Arthur Bayley (28 March 1865 – 29 October 1896) was a

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ra ...

who discovered gold at Fly Flat, Western Australia on 17 September 1892, around which the town of Coolgardie grew.

Early life

Bayley was born in Newbridge, Victoria, son of John Bayley, a butcher, and his wife Rosanna. When only 16 years of age he went to North

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and did prospecting and mining work at Charters Towers, Hughenden, Normanton, Croydon and Palmer. He then went to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and landed at

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

with about thirty shillings in his pocket.

Prospecting in Western Australia

Bayley walked to

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

, and while working there a few months later heard that gold had been discovered about to the east. Bayley kept this in mind and determined some day to prospect the area himself. In January 1889 he went to the Nullagine diggings and Roebourne in the Pilbara. He had some success, and after returning to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, returned to Southern Cross. Hearing that gold had been found on the Ashburton, Bayley returned to the north and found good gold at Ford's Creek. While prospecting the Murchison River he found Bayley's Island in

Lake Austin Lake Austin, formerly Lake McDonald, is a water reservoir on the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. The reservoir was formed in 1939 by the construction of Tom Miller Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lake Austin is one of the seven High ...

which also yielded good returns. Back at Southern Cross in mid-1892, Bayley encountered a prospector he had met previously in Queensland, William Ford, who had also heard of gold being found to the east. In June, the two men set out from Southern Cross with five horses to find it. Soon after reaching an area known as Fly Flat (the future site of Coolgardie), Bayley and Ford found a nugget, and within a few days had picked up about of gold. After more rich alluvial gold was found, the two men were compelled to return to Southern Cross for supplies. On returning to the field a quartz outcrop with gold in it was found, which became the famous ''Bayley's Reward'' mine. The two men returned to Southern Cross with of gold, worth £2,200 (or more than A$300,000 in 2015), which they showed to the warden, Finnerty, on 17 September 1892. A reward lease of was granted to them, and on 20 September 1892 the Coolgardie field was declared open. There was a tremendous rush to the field from Southern Cross, much gold was found, and in a few years Coolgardie was a thriving town. Bayley's reward claim proved to be a very profitable one indeed, and was continually worked until 1963. During the 70 years of its existence this mining claim recovered over of gold.

Late life

Bayley and Ford sold their claim to a company for £6000 and a sixth interest and Bayley, having returned to Victoria, took up land near Avenel, and lived in prosperous circumstances. Though a strong athletic man he fell into ill health, possibly on account of privations he had suffered while a prospector, and died at Avenel of congestion of the lungs on 29 October 1896. He left a widow but no children.

Notes

References

External links

*Pat Simpson,
Bayley, Arthur Wellesley (1865 - 1896)
, ''

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

'', Volume 7, MUP, 1979, pp 220–221. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayley, Arthur Wellesley Gold prospectors Australian gold prospectors 1865 births 1896 deaths People from Victoria (Australia)