Some of the emigrants really deserted their families, but the
bulk were honorable men, and remittances of gold soon began to find
their way to Adelaide for distribution among relatives in the colony.

After the comparative failure of the gold-diggings in South Australia,
the Government had wisely set itself to secure some part of the
prosperity of the gold discoveries for its colony by establishing both
land and river traffic routes. In these efforts it was highly
successful. Many South Australians made handsome fortunes by sending
provisions to the Buninyong and Mount Alexander districts, and the new
steamers on the Murray proved a source of profit to the colony which
lasted until the development of the railroad system. Unfortunately, this
prosperity could hardly be realized at the time, owing to the great
scarcity of coined money in the colony. In 1851 the privilege of coining
was still jealously monopolized by the mint in London; while the rapid
expansion of business in the latter part of that year had rendered the
supply of coin in Australia totally inadequate to the demand.

Very soon after the discoveries, Governor Fitzroy had sent home a
memorial from the Legislative Council at Sydney, praying for the
establishment of a branch mint in that city, and similar applications
soon followed from the other colonies. On March 22, 1853, a Treasury
minute sanctioned the applications, and colonial mints were shortly
afterward established by order in council. But in the mean while the
South Australians had got over their difficulty by passing a colonial
act authorizing the issue by the Colonial Government of gold ingots, of
slightly higher intrinsic value than the coins they were supposed to
represent, stamped with an authentic mark. These ingots were not made
legal tender, and the only object of the government mark was to
guarantee quality and weight. But they were generally accepted in
official and commercial transactions, they tided over the crisis of
scarcity, and the Home Government, though with due official caution,
approved the action of Governor Young.

In Tasmania, the main difficulty arose from the drain of emigrants. In
August, 1851, Sir William Denison wrote home urging the transportation
of more convicts or "probationers," on the ground that there would be a
great demand for foodstuffs by the neighboring colonies, while the
supply of agricultural laborers would be shorter than ever. Both
Tasmania and South Aus