James Nash (5 September 1834 – 5 October 1913) is popularly acknowledged as the first person to discover gold in 1867,''The Gympie Goldfields 1867–2008'', John Ferguson and Elaine Brown, Gympie Regional Council in the area of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia now known as

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

Nash was born in Beanacre,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England, and migrated to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, at the age of 23. In 1863 he moved to Queensland, working at

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

and

Nanango Nanango is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nanango had a population of 3,679 people. Geography Nanango is situated north-west of the ...

. Nash found rich gold deposits on an extended prospecting tour in 1867 near the Mary River, and his report on 16 October started 'one of the wildest rushes in Queensland history'. Nash died in Gympie, Queensland on 5 October 1913. James Nash State High School (opened in 1977) and the

Electoral district of Nash The electoral district of Nash was a Legislative Assembly electorate in the state of Queensland, Australia. It was named after James Nash, the discoverer of gold in the area. History Nash was created in the 1949 redistribution, taking effect a ...

are named for him.

References

* * ''A Golden Past - A Golden Future'', 1967, published for Gympie centennial {{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, James Australian gold prospectors 1834 births 1913 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia People from Wiltshire People from Gympie