Victorian gold
The gold rush and its impact on cultural life

born Austria 1811, active Australia 1852–82, died England 1901

Eugène von Guérard arrived in Victoria in December 1852, and after a short visit to Melbourne, he travelled to the Ballarat gold-fields. Von Guérard made a significant contribution to our knowledge of the Victorian gold rush period through the illustrated journal he kept as a digger.

Through text and images, he recorded his journey to the Ballarat gold-fields, the life of the digger, and importantly, the impact of mining activity on the Australian landscape.

After fourteen months on the fields with little financial gain, he left for Melbourne to resume a painting career, arriving in April 1854.

During the next sixteen years, von Guérard travelled extensively throughout the south-eastern regions of Australia on sketching trips, seeking subjects and patronage. Despite the wealth generated by the gold-fields, the pastoral squatters of Victoria were the major art patrons in the colony during the 1850s and 1860s. Von Guérard completed many commissions for these wealthy land-owners.

The Australian alps were another subject that von Guérard favoured. His visited this region in 1862, accompanying the survey team of Professor George Neumayer.

In 1870 he was appointed master of the Painting School and curator of the National Gallery of Victoria, positions which he held until his departure from the colony in 1882.