Women & Children on the Goldfields
By Harrison
Introduction
Roles And Responsibilities
Some women were shopkeepers on the goldfields. Most women stayed home with their children because on the goldfields their were no place for women. Some women also were helping their husbands digging for alluvial gold which is panning and shafting for gold under ground looking for the big pieces of gold. Some women also sold jam, flour, mutton, tea, washing, ironing and cooking. Some women were also entertainers for the miners on the goldfields.
Some children on the goldfields were at work panning helping their parents for money. Some children would do chores for their parents like fetching wood carrying and gathering water for their parents. They would also assist to do the laundry weekly. The girls on the goldfields would sew, iron and cook at the ages of 10 to 12.