<P> The Gold Discovery Committee awarded £ 1000 to Michel and his party; £ 1000 to Hiscock, as the substantial discoverer of the Ballarat deposits; £ 1000 to Campbell as the original discoverer of Clunes; £ 1000 to Esmond as the first active producer of alluvial gold for the market and £ 500 to Dr. Bruhn . </P> <P> On 20 July 1851 Thomas Peters, a hut - keeper on William Barker's Mount Alexander station, found specks of gold at what is now known as Specimen Gully . This find was published in the Melbourne Argus on 8 September 1851, leading to a rush to the Mount Alexander or Forest Creek diggings, centred on present - day Castlemaine, claimed as the richest shallow alluvial goldfield in the world . </P> <P> These discoveries were soon surpassed by Ballarat and Bendigo . Further discoveries including Beechworth in 1852, Bright, Omeo, Chiltern (1858--59) and Walhalla followed . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Year </Th> <Th> Non-indigenous population of Melbourne </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1835 </Td> <Td> 0 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1840 </Td> <Td> 10,000 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1851 </Td> <Td> 29,000 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> 1854 </Td> <Td> 123,000 </Td> </Tr> </Table>

When did the gold rush start in ballarat