The year was 1851. Gold was discovered in the city of Ballarat in the state of Victoria, Australia. Within just a few days, the sudden discovery immediately led to a gold rush which would last many years. This event would be known as the Victorian Gold Rush.
Aside from the city of Ballarat, gold was also discovered in the other cities in Victoria, such as in Beechworth, the city where many Chinese nationals would settle.
As the population in Beechworth grew, so [too] did the need for specialized services to cater to the cultural needs of the Chinese miners.
This was the reason why the burning towers, which were found in the northern section of the Beechworth cemetery, were built.
This site is complete with burning towers, altars, and footstones. The towers were constructed in 1857 and the altar in 1984. Mourners used the towers to burn offerings of paper prayers and gifts for the afterlife.
It’s estimated around 2,000 Chinese gold-seekers and settlers are buried in this section of the cemetery.
(Image Credit: Gavin/ Atlas Obscura)
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I was watching a live stream with this guy, and he said something about gold I thought was interesting. He said "your brain does something when it sees gold". Like, on a subconscious level, our brains know when we look at something valuable/rare like gold. I never really thought about that before, but it is true. Anyway, just a random thing I thought about.
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