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Gold Rush Vocabulary
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Gold Rush Vocabulary
It is the 1850s in Victoria. Sienna-Mae is helping at a busy goldfields post office. Miners have arrived from many places, and letters, news and supplies pass through the town. Read each question carefully and use the clues to work out what the gold-rush words mean.
Decode the words
Use the meanings of gold-rush vocabulary to solve each task.
1.A letter says, “The new goldfield is crowded with people searching for gold.” What is a goldfield?
- An area where gold is found and mined
- A tool used to dig through rock
- A person who sells gold
- A boat carrying gold overseas
2.Jai has travelled to a creek and tests its gravel for traces of gold before deciding where to dig. Which word best describes Jai?
- Prospector
- Postmaster
- Blacksmith
- Squatter
3.A miner shows Sienna-Mae a record giving him the right to mine a particular piece of land. In gold-rush vocabulary, what is this right called?
4.Complete the sentence with the word diggings or reef: “A line of miners is working beside the creek at the , where gold has been found in the ground.”
5.Complete the sentence with the word diggings or reef: “Miners follow a band of gold-bearing quartz through the rock. They are working a .”
6.Match each gold-rush word to its meaning.
- Miner
- Goldfield
- Claim
- Reef
- An area where gold is found
- A gold-bearing band of rock
- A person who works to find or extract gold
- A right to mine a particular area
7.True or false: A prospector searches for gold, while a miner may work to extract it.
TrueFalse
8.A miner tells Sienna-Mae, “I paid for a licence before I began digging.” What does a mining licence show? Explain in your own words.
9.Sienna-Mae hears the word “diggings” in a letter from the goldfields. Write a clear definition of diggings and use it in a sentence about a miner.
10.Sienna-Mae sorts letters from people who have travelled to the Victorian goldfields. Give one reason why learning gold-rush vocabulary helps historians understand the past.
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