Rocky River (New South Wales)

Rocky River
The Thunderbolts Way in Rocky River near Uralla
State :  Australia State : New South Wales
Coordinates : 29 ° 7 ′  S , 152 ° 21 ′  E Coordinates: 29 ° 7 ′  S , 152 ° 21 ′  E Area : 51.4  km²
Residents : 270 (2016) Population density : 5.3 inhabitants per km²
Time zone : ACST (UTC + 9: 30)
Rocky River

Rocky River is a place in northern New South Wales , Australia , on the Northern Tableland plateau on the Rocky River. The place is 471 kilometers north of Sydney and 485 kilometers south of Brisbane . It is about two kilometers from the city of Uralla . As a gold rush town, Rocky River had about 5,000 residents in 1856. Today there are only 270 left. It is located on the river of the same name .

Gold rush

In 1851 gold was found on the Rocky River . After the local agent Massie announced this discovery on October 7, 1851 , a gold rush began. The first gold digging licenses were issued in 1852, and in October 1852 the Windeyer brothers washed out about five ounces of gold in less than a week. Another 150 gold prospectors came to the place.

Between June 3rd and 5th, 1854, the population grew to 86 tents and 350 people (193 men, 58 women and 99 children). The gold field remained relatively insignificant until 1856. However, when John Jones found some gold tinsel in February 1856, Rocky River became a thriving town with approximately 4,000 to 5,000 gold miners and families. Rocky River had about 20 hotels, numerous guest houses, shops, churches and schools at its wedding.

In 1856, approximately 40,000 ounces of gold were leached in the Rocky River area .

In 1875 only 1,178 ounces of gold could be mined. In 1877 there were still 50 gold diggers in the city. Only one hotel was still open.

racism

Around 1856 a number of Chinese came to the gold field. The Europeans saw them as competitors and demonized them as non-Christians, yellow-skinned, slit-eyed people who bring in leprosy and other diseases. These views and prejudices broke out in a violent conflict in August 1856 when the European gold diggers violently attacked and injured the Chinese. This dispute remained a one-off event. After the gold rush, many Chinese stayed in the area, opened shops or worked for Europeans. The Chinese built their own house of prayer, which later burned down, and had their own cemetery on Rifle Range Road .

today

Abandoned gold rush house in Rocky River near Uralla

Today (2010) only the school building on Thunderbolts Way and a few houses remind of the old days of the gold diggers. In the area there are numerous traces of those who once challenged their luck in prospecting for gold.

There are two shops and a hotel in town that will probably close soon.

Web links

Commons : Rocky River, New South Wales  - Collection of pictures, videos, and audio files

• Gold at Rocky River (English)
• Rocky River - Uralla NSW (English) ( Memento from June 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics : Rocky River ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2020.