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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ001125A
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00:29 These are the vaults built to store the gold dug out of the 00:34 Victorian landscape during the gold rush. Gold that made a few 00:37 rich, but broke the backs of many others who dug for it. This 00:41 is a place that was purpose built to store up treasure. Gold 00:46 has always been a treasure for humanity since ancient times. 00:51 But perhaps we should focus on a different kind of treasure. Join 00:56 me as we travel back to the 1850s gold rush days. Will we 01:04 be able to resist gold fever? This is Ballarat' s Sovereign 01:10 Hill goldfield where we can still find gold today using a 01:15 flat metal pan as gold miners around the world have done for 01:21 centuries. At first gold was used only by sacred priests in 01:26 religious ceremonies and then by royalty to show power and 01:31 prestige. Then gold was used as money and turned into coins. 01:35 Sovereign Hill gets its name because the gold found here was 01:41 was melted down into sovereigns, gold coins. And since the coins 01:45 the ownership and 01:47 use of gold was no longer just for royals. It was now in the 01:52 hands of the common people who could touch it, feel it, buy 01:57 things with it and pay their debts with it. Gold coins became 02:02 a treasure that anyone could aspire to have. In this episode 02:07 we will travel back to the 1850s with the help of Sovereign Hill 02:12 to learn just how gold fever turned Australia upside down 02:16 and how gold fever still taunts us today. 02:21 ♪ ♪ 02:50 We've always had a fascination with gold. The power of gold has 02:55 inspired, seduced and manipulated us for at least 02:58 6000 years. The Egyptians were casting gold bars as money as 03:04 early as 4000 B.C. All through history we have wanted gold to 03:09 decorate religious objects, to decorate important buildings and 03:13 to decorate our bodies and to use as money. The demand for 03:18 gold has caused all kinds of social change and havoc 03:22 throughout history as people took enormous risks to find this 03:26 beautiful metal. Today in the great gold mines of South Africa 03:31 the shafts reach down as far as 4000 meters and the temperature 03:36 reaches 54 degrees Celsius. We have massive open cut gold 03:41 mines in Australia and South Africa, in countries such as 03:45 Mongolia, Philippines, Indonesia Ghana and Papua New Guinea. 03:49 People living in poverty on the fringes of the mining areas 03:54 spend every day standing in mud with a pan, or climb down into 03:59 unstable dark holes with a pick and homemade explosives looking 04:04 to find flecks of gold that will help their families survive. Is 04:09 this gold fever worth such sacrifice? 04:12 ♪ ♪ 04:24 Gold was discovered in Ballarat in August 1851. It was found 04:29 here in a place ironically called Poverty Point. Within 04:35 days news of the find had spread to Melbourne and Julong. Within 04:40 weeks eager prospectors were making their way here from all 04:44 corners of Australia. Within six months news had spread around 04:49 the world and people rushed here from England, Europe and 04:52 America. Nobody wanted to miss a windfall. Eighteen fifty two was 05:01 the year when there was nothing but gold. Finding this gold was 05:08 easy. Panning simply involved washing dirt in a gold pan and 05:14 as it tilted and swirled loose dirt and gravel washed out 05:19 leaving the heavier gold behind. Larger quantities of dirt were 05:25 rocked in a cradle to wash away clay and gravel trapping the 05:30 golden layer of blanket. Over 600 tons of gold came from 05:35 Ballarat' s goldfields. Ballarat also became home to the second 05:44 largest gold nugget ever found, the massive 69 kg Welcome nugget 05:50 When this piece of gold was discovered no scales that were 05:54 capable of weighing a nugget of this size were available. So it 05:58 was broken into three pieces on an anvil. The nugget weighed 06:03 about 72 kilos. At today's gold price it would be worth about 06:08 two and a half million dollars. 06:10 ♪ ♪ 06:22 When gold was discovered it seemed that overnight the 06:26 workers of Australia had gone AWOL. Farms, building sites, 06:30 ships, police barracks, government offices, sheering 06:35 sheds all were deserted. Schools closed and postal services were 06:40 forced to work with a skeleton staff. News of Victoria's 06:45 supposedly infinite supply of gold was shared in newspapers 06:50 and letters in London, Edenborough, Dublin, Paris, 06:53 Warsaw, Munich, Washington, Toronto and Shanghai. And people 06:59 rushed to Victoria. In 1851 Victoria had a population of 07:05 77,000 people. By 1861, just 10 years later, the population of 07:12 Victoria was 540,000, an increase of over 800 percent 07:19 which was half the population of Australia. The gold fields 07:30 became a melting pot of humanity. Tradesmen and 07:34 artisans set up shops and established businesses to meet 07:39 the needs and demands of the miners. There were blacksmiths, 07:43 candle makers, metal workers, grocers and printers. And they 07:49 came from all over the world. Inspired by the lure of gold and 07:54 a promise of a new life in a new land. Thousands of fortune 07:59 hunters from around the world flooded into Victoria 08:03 transforming the gold fields into some of the most 08:07 cosmopolitan places on earth. The population expanded as more 08:12 people arrived and settled and established homes and businesses 08:17 The streets and camps built on gold grew into a prosperous 08:23 bustling township soon to become a fine provincial city. There 08:27 was only one way that all of these thousands of people from 08:34 overseas could get to Victoria, the gold fields and beyond. And 08:40 that was by ship. The first year after gold was discovered in 08:45 Ballarat the number of ships arriving in Port Phillip Bay 08:49 more than doubled. One hundred ships a day were sailing past 08:55 Cape Otway light house. After sailing over 20,000 km from 09:00 Europe to Australia the final obstacle for ship captains was 09:07 the western entrance to Bass Strait. This narrow stretch of 09:13 water between Cape Otway and King Island is just 90 km wide. 09:19 Known as the Eye of the Needle it is considered the most 09:24 dangerous stretch of water in the world and became an infamous 09:29 graveyard for many sailing ships Over 500 sailing ships were 09:34 wrecked along this coast. In fact over 80 ships were lost 09:39 between Cape Otway and Port Fairy alone. Most of these ships 09:45 sank at night or in a howling storm. Each of these ships 09:50 faced the same treacherous conditions along the shipwreck 09:54 coast. The passengers and crew knew all about the tragic ship 09:58 wrecks but with no other option for travel and spurred on by the 10:03 lure of gold they continued their journey placing their 10:07 faith in the captain and hoping that the weather would be mild 10:10 so that they could make it through the dangerous waters 10:14 safely. When the weather was rough every person on board 10:19 would strain their eyes to see the light shining from the Cape 10:23 Otway lighthouse, the Lady Bay Lighthouse in Warrnambool and 10:28 other lighthouses dotted along the ship wreck coast. For many 10:32 the journey to Australia could take seven or eight months and 10:36 on the cheapest fair conditions were tough. There were many 10:40 epidemics of illness on the ships and those who survived 10:44 the journey arrived at the gold fields weak and unfit for the 10:48 hard life in the camps. Fresh food was limited and clean 10:52 water was in short supply. Sewage was not properly taken 10:57 care of and so the unsanitary conditions meant that disease 11:02 was common. But no matter the cost people kept coming in 11:07 droves, drawn by the promise of gold. The gold found in Ballarat 11:13 in the 1850s was exported to Britain. It was enough gold to 11:18 pay all Britain's foreign debts and help lay the foundation of 11:23 the enormous British commercial expansion in the latter half of 11:28 the century. The development of Victoria as the state and the 11:34 vibrancy of Melbourne is intricately connected to the 11:37 sheer enormity of gold that was found in central Victoria. 11:42 Melbourne continued to grow exponentially for the next four 11:47 decades and by 1890 it was the largest and richest city in the 11:52 British Empire after London. At its peak some two tons of gold 11:57 per week flowed into the treasury building in Melbourne. 12:02 Between 1851 and 1861 Australia produced one-third of the 12:07 world's gold. By the end of the 19th century Australia was the 12:14 largest producer of gold in the world. Here in the Victorian 12:20 parliament house gold is used everywhere for decoration. In 12:25 fact, there's so much gold here that it's valued at many 12:30 millions of dollars. In a nearby passage is a replica of the 12:35 Welcome Stranger gold nugget. Today Melbourne is a busy city, 12:41 voted the most livable in the world. No one talks of gold but 12:46 it was the global desire for gold and the power of gold fever 12:51 that shaped the city and also profoundly shaped Australia. 12:57 The gold rush brought roads, rail and the first telegraph. 13:02 Much of the rest of the country including Western Australia and 13:06 Queensland were mapped and settled in the name of gold 13:10 exploration and prospecting. The huge amount of wealth that 13:14 flowed from central Victoria and later southern western Australia 13:18 would pay for the industrialization and 13:21 modernization of the entire country. The desire for gold 13:27 still shapes our world today. The desire that promises so much 13:33 but only delivers riches to a few. Let's go back to 1851, the 13:40 birth of Australia's gold fever. The gold fields were a topsy 13:46 turvy place where men could become rich overnight. Wealth 13:51 was being extracted from the earth in great quantities. 13:56 Ballarat was one of the richest gold fields the world has known. 14:00 If you walked on the world famous Ballarat gold fields or 14:06 into the tented camps in 1854 you would hear many different 14:12 accents of a multifaceted society: Italian, Irish, Dutch, 14:17 Russian, English, German, Swiss, French, American, Canadian and 14:25 Chinese. They were fortune seekers, entertainers and 14:30 adventurers. The gold fields was a noisy hive of activity. 14:35 Thousands of dogs were barking outside tents and mine shafts 14:40 marking territory. Thousands of cradles rocked the gold out of 14:45 clay on either side of the creek and diggers popped in and out 14:50 of holes like frantic moles. Hundreds of flags flapped in the 14:54 wind on tents and stores in the flats, on the hills, in the 14:59 gully's, everywhere you looked two or three flags were flying. 15:05 Flags of all nations but mostly the Union Jack. At night there 15:11 was the twinkle of a thousand campfires with talking and 15:15 yelling at every camp. Sometime during the night many guns and 15:20 pistols would be fired to release the frustration of the 15:24 day and then the music started. Accordions, concertinas, fiddles 15:31 flutes, clarinets, cornets, bugles all playing their own 15:37 tune. The effect was deafening. The early diggers of the 1850s 15:45 were not the professional miners of the 1860s a decade later. 15:51 They were individual speculators anxious about their families' 15:57 living conditions, eager to make their fortune with gold and go 16:02 home. Gold mining was back breaking, hard work with no 16:07 guarantee of a find. You could sink a shaft next to your 16:12 neighbor, you could both wallow in the dark and wet earth for 16:16 five, six, nine months, bailing out the constant seeping water 16:20 and your neighbor might find the gold infused river bed while 16:25 your hole leads only to a bend in the underground river missing 16:29 the gold completely. He wins, you lose. The space where 16:34 someone was digging was called a claim. To keep your claim a 16:39 person had to work on it every day except on Sundays. If no one 16:44 was working a claim someone else would come and take it. That 16:49 practice was called claim jumping. There was often 16:53 violence on the gold fields with thousands of people intent on 16:57 making a fortune, all crammed together in a small location, 17:02 in rough accommodation with few comforts, tensions rose 17:07 easily. But as long as there was gold people kept coming. As the 17:16 alluvial gold on the surface ran out gold, seekers were forced to 17:23 look farther underground. Miners discovered gold-bearing water 17:29 courses that had been buried at various depths by centuries of 17:35 silting or volcanic action. Deep mining was more difficult and 17:41 dangerous. Places such as Bendigo and Ballarat saw great 17:45 concentrations of miners who were forming partnerships and 17:49 syndicates to enable them to sink ever deeper shafts. It was 17:54 tough and dangerous. Deep gold mining continues in many places 17:58 in the world today. 18:00 ♪ ♪ 18:18 We have always had a fascination with gold. The power of gold has 18:22 inspired seduced and manipulated us for thousands of years. The 18:28 Egyptians were casting gold bars as money as early as 4000 B.C. 18:33 All through history we have wanted gold to decorate 18:38 religious objects, to decorate important buildings, to decorate 18:41 our bodies and to use as money. The demand for gold has caused 18:46 all kinds of social change and havoc throughout history as 18:51 people took enormous risks to find this beautiful metal. Gold 18:55 is so soft it can be shaped with a cold hammer, yet so strong 19:00 that one troy ounce of gold can be made into a wire that will 19:05 stretch for 80 km which is almost the distance between the 19:09 gold fields here in Ballarat to the gold decorated Victorian 19:14 parliament house. Human history is entwined with the desire for 19:19 gold. The miner's legend is about a king who desired gold so 19:23 much that he asked that everything he touched would turn 19:28 to gold and then was devastated when he held his precious 19:33 daughter and she turned to gold. When Moses came down from 19:37 Mt. Sinai to deliver the 10 commandments to his people he 19:42 found the Jews in a delirium worshiping a golden calf. He was 19:46 so enraged to see them bowing to an icon, an idol like those 19:51 worshiped by the hated Egyptians that he smashed the 10 19:55 commandments that he had just brought down from Mt. Sinai. 19:59 King Solomon enjoyed lavishing gold on his personal possessions 20:04 His shields were made of gold. His ivory throne was overlaid 20:08 with gold and he sipped his wine from golden vessels. When the 20:12 Queen of Sheba came to visit Solomon she brought him around 20:17 three tons of gold. Solomon oversaw the construction of a 20:22 temple made of stone and cedar overlaid with gold. Everything 20:26 was covered with gold, floors, walls, ceilings. It took more 20:31 than 183,000 men seven years to construct. There probably 20:36 hasn't been a building built that could match its splendor. 20:40 Solomon's golden temple was defaced. Part of it is the 20:44 wailing wall in Jerusalem today. But in A.D. 532 more than 12 20:50 metric tons of gold was used to build the church of St. Sophia 20:55 in Constantinople, modern day Istanbul, causing Emperor 21:02 Justinian to exclaim, Solomon I have surpassed thee. Here 21:08 today way down in the vault built to store the gold dug out 21:13 of the Victorian landscape during the gold rush. 21:16 Gold that made a 21:18 few rich but broke the backs of many others who dug for it. 21:23 This is a place that was purpose built to store up 21:26 treasure. The Bible mentions gold many times. We know details 21:32 about Solomon's temple from Old Testament writings but it also 21:37 suggests that we should focus on a different kind of treasure. 21:42 Here's what it says in Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 to 21: 22:10 We should treasure spiritual realities far above any kind of 22:23 earthly treasure. By spiritual realities I mean immensely 22:27 important things like forgiveness, fellowship with God 22:31 the power of prayer, the development of character and 22:34 moral excellence, the love of God, the hope of heaven, 22:37 honoring Christ in all you do. Our lives should be governed by 22:43 our affection for these things made available to us by Jesus. 22:47 Yes, we have to earn money and use money. We have to have food, 22:51 shelter, transportation, and health care. We can have nice 22:56 things and save money, but we must remember that all of these 23:01 things are so very temporary. So our heart ought to be 23:04 controlled by heavenly treasures spiritual blessings, treasure 23:09 which cannot be touched by moth, rust or robber and will last 23:13 forever. Where is your treasure? Is it in earthly things, is it 23:18 in money, possessions, the latest gadget or is it in heaven 23:23 in the person of Jesus? If you'd like that heavenly treasure, 23:27 treasure that lasts forever, why not ask for it right now 23:32 as we pray? 23:33 Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your love and goodness to 23:39 us. Thank you for reminding us of the importance of getting our 23:44 priorities right and building up treasures in heaven. Help us not 23:48 to be consumed by the glamour and glitter of the things of 23:51 this world, but rather focus on those things that will last 23:56 forever. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. 24:01 We're all interested in gold and treasure. We want that pot 24:16 of gold at the end of the rainbow. Some of us wish for a 24:20 life of glitz and glamour or maybe you want the real deal. 24:24 You want a better life, a life that brings happiness and 24:28 fulfillment, a life that's built on faith, faith in Jesus. 24:33 I'd like to recommend a free gift we have for all our viewers 24:37 today. It's a book called Finding Treasure: A Beginners 24:42 Guide and it's pure gold. It covers topics such as God's love 24:48 for us, repentance, faith and acceptance, and what to do with 24:53 doubt. I'm sure this book will bring you closer to Jesus. 24:56 You'll discover real treasure. Remember to ask for your free 25:00 copy by name. There's no cost or obligation. Here's the 25:05 information you need: Phone or text us at 0436333555 25:14 or visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's free offer 25:22 and we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with no 25:26 obligation. So don't delay. Call or text 0436333555 25:33 in Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or 25:40 visit our website www.tij.tv to request today's offer. 25:48 Write to us at: 26:06 Don't delay. Phone or text 0436333555 in Australia or 26:14 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website www.tij.tv to 26:25 request today's offer. Call or text us now. 26:30 ♪ ♪ 26:41 If you've enjoyed today's journey, be sure to join us 26:44 again next week when we will share another of life's 26:47 journey's together and experience another new and 26:50 thought provoking perspective on the peace, insight, 26:54 understanding and hope that only the Bible can give us. 26:58 The Incredible Journey truly is television that changes lives. 27:04 Until next week, remember the ultimate destination of life's 27:09 journey. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. And God will 27:13 wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more 27:17 death nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain, 27:21 for the former things have passed away. 27:24 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-09-23