While gold had been found in the Australian colonies in the early 19th century, it was not until May 1851 that the rush for gold truly began. This followed prospector Edward Hargraves publicising his discovery of gold near the Macquarie River, northeast of the city of Orange, New South Wales. The site was subsequently named Ophir, after a region in the Old Testament famed for its gold. From that point, gold fever took hold in earnest, as fortune hunters flocked to the area. Subsequent rich finds in Victoria further fuelled the frenzy.

In April and May 1852, several ships from Victoria arrived in London carrying eight tonnes of gold, attracting a surge of immigrants to the Australian colonies. It is estimated that around two per cent of the population of the British Isles emigrated to New South Wales and Victoria during the 1850s, along with people from across the globe. Between 1851 and 1861, the Australian population grew from 430,000 to 1.15 million, largely as a result of the gold rush.