Ascending a Pass in the Blue Mountains.

One of the earliest engravings made in November 1851, depicting prospective miners travelling through the Blue Mountains for the New South Wales gold Fields.

In February 1851, Hargraves and his guide, John Lister, set out on horseback with a pan and rocking-cradle, to Lewis Ponds Creek, a tributary of the Macquarie River close to Bathurst. On 12 February 1851, they found gold at Ophir. He travelled to Sydney and met the Colonial Secretary in March. Soon the claim was recognised and Hargraves was appointed the “Commissioner of Lands”. He also received a £10,000 reward from the New South Wales government, as well as a life pension and a £5,000 reward from the Victorian government.

From the original edition of the Illustrated London News.