1851 Lloyd Map of New South Wales, Australia

This is a c. 1851 Bartholomew Frederick Lloyd separately issued map of the colony of New South Wales, Australia, issued to promote further colonisation in the light of the 1851 Australian Gold Rush.

A Closer Look

Coverage embraces the colony of New South Wales, covering from the Hasting Sriver to Monaroo Downs, and from the Pacific Coast westward along the Lacklan River to just beyond Mt. Barrow. Though much of the country beyond the highlighted colony was, at this time, only tenuously explored, the map appears optimistic, describing the land in the most glowing terms: 'excellent grazing country', 'good level country', low hills covered with grass', 'rich land clear of timber', etc. The cartographer is clearly in the land-promotion business.

To the east, the more established countries are highlighted with hand color. Sydney, Newcastle, Liverpool, Windsor, and several other settlements are named. Jervis Bay, Batemans Bay, and Botany Bay are noted, along with points, havens, and other coastal locations. Rivers, hills, lakes, and other features are noted as well. An inset in the lower left corner focuses on the Port Jackson area from Broken Bay to Port Hacking. The region's road network is also illustrated, and the distances between Sydney and the outlying towns are given. An inset in the upper right illustrates the entirety of Australia (then called New Holland) and New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, South Australia, and Australia Felix. Van Diemen's Land is featured in an inset in the lower right.

Australian Gold Rush of 1851

Gold was known to be present in Australia prior to 1851, but the intentional suppression of this information by the colonial government of New South Wales prevented all-out gold rushes. When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, California, in 1848, causing the California Gold Rush, countless Australians migrated in search of their fortunes. Desirous of maintaining their dwindling workforce, the colonial governors rethought their position and sought approval from the Colonial Office in England to allow the exploitation of the mineral resources. They also offered rewards for finding payable gold. This led to the first major Australian gold rush when prospector Edward Hargraves discovered gold at Ophir, near Orange. A series of subsequent discoveries followed, transforming the Australian economy and leading to a rush of new immigration. In Victoria, for example, Melbourne, which had a population of around 29,000 in 1851, grew to over 500,000 by 1861 and then to 700,000 by 1869. This population boom forced the British government to allow the Port Philip District to secede from New South Wales to form the Colony of Victoria. Gold production in Victoria exceeded all other gold-producing regions in the world, except California, with its highest annual yield reaching 3,053,744 troy ounces in 1856. It is estimated that between 1851 and 1896, a total of 61,034,682 ounces of gold were extracted from mines in Victoria.

Publication History and Census

This map was separately issued by Bartholomew Frederick Lloyd c. 1851. An atlas variant was published by Gall and Inglis for The Edinburgh Imperial Atlas, Ancient and Modern. This is the only known example of the separately issued edition, and we have located only one example of the separate atlas edition, located at the National Library of Australia. The atlas edition does have the page number XLVII (47) and includes the B.F. Lloyd and Company imprint below the bottom border. It does not bear the B.F. Lloyd and Company name in the title or the information concerning the cost of colorization above the top border.