Gold, Land and Democracy in Victoria

The democratic activism of gold diggers and their allies in the 1850s helped create a broadly-based male democracy Victoria, but exactly what kind of democracy was it? Professor David Goodman expounds upon gold rush era democratic aspirations and democracy in practice.

David Goodman is Professor of History at the University of Melbourne, specialising in US and Australian history. His award-winning first book was ‘Gold Seeking: Victoria and California in the 1850s’ (1994). His more recent work has focused on the history of American broadcasting and the debate about US entry into WWII. His short article ‘Gold and Democracy’ appeared in the Victorian Historical Journal in 2024.

Attend Talking History in person at the Eureka Centre (no booking required). Past lectures can be viewed on YouTube by clicking this link.

Image: David Tulloch, ‘Great Meeting of Gold Diggers Dec 15^th 1851’, 1852 [detail], lithograph, Federation University Art Collection, Source: Victorian Collections, A00463.