreement with Britain to collaborate in building a number of packet ships travelling between Britain and Australia. The voyage duration was shortened, and this brought much convenience. The trade between Britain and Australia was hence progressively developed and this can show the impact of the discovery of gold.

[1] Parramatta is a major commercial suburb and centre in Greater Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located approximately 24 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River, it has a long history as a second administrative centre in the Sydney metropolitan region, playing host to many state government departments as well as a registry for federal courts. See Margo Daly, The Rough Guide to Sydney (London and New York: Rough Guides, 2003), 149. – Trans.

[2] Located approximately 170 kilometres northeast of Sydney at the mouth of the Hunter River, Newcastle is a harbour city which is famous for its beautiful scenery and coal in New South Wales, Australia. See Margo Daly, The Rough Guide to Sydney, 271. – Trans.

[3] Located approximately 166 kilometres north of Sydney and 35 kilometres northwest of Newcastle in the Lower Hunter Valley, Maitland is a city in New South Wales, Australia. See “Region summary: Maitland,” Australian Bureau of Statistics, accessed June 2021, https://dbr.abs.gov.au/region.html?lyr=sa3&rgn=10602. – Trans.

[4] Located approximately 75 kilometres southwest of Melbourne, Geelong is the second largest and the second fastest growing city in Victoria, Australia. See Richard Everist, Geelong & the Bellarine Peninsula (Geelong: Best Shot!, 2004), 17. – Trans.

（七）交通方面之影響

由於黃金之發現，及人口之增加，交通方面自亦發生問題；尤其鐵路之建築為刻不容緩之舉。一八五〇年雪梨至拔拉馬塔Parramatta十四英里長之鐵路，一八五三年紐喀斯爾Newcastle至麥特蘭Maitland二十英里長之鐵路，均分別計劃建築成功。又由維多利亞之美爾缽至吉隆Geelong地方之五十英里，至奔地戈地方之一百英里鐵路，亦皆由私人組織公司，先後開始建築；但後因私人賠累過巨，中途停工，政府乃一一接收，以公款完成之；惟當時人民對於鐵路收歸國有，頗表反對，尤以新南威爾斯與維多利亞兩地政府所設計建築之鐵路，各因意見不同，致兩地路軌，寬窄亦不同，行車無法銜接，造成交通上種種不便及浪費之現象，極為人民所不滿；然澳洲鐵路自此之後，積極建設，東南沿海各地交通問題，漸次解決。又海上交通，由於黃金之發現，及進出口貨物之增加，英國至澳往返途中，原有商輪不敷應用，澳洲政府，於是商准英國共建郵船多艘，往來英澳，航期縮短，便利實多，英澳貿易，由是日趨發展。由此黃金髮現後所發生之影響也。