James Nash (5 September 1834 – 5 October 1913) is popularly acknowledged as the first person to discover gold in 1867,''The Gympie Goldfields 1867–2008'', John Ferguson and Elaine Brown, Gympie Regional Council in the area of

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 , establishe ...

, Australia now known as

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River, which floods Gympie occasionally. The ...

Nash was born in Beanacre,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England, and migrated to Sydney,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, at the age of 23. In 1863 he moved to Queensland, working at

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muse ...

and

Nanango Nanango is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nanango had a population of 3,599 people. Geography Nanango is situated north-west of the state capital, Brisbane, at the junc ...

. Nash found rich gold deposits on an extended prospecting tour in 1867 near the Mary River, and his report on 16 October started 'one of the wildest rushes in Queensland history'. Nash died in Gympie, Queensland on 5 October 1913. James Nash State High School (opened in 1977) and the Electoral district of Nash are named for him.

References

* * ''A Golden Past - A Golden Future'', 1967, published for Gympie centennial {{DEFAULTSORT:Nash, James Australian gold prospectors 1834 births 1913 deaths English emigrants to Australia People from Wiltshire People from Gympie