where did immigrants come from during the australian gold rush
Australian gold rushes The gold rushes caused a huge influx of people from overseas. Australia's total population more than tripled from 430,000 in 1851 to 1.7 million in 1871.[3] Australia first became a multicultural society during the gold rush period. Between 1852 and 1860, 290,000 people migrated to Victoria from the British Isles, 15,000 came from other European countries, and 18,000 emigrated from the United States.[14] Non-European immigrants, however, were unwelcome, especially the Chinese.