Daily Standard (Brisbane) 12 May 1925 via TROVE

Excitement gripped Highgate Hill residents briefly in 1925 when a resident of Gladstone Road found a rock bearing gold whilst digging in his backyard.

The gold was found behind this Gladstone Road house

Cairns Post 12 May 1925 via TROVE

The rumour mill quickly got started and stories were circulating of a previous find nearby when a house was being constructed years ago. The story went that that owner had refused permission for further digging on his property.

Daily Standard Brisbane May 12 1925 via TROVE

The find was widely reported. The Western Champion, published in Barcaldine, had this to say.

Western Champion, Barcaldine  23rd May 1925 via TROVE

In 1925, the great depression had not yet commenced, however unemployment in Australia ranged up to 11%. A decision in that year by the UK government to put the pound sterling back on the gold standard had a negative flow- on impact on the Australian economy, causing rapid deflation.

Unfortunately the excitement lasted only for a few days. The State Mines Department had investigated and reported on the find by the day after it was first reported in the newspapers. They concluded that the rock came from another location and had been dropped in the Highgate Hill back yard. They also checked an adjoining property where another piece of gold bearing rock had been found a month earlier.

There have been numerous gold finds around Brisbane, see this site for example. Locations include Samford, Mount Coot-tha, Enoggera, Beenleigh and Brookfield. The most productive mine near Brisbane was located at Kingston, 24km south of Brisbane. Between 1932 and 1950, 612kg of gold was extracted from the Mt Taylor gold mine located there. This blog post gives further detail of the operation.

See my post All That Glitters – Brisbane Gold Rushes  for an updated look at gold fever in the inner Soutside.