Setting the scene for change (continued)

Initially, agriculture was severely disrupted because people left the farms and grazing runs to search for gold, but the demand and therefore prices for food rose rapidly and a thriving trade soon developed in grain, vegetables and meat for the new immigrants. Such was the demand for meat that cattle were trekked to Victoria from as far north as Queensland. The southern Riverina in New South Wales became a fattening area for sheep and cattle on their way south to the Victorian markets. It was not until the end of the decade that meat and grain production finally caught up with the demand and the high prices began to fall rapidly.

Many people did not remain on the gold fields for long but instead drifted back to the burgeoning city of Melbourne or settled in the smaller towns which were growing up near the gold fields. Many looked to farming as a future occupation and political pressure was exerted to make land available for the settlement of the new immigrants on small farms.[18]

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering