Miner's Licence

Miner's Licence

The Miner's Licence was the colonial government's response to the Australian gold rushes and the need to provide infrastructure including policing. The Governor of New South Wales, Sir Charles Fitzroy invoked a sixteenth-century lawsuit, R v Earl of Northfartland (‘Case of Mines’) which was decided in 1568, to proclaim the Crown's right to all gold found in New South Wales. No man could dig for gold unless he had bought a licence. The charge for the licence was set, to begin with, at 30 shillings a month, an amount believed to be high enough to discourage unlucky diggers but not so high as to encourage rebellion.[1] The price was later changed to 1 pound a month, or 8 pounds a year. This licence entitled the miner to a 3.6 square metre piece of land, and had to be paid for regardless of whether or not gold had been found.

Miners did rebel, most notably at the Eureka Stockade in Victoria, Australia, but there had been protests since its inception. As a result of the Eureka Stockade protest, the Miner's Right was introduced.


References

  1. ^ Blainey, Geoffrey (1963). The Rush That Never Ended. Melbourne University Press. pp. 20–21. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Miner's Right — The Miner s Right was introduced in 1855 in the colony of Victoria, replacing the Miner s Licence. Protests in 1853 at Bendigo with the formation of the Anti Gold Licence Association and the rebellion of Eureka Stockade in December 1854 at… …   Wikipedia

  • miner's right — /maɪnəz ˈraɪt/ (say muynuhz ruyt) noun an official licence to dig for gold. Also, miner s licence …  

  • miner — n. 1 a person who works in a mine. 2 any burrowing insect or grub. Phrases and idioms: miner s right Austral. a licence to dig for gold etc. on private or public land. Etymology: ME f. OF mineumlor, minour (as MINE(2)) …   Useful english dictionary

  • miner's right — noun : a license given to Australian miners to explore for and extract a mineral (as gold) * * * miner s right noun (Aust and NZ) A licence to prospect for gold, minerals, etc • • • Main Entry: ↑mine …   Useful english dictionary

  • Anti-Gold Licence Association — The Anti Gold Licence Association was formed in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia on 6 June 1853. On 1 August Governor La Trobe was presented with a petition of more than 5,000 signatures, now known as the Bendigo Petition.[1] At a meeting at View… …   Wikipedia

  • Manic Miner — Developer(s) Matthew Smith Publisher(s) …   Wikipedia

  • gold licence — /ˈgoʊld laɪsəns/ (say gohld luysuhns) noun 1. NSW a driver s licence for which one becomes eligible after having held a silver licence for at least five continuous years. 2. a special licence given to certain service providers to indicate a high… …  

  • Eureka Stockade — The Eureka Stockade was the setting of a gold miners revolt in 1854 near Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, against the officials supervising the mining of gold in the region. The revolt was prompted by grievances over heavily priced mining items,… …   Wikipedia

  • Ballarat Reform League — The Ballarat Reform League was formed in September 1854 at Ballarat as a protest against the regulation of the gold diggings, specifically the League was formed with the view of abolishing Miner s Licences and having the miners, arrested in… …   Wikipedia

  • Nicolas Coccola — Father Nicolas Coccola Born December 12, 1854 Corsica, France Died March 1, 1943 Smithers, British Columbia Occupation Oblate …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”