The Price of Gold
New Zealand Gold
The more you look into the involvement of the Scots in New Zealand there are just so many areas of influence in the formation of how we see this country today. So at the time of a `golden age €when the precious metal, gold, was discovered in 1861 New Zealand `s Otago's population in July was less than 13,000 but by the end of that year this had swelled to over 30,000. Gold certainly was there aplenty but although a few fortunes were made by experienced or lucky prospectors the great majority were left with no more than what they had arrived with. But we will we ever know how many lives were lost in this struggle for the yellow metal.
And where were the Scots in all this, I can't really imagine they were at the back of the queue although I have not yet found any that made it into the superrich category and when the reports came in of even richer finds in the West Coast area another exodus to that area was made.
I find it fascinating all the songs that have been written about the Gold strikes and also the bewildering impact all this must have had on local communities. Of course as virtually the only main port of entry at that time was Dunedin flourishing beyond recognition and new firms began to spring up everywhere to supply the multitude of needs for this growing band of treasure hunters. Dunedin itself almost doubled its population in the latter half of 1861 and 3 years later it was the largest town in the Country with nearly 16,000 inhabitants. Although about a third of them disappeared after the `rush` was over, the great majority remained to be absorbed into commerce, industry or farming.
So then Scottish folk still formed the largest group in the community and the traditions which they had established were already too powerful to be overwhelmed. But Dunedin's triumphs were Southlands losses as many left the area seeking better prospects in more than one sense.
So it came to my interest of the discovery of gold in the Loch Lomond area of Scotland about 10 years ago and I wonder what on earth the impact would have been had the `find` been made 150 years ago. Would it have been enough to stem the tide and waves of forced immigrations then I wonder.
Of course in today's world the potential impact this may have on tourism will have to be all weighed up, skilled jobs it may all bring but at the high end of the scale some environmental issues as well. They had no need of worry of government interference in the old days.
Our chase for the supply of this precious metal can indeed sometimes come at a very high price
The more you look into the involvement of the Scots in New Zealand there are just so many areas of influence in the formation of how we see this country today. So at the time of a `golden age €when the precious metal, gold, was discovered in 1861 New Zealand `s Otago's population in July was less than 13,000 but by the end of that year this had swelled to over 30,000. Gold certainly was there aplenty but although a few fortunes were made by experienced or lucky prospectors the great majority were left with no more than what they had arrived with. But we will we ever know how many lives were lost in this struggle for the yellow metal.
And where were the Scots in all this, I can't really imagine they were at the back of the queue although I have not yet found any that made it into the superrich category and when the reports came in of even richer finds in the West Coast area another exodus to that area was made.
I find it fascinating all the songs that have been written about the Gold strikes and also the bewildering impact all this must have had on local communities. Of course as virtually the only main port of entry at that time was Dunedin flourishing beyond recognition and new firms began to spring up everywhere to supply the multitude of needs for this growing band of treasure hunters. Dunedin itself almost doubled its population in the latter half of 1861 and 3 years later it was the largest town in the Country with nearly 16,000 inhabitants. Although about a third of them disappeared after the `rush` was over, the great majority remained to be absorbed into commerce, industry or farming.
So then Scottish folk still formed the largest group in the community and the traditions which they had established were already too powerful to be overwhelmed. But Dunedin's triumphs were Southlands losses as many left the area seeking better prospects in more than one sense.
So it came to my interest of the discovery of gold in the Loch Lomond area of Scotland about 10 years ago and I wonder what on earth the impact would have been had the `find` been made 150 years ago. Would it have been enough to stem the tide and waves of forced immigrations then I wonder.
Of course in today's world the potential impact this may have on tourism will have to be all weighed up, skilled jobs it may all bring but at the high end of the scale some environmental issues as well. They had no need of worry of government interference in the old days.
Our chase for the supply of this precious metal can indeed sometimes come at a very high price
