By RoyinaCRIME ,LAW AND ORDER

CONTENT

Crimes were committed all the time on the gold fields. It was so hard for

the police to keep track the main thing the police looked for was

miners without licences. Crime was a big problem on the gold fields.

WHAT CRIMES WERE COMMITTED?

Many of the first police were indidunase Australian men. They were great at being

police but many people disagreed and soon the indidunas began to dislike the stuff he had to do so most of them quit. Police had a really hard role on the gold fields. The had a giant risk of getting killed. Allot of the people who committed crimes were dangerous and would kill police.At the very start there were only 44

police in victoria.

POLICE

Bushrangers were people who committed all sorts of crime. Most of them new the bush really good. A lot of bushrangers

were old convicts or ex-miners who gave up trying to find gold. Some were poor

miners who couldn't afford a licence but needed money. The bushrangers new the

bush like the back of there hand they were really smart too.

BUSHRANGERS

Hiding from the policeBushrangers built hide outs and huts to hide from the

police out of tree trunks and bark. the bushrangers would steal the fastest horses and ride them to out

speed the police to get away. bushrangers sometimes had spies for them to tell them where the police were

and what the police were doing. aboriginals sometimes helped the bushrangers too. The aborigines that helped

usually didn't like the British or the British did something that the didn't like. police would not suspect

the aboridunals to be on the bushrangers sides.

BUSHRANGERS

Cattle horses bank and shop robberies were all common crimes happening on the gold fields. Thieves robbed the claims of both gold and equipment, cut tents and

stole goods from stores and from travellers on the road. Horse stealing was very

common.

THEFT AND ROBBERIES

People on the gold fields were so protective and crazy that they would kill innocent people like this man:

Two miners sleeping there heard the discomposing sound (so like a mouse running up the canvas wall) of a pair of scissors slitting the canvas. A

pistol was fired in the direction of the supposed thief, and when the two miners went out to see the result, they found a well-dressed young man

lying dead with a bullet in his chest. He did not look like one of the lawless class and it was not at all clear that he had intended robbery. He was

buried next day without any information having being obtained in regard to him. This is one of the many ways in which people mysteriously

disappeared on the diggings, to be afterwards advertised for by their friends in vain."

 Sometimes the people weren’t innocent but were just not thinking straight

but still had a right to live like this man : "A man broke into a store and was in the act of carrying away a bag of flour, when a boy, who had been

sleeping inside, awoke with the noise, and, following the man outside, told him to put the bag down or he would shoot him. The boy fired, the man fell

mortally wounded, and the poor lad, seeing what he had done, began to cry."

  Most men kept dogs chained to their tents and armed themselves, firing

their guns to warn intruders off.

ACCIDENTAL KILLINGS (OOPS)

Between 1851 and 1853, the government made it illegalto sell alcohol on the diggings. This was meant to reducelaw and order problems caused by drunken miners. Thisfailed because it was unrealistic to expect miners not todrink; therefore ‘sly grog’ sellers made huge profits onthe fields and sly grog tents were havens for criminals

and violent crimes.The system also enabled dishonest troopers to blackmailgrog sellers in order to line their own pockets. Trooperswere entitled to burn down huts or tents where it wasbelieved that alcohol was on sale and heavy fines were

inflicted on anyone caught selling alcohol illegally.

ALCOHOL - SLY GROG SELLING

There is much evidence that the miners themselveswanted to keep order and it appears that many

maintained respect for the British institutions whichgoverned Victoria.

When troubles took place on the goldfields, miners oftentook matters into their own hands. Tent robbing and claim

jumping (taking another person’s claim) were common. Theywould arrange their own courts, and decide their own

punishments. For example, one man caught stealing fromhis mate was branded with a hot chisel. Some bushrangerswere captured and hanged by miners themselves when the

police seemed unable or unwilling to solve the problem.

LAW AND PENALTIES

THE LICENCE

On the 15th of August 1851, not long after diggers began finding gold in Victoria, La Trobe said that no miners should mine and it was

illegal. However, he soon found out that a gold rush could not be stopped, he said that a license system would be introduced, which would give miners the right to mine a small claim. From the 1st of

September onwards, miners could dig an 8ft x 8ft claim for 30 shillings a month. Witch was really expensive back then. The licence

was meant to discourage as manypeople as possible from leaving their jobs and rushing

to the diggings. It was also intended to ensure thatunsuccessful miners would be forced to return to their

jobs if they did not find gold.They would have to carry there licence everywereand it would get really dirty.you had to pay the licence fee

even if you dident find gold.

INFO ON THE LICENCE

Overall the goldfields were horrible places to live

because of all the crime but there was also some good things I hope you enjoyed

my presentation.!

OVERALL

SBS gold http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.php?storyid=79 I used lots of links with the same url that

were in the websiteParry Ann ,riots ,Robberies and

Rebellions,The Gold Rushes, south yarra, Macmillan education, 2007.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

THE END