Historical Background to William Jones’ Voyage to Australia

Gold was discovered in Australia in 1851. In September 1851, Ballarat gold fetched £3 per oz.

Melbourne itself was reached by steamboat up the Yarra Yarra, which was not more than 25 feet wide in places.

The first ship to land Australian gold in the British Isles was the ‘Phoenician’ in 1852.

In the year 1852, 102,000 people arrived in the Colony of Victoria.

Between 1852 and 1857, 226,000 people landed in Australia, 4,000 of them being Welsh. In 18 months the population of Melbourne rose from 23,000 to 70,000.