Finding the Viscount Canterbury
On May 31 1870 Galician born Solomon Schlossman and his Polish born son-in-law John Davis discovered what would be the 9th largest nugget on the Victorian Goldfields, They named it the Viscount Canterbury.
gold
Striking Gold in Australia
When gold was discovered in New South Wales in 1851 by Edward Hargreaves, the area near Bathurst was actually given a Hebrew name – ‘’Ophir’’ – a name and place from the bible famous for its gold and wealth. Victoria’s gold rush began in 1851 and, over the next ten years, close to 600,000 people flowed into the region in search of their fortune. Many of these adventurers were Jewish.
Goldfields and Immigration
The Jewish Ladies’ Benevolent Loan and Visiting Society formed a committee that eventually became the Jewish Emigration Society. Donations came in, and in June of 1853, an advertisement was printed announcing the Society’s intention of sending 20 single Jewish female emigrants to Australia. What happened next was quite unexpected!