Story: Australians

‘A cool idea’ – Melbourne Punch cartoon, 1863

‘A cool idea’ – Melbourne Punch cartoon, 1863

Between 1861 and 1863, tens of thousands of gold miners from Australia crowded into Otago. The winter of 1862 was particularly harsh. But many Australian miners, like the one bundled up in this cartoon, were not deterred by Central Otago’s chilly weather. In the cartoon caption, going to Dunedin was compared to spending the winter on an iceberg.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: J-040-004

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

John Wilson, 'Australians - Sheep farmers, gold miners, soldiers', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/cartoon/608/a-cool-idea-melbourne-punch-cartoon-1863 (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by John Wilson, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 10 Mar 2015