MINING SUPERSTITIONS IN COLONIAL AUSTRALIA
Recording of an online talk presented by Dr David Waldron, followed by a Q&A with the audience.
When immigrant communities flooded to Australia in the pursuit of gold during the mid-19th century, the bought much of their folklore and culture with them. Originating, fort the most past, from the most poverty-stricken regions of the UK and Europe along with communities from the Indian sub-continent, the West Indies, the Americas and China the Australian goldrush was a unique cultural melting pot. Many of these traditions have left remains in the papers of the day, journals and on the remains of heritage buildings in the form of apotropaic marks and graffiti. This talk will examine the superstitions and folklore of Australian miners during the 1850s goldrush of Victoria Australia and how the melting pot of colonial Australia adapting these traditions to their unique environment.