Life on the goldfields was nothing glamorous. Mutton, damper and tea were the only available foods [all the other foods would go off after a while, and even mutton rots after a few days]. Living in tents made out of canvas, and for more permanent shelter, huts made out of mud bricks or wood. The shafts were home to hazy gases and infectious bacteria, often affecting the diggers.
Women were not usually on the goldfields, though some came with their husbands, brothers or friends. When they came with their husbands, they usually brought along their children.They endured all the discomfiture alongside the men and worked vigorously :washing, cooking, chopping wood and searching for gold themselves too.
Many children accompanied their parents to the goldfields. By the time 1852's December had come, there were nearly 12000 children on the Victorian goldfields! Young children pitched in by carrying wood, taking care of the tent, take care of the animals and would fossick for gold among the gravel and sand. But the older children were to work just like the adults.
Although many children worked on the goldfields from the age of 14, some of the younger children went to school on the goldfields. Schools at the diggings started in tents, the children would sit on long wooden benches. As the goldfield became more established, the goldfield school would also have a more permanent means of existence.
