Jame Nash Found Gold, Saved Queensland - Job Done!
After going it alone from New South Wales in 1859, Queensland’s formative years were not what our colony architects intended. Prolonged drought dashed hopes of an agricultural revolution, with our only bank shutting its doors, ‘community building’ infrastructure projects halted and unemployment at all-time highs.
Our pioneers at this point experienced their newfound freedoms quickly whittled away, inching closer and closer towards recession!
Divine intervention appeared to be our only saviour; however rumors stirred talk of gold deposits around the Wide Bay which fortunately was enough to motivate our early settlers.
In a last-ditch effort to stave off the inevitable, the government offered a £3,000 reward for the discovery of gold.
In 1851 John Carne Bidwill, our first Land Commissioner, discovered gold in the Wide Bay. However, it wasn’t until James Nash, who turned his prospecting efforts away from the South Burnett to strike significant Gympie gold deposits in 1867.
This prompted Nash to write to the then Minister for Lands, confirming the extent of his discoveries, collecting the reward and sparking the gold rush that saved Queensland.
Fast forward to today where the allure of “Gold” is just as captivating now as it was some 160 years ago!
Gympie and the greater region are thriving; its natural assets are where this pioneering story began, however huge potential exists for today’s residents and businesses.
This region is strategically placed to harness that economic growth, which in large part is being driven by the ensuing potential of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics
Industry sectors including food and agribusiness, manufacturing, timber and forestry, construction, health care, professional services and tourism are front and center of our regional success.
October this year will bear witness to the return of the Gympie Gold Rush Festival, reigniting the true pioneering spirit witnessed in James Nash so many years ago!
