Crime ,law and order By Royina

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What crimes were committed? Crimes were committed all the time on the gold fields. It was so hard for the police to keep track the main thing the police looked for was miners without licences. Crime was a big problem on the gold fields.

police Many of the first police were indidunase Australian men. They were great at being police but many people disagreed and soon the indidunas began to dislike the stuff he had to do so most of them quit. Police had a really hard role on the gold fields. The had a giant risk of getting killed. Allot of the people who committed crimes were dangerous and would kill police.At the very start there were only 44 police in victoria.

Bushrangers Bushrangers were people who committed all sorts of crime. Most of them new the bush really good. A lot of bushrangers were old convicts or ex-miners who gave up trying to find gold. Some were poor miners who couldn't afford a licence but needed money. The bushrangers new the bush like the back of there hand they were really smart too.

bushrangers Hiding from the police Bushrangers built hide outs and huts to hide from the police out of tree trunks and bark. the bushrangers would steal the fastest horses and ride them to out speed the police to get away. bushrangers sometimes had spies for them to tell them where the police were and what the police were doing. aboriginals sometimes helped the bushrangers too. The aborigines that helped usually didn't like the British or the British did something that the didn't like. police would not suspect the aboridunals to be on the bushrangers sides.

Theft and robberies Cattle horses bank and shop robberies were all common crimes happening on the gold fields. Thieves robbed the claims of both gold and equipment, cut tents and stole goods from stores and from travellers on the road. Horse stealing was very common.

Accidental killings (oops) People on the gold fields were so protective and crazy that they would kill innocent people like this man: Two miners sleeping there heard the discomposing sound (so like a mouse running up the canvas wall) of a pair of scissors slitting the canvas. A pistol was fired in the direction of the supposed thief, and when the two miners went out to see the result, they found a well-dressed young man lying dead with a bullet in his chest. He did not look like one of the lawless class and it was not at all clear that he had intended robbery. He was buried next day without any information having being obtained in regard to him. This is one of the many ways in which people mysteriously disappeared on the diggings, to be afterwards advertised for by their friends in vain." Sometimes the people weren’t innocent but were just not thinking straight but still had a right to live like this man : "A man broke into a store and was in the act of carrying away a bag of flour, when a boy, who had been sleeping inside, awoke with the noise, and, following the man outside, told him to put the bag down or he would shoot him. The boy fired, the man fell mortally wounded, and the poor lad, seeing what he had done, began to cry." Most men kept dogs chained to their tents and armed themselves, firing their guns to warn intruders off.

Alcohol - Sly Grog Selling Between 1851 and 1853, the government made it illegal to sell alcohol on the diggings. This was meant to reduce law and order problems caused by drunken miners. This failed because it was unrealistic to expect miners not to drink; therefore ‘sly grog’ sellers made huge profits on the fields and sly grog tents were havens for criminals and violent crimes. The system also enabled dishonest troopers to blackmail grog sellers in order to line their own pockets. Troopers were entitled to burn down huts or tents where it was believed that alcohol was on sale and heavy fines were inflicted on anyone caught selling alcohol illegally.

Law and penalties There is much evidence that the miners themselves wanted to keep order and it appears that many maintained respect for the British institutions which governed Victoria. When troubles took place on the goldfields, miners often took matters into their own hands. Tent robbing and claim jumping (taking another person’s claim) were common. They would arrange their own courts, and decide their own punishments. For example, one man caught stealing from his mate was branded with a hot chisel. Some bushrangers were captured and hanged by miners themselves when the police seemed unable or unwilling to solve the problem.

the licence

Info on the licence On the 15th of August 1851, not long after diggers began finding gold in Victoria, La Trobe said that no miners should mine and it was illegal. However, he soon found out that a gold rush could not be stopped, he said that a license system would be introduced, which would give miners the right to mine a small claim. From the 1st of September onwards, miners could dig an 8ft x 8ft claim for 30 shillings a month. Witch was really expensive back then. The licence was meant to discourage as many people as possible from leaving their jobs and rushing to the diggings. It was also intended to ensure that unsuccessful miners would be forced to return to their jobs if they did not find gold.They would have to carry there licence everywereand it would get really dirty.you had to pay the licence fee even if you dident find gold.

overall Overall the goldfields were horrible places to live because of all the crime but there was also some good things I hope you enjoyed my presentation.!

bibliography SBS gold http://www.sbs.com.au/gold/story.php?storyid=79 I used lots of links with the same url that were in the website Parry Ann ,riots ,Robberies and Rebellions,The Gold Rushes, south yarra, Macmillan education, 2007.

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