Victorian gold rush in the context of "Geelong, Victoria"

The Otago gold rush (often called the Central Otago gold rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – many of them veterans of other hunts for the precious metal in California and Victoria, Australia. The number of miners reached its maximum of 18,000 in February 1864.

The rush started at Gabriel's Gully but spread throughout much of Central Otago, leading to the rapid expansion and commercialisation of the new colonial settlement of Dunedin, which quickly grew to be New Zealand's largest city. Only a few years later, most of the smaller new settlements were deserted, and gold extraction became more long-term, industrialised-mechanical process.

The Victorian Alps, also known locally as the High Country, is a large mountain system in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. Occupying the majority of eastern Victoria, it is the southwestern half of the Australian Alps (the other half being the Snowy Mountains), the tallest portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Yarra and Dandenong Ranges, both sources of rivers and drinking waters for Melbourne (Victoria's capital, largest city and home to three quarters of the state's population), are branches of the Victorian Alps.

The promise of gold in the mid-1800s, during the Victorian gold rush, led to the European settlement of the area. The region's rich natural resources brought a second wave of agricultural settlers; the foothills around the Victorian Alps today has a large agrarian sector, with significant cattle stations being sold recently for over thirty million dollars. The Victorian Alps is also the source of many of Victoria's water ways, including Murray and Yarra Rivers and the Gippsland Lakes. The valleys beneath the high plains are surrounded by wineries and orchards because of this abundance of water. The region is also home to Victoria's largest national park, the Alpine National Park, which covers over 646,000 hectares (1,600,000 acres). The establishment of the Alpine National Park has meant that economic activities such as mining, logging and agriculture are limited, to preserve the natural ecosystem for visitors. Tourism within the region centres around snow sports in winter and various outdoor activities during the summer months.

Chinatown (Chinese: 唐人街) is a common term used to describe an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, typically situated in an urban area. Chinatowns can be found around the world, including in Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. The history of Chinatowns date back to the Tang dynasty in the 10th century, arising from the nation's important role in global trade.

Binondo in Manila, established in 1594, is recognized as the world's oldest standing Chinatown. Notable early examples outside Asia include San Francisco's Chinatown in the United States and Melbourne's Chinatown in Australia, which were founded in the early 1850s during the California and Victoria gold rushes, respectively. A more modern example, in Montville, Connecticut, was caused by the displacement of Chinese workers in New York's Manhattan Chinatown following the September 11th attacks in 2001.

The Eureka Rebellion involved gold miners who revolted against the British administration of the colony of Victoria, Australia, during the Victorian gold rush. It culminated in the Battle of the Eureka Stockade, which took place on 3 December 1854 at Ballarat between the rebels and the colonial forces of Australia. The fighting resulted in an official total of 27 deaths and many injuries, the majority of casualties being rebels. There was a preceding period beginning in 1851 of peaceful demonstrations and civil disobedience on the Victorian goldfields. The miners had various grievances, chiefly the cost of mining permits and the officious way the system was enforced.

Tensions began in 1851, with the introduction of a tax on gold mines. Miners began to organise and protest the taxes; miners stopped paying the taxes en masse. The October 1854 murder of a gold miner, and the burning of a local hotel (which miners blamed on the government), ended the previously peaceful nature of the miners' dispute. Open rebellion broke out on 29 November 1854, as a crowd of some 10,000 swore allegiance to the Eureka Flag. Gold miner Peter Lalor became the rebellion's de facto leader, as he had initiated the swearing of allegiance. The Battle of Eureka Stockade ended the short-lived rebellion on 3 December. A group of 13 captured rebels (not including Lalor, who was in hiding) was put on trial for high treason in Melbourne, but mass public support led to their acquittal.