The gold rush that transformed towns and cities across Victoria from the 1850s to 1900 produced a very particular kind of jewelry – not all of it “tasteful” or beautiful, and much of it in stark contrast to the jewelry favored by the squatters and colonial elite of the time. But that makes it all the more interesting and valuable for the stories it tells.
From golden teaspoons to literal nuggets of gold embedded in bracelets to giant brooches depicting miniature diggers at work in the mines, much of this bling was about showing off good fortune and hard work.
Museums Victoria recently announced its latest glittering acquisition – the State of Victoria Gold Jewellery Collection, now one of the most significant public collections of Victorian goldfield jewelry. Comprising nearly 400 pieces forged and sourced from around the state, the collection tells the stories of the people who made and wore this wealth – their hopes, dreams and politics.
A pop-up exhibition, Gold, Glitz and Grit, featuring 15 key pieces from this collection, is now open to the public, with plans for a broader exhibition in the future.
Pieces in the extensive collection come from the bustling metropolis of 1850s Melbourne, regional centers such as Ballarat, Geelong, Bendigo and Wangaratta, and smaller towns such as Jeparit, Daylesford and Woorak – places that were all transformed by the famous boom that brought more than half a million people to Victoria and saw an influx of new ideas, skills and cultures. According to the museum, the collection “showcases the positive contributions of gold while inviting an in-depth discussion of its impact on Victoria’s Indigenous and migrant communities and the environment”.
