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Centenary of the Gold RushPrint Page 
The sign at Pollock's Gully, the site of the first payable gold, commemorates the Centenary of the Gold Rush.
In the 1860s thousands of people from across Australia, Europe and Asia flocked to the gold rush town of Kiandra. Miners came in search of wealth and found gold along with a life that could be lived nowhere else in Australia. Many of the miners were Chinese and there were about 700 Chinese living in Kiandra at the height of the gold rush.
As European miners left, the Chinese became a greater proportion of the total Kiandra population. By the 1880s Kiandra was about half Chinese and intermarriage with Europeans was quite common. The Kiandra Gold rush was short and swift but managed to claim about 170,000 ounces according to official records.
Location
| Address: | Snowy Mountains Highway, Kiandra, 2629 |
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| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.878924 Long: 148.494553 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
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| Monument Theme: | Technology |
| Sub-Theme: | Industry |
| Approx. Event Start Date: | November-1859 |
| Approx. Event End Date: | November -1959 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 14th November, 1959 |
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Kiandra Gold Rush 1859 - 60
The rush broke out after payable gold was discovered here at Pollock`s Gully in, November 1859. By March - April 1860 there were more than 10,000 men of the Kiandra Gold Field - several thousands endured the winter snows, ill-prepared and mostly under canvas.
However, the rich shallow alluvial gold was quickly worked out and by March 161 the population was reduced to 250.
The gold escort took away 67,687 oz in 1860 and 16,567 oz in 1861. The official total production was 172,000 oz. The gold was mostly alluvial. Large nuggets up to 28 pounds in weight were found, mostly close to the present village.
Reconstructed from the original sign erected by the Cooma - Monara Historical Society and Kosciusko State Park Trust, unveiled by Hon. J. B. Simpson, M. L. A., Minister for Mines, on 14th November, 1959.
