An Australian pub or hotel is a public house or pub for short, in Australia, and is an establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. They may also provide other services, such as entertainment, meals and basic accommodation.
York Hotel in Kalgoorlie
Young and Jacksons in Melbourne
The Volunteer Hotel, Sydney, 1870
The Brisbane Bridge Hotel, Brisbane, c. 1878.
During the Australian gold rushes, starting in 1851, significant numbers of workers moved from elsewhere in Australia and overseas to where gold had been discovered. Gold had been found several times before, but the colonial government of New South Wales had suppressed the news out of the fear that it would reduce the workforce and destabilise the economy.
Gold diggings, Ararat, Victoria, by Edward Roper, 1854
Australian gold diggings, by Edwin Stocqueler, c. 1855
Edward Hargraves, returning the salute of the gold miners, 1851, Thomas Balcombe.
A large gold specimen from the Ballarat mines, weighing over 150 grams, size 7.4×4.4×2.3 cm.