1. Sicknesses
1.1. Weakness Of Sight
1.1.1. One of the main the sicknesses were the weakness of sight, caused by the hot winds and sandy soil.
1.2. Dysentery
1.2.1. Another common illness was dysentery, a sickness caused by badly cooked food, bad water and want of vegetables.
1.3. Typhus
1.3.1. Typhus was also common in the goldfields, affecting the mind of the victim.
2. Jobs
2.1. There were butchers, blacksmiths, post office masters, sweet makers, grocers and many more.
3. Children
3.1. Children often came with their parents to the goldfields. They had to do household chores such as: carrying wood, looking after the tents or huts, cared for horses or fossicking among the left over gravel and sand.
3.2. Children also had to go to school, but since the gold was being discovered in different places and there weren't many schools children sometimes didn't even go to school.
4. Housing
4.1. Tents and Huts
4.1.1. Miners and their families stayed in the shelter of tents and sometimes huts if they had the material. The wealthy people lived in grand stone houses.
5. Education
5.1. Teachers at the schools were mostly young and inexperienced so children did not learn much at school.
6. Food
6.1. Damper
6.1.1. Damper is a simple bread made from flour, water and salt, cooked over an oven campfire.
6.2. Mutton
6.2.1. Mutton is the meat of sheep, cooked with onions and potatoes, also cabbage and carrots if they were lucky, mutton was also used in stew.
6.3. Beef Jerky
6.3.1. Salted beef jerky was made and eaten by many miners
6.4. Vegetables
6.4.1. Vegetables were rare on the goldfields, except for the ones who could put up with the Chinese and buy some from their cultivated market gardens.
7. Entertainment
7.1. Music
7.1.1. The miners with instruments were encouraged to bring their instrument to evening gatherings for entertainment.
7.2. Dancing
7.2.1. There were Subscription Balls in the goldfield, know as a major event even the poorest diggers could afford as a luxury.
7.2.2. Lots of professional entertainers came from Britain and there were just a few Subscription Balls that were the best luxury even the poorest diggers could afford.
7.3. Story Telling
7.3.1. After a long day of hard work, miners gather around campfire, enjoy some tea and a pipe and tell each other great stories.
7.4. Sports
7.4.1. Hunting was very popular at the time, hunting mostly opossums and kangaroos for food or just for fun.
7.5. Story Telling
7.5.1. After a long Day of hard work, miners gather around a campfire, enjoy some tea and a pipe and tell each other great stories
8. Daily Life
8.1. Living Conditions
8.1.1. The living conditions in the goldfields was always hot and steamy, the police went on licence hunts and the fees and taxes were harsh. Gold was also rarely found.
8.2. Food Conditions
8.2.1. The food produced from farmers were mostly rotten and tough, the heat and the flies affecting it too.