The discovery of gold drew tens of thousands to New Zealand in search of fortune. It was a hard life, but diggers brought mateship, fashion & egalitarian ideas that changed the country forever.

Gold! The mania for this shiny yellow metal swept all over Aotearoa in the second half of the 19th century and left the country, and many of its people, fundamentally changed.

Watch the video version of the episode here

This episode we ask:

• Māori attitudes towards gold before, and after European contact?
• What makes a gold rush happen?
• How did the New Zealand gold rush fit into the context of gold rushes overseas?
• How did the rush get started?
• Who were the diggers and what were they like?
• What was the role of women in the rush?
• How did the gold rush affect tangata whenua?
• What was the role of Chinese migrants in the gold rush, and how did Europeans respond to them?
• How did the gold rush happen in different parts of Aotearoa?

For more on this subject:

• Diggers, Hatters and Whores by Stevan Eldred-Grigg
• Finding "Te Wherro" in Ōtōkou: Māori and the early days of the Otago gold rush by Lloyd Carpenter, MAI Journal.
• Journey to Lan Yuan by Toitu Otago Settlers Museum
• Gold and Gold Mining - Te Ara

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details