Most of the people on the goldfields were men. A lot of them were bachelors but many did not think the rough and ready diggings were a good place for women to live. But, from the beginning, there were women who went to the goldfields with their husbands, brothers or friends. They shared all the discomforts of life on the diggings and worked as hard as the men washing, cooking, chop ping wood and helping with the search for gold as well. On hearing that there was gold to be found, thousands of people left their homes and jobs and set off to the diggings to find their fortune. At the start of the gold rush, there were no roads to the goldfields, and no shops or houses there. People had to carry everything they needed. They travelled by horse or bullock, or by walking with a wheelbarrow loaded with possessions. At first there were mainly men at the diggings, but later on they were joined by their families. There were a few women diggers however, and the rich Bendigo goldfields were discovered by a woman.

Girls dressed up like there mothers. Girls wore tight waist and full skirt dresses. They wore brightly coloured

stockings with hard leather boots. When they went out they wore a cape or jacket with a hat covered with

flowers and a colourful ribbon tied under their chin. Boys under five wore dresses babies clothes were very

expensive. They only had 2-3 sets of clothes. Boys slept in nightshirts or underwear. Boys dressed like their

fathers. Boys wore long pants held up by a belt, striped shirts, short jackets and a hat or cap. They wore a

large bonnet to keep off the sun. They wore long dresses with high necks and tight waists. Women wore a

cotton petticoat and bloomers underneath. They wore striped stockings and hardwearing boots. Rich ladies

wore lace sleeves and white gloves. The richer they were, the higher their hat was, all rich men wore suits. a

Successful miner wore a striped flannel undershirt or a cotton over shirt. They also wore leather boots that

came to their knees with a cabbage tree hat. Miners wore moleskin trousers, leather belt and heavy leather

boots. Miners also wore wide awake hats.