Historical information

From 1851 the Victorian government required all men on Victorian Goldfields to carry a Gold License. The fee was one pound per month, and was payable in advance.

There was agitation surrounding the gold license which was thought to be an excessive fee and did not give the bearer right to representation. On 03 December 1854 the gold diggers on the Eureka Lead fought a short battle against the army and police troopers. A few months later a new system of taxing gold diggers was introduced - the Miner's Right.

The Gold License c allowed the bearer to 'dig, search for, and remove gold on and from any Crown Lands' within the district specified on the license.

The license was not transferable, and had to be produced on demand. This has resulted in most surviving licenses showing evidence of having been folded and kept in a pocket.

Significance

The Victorian Gold Licence was issued from 1851 until early 1855. Every man on a Victorian goldfield had to carry a valid gold license, so few survived the harsh treatment of being carried around a working goldfield.

There was much dissatisfaction about what was thought to be an unfair mining tax (or gold license). On 29 November 1854 Ballarat miners burnt their licenses on Bakery Hill. On 3 December 1854 the Eureka Stockade Battle took place, resulting in the Goldfields Commission. The first Miner's Right was issued in late June 1855, and in July the first Local Courts were elected by miner's right holders.

This gold license was issued around one year after the issue of the first Victorian gold license in August 1851, making it a rare early survivor. This fold lines on this Gold License are evidence of being carried around by the bearer.

Physical description

A original Victorian paper gold license glued onto on old card poster. The original colour of the paper was pale blue. The license has undergone conservation treatment and has been removed from the card.

Inscriptions & markings

'231', '9 Nov 1852', [name illegible], 'Lod dist [Loddon District?], [Commissioner illegible - probably M. Cohn]