Diggings

Diggings

The Diggings was a colloquial term used to describe the gold rush locations in Australia during the 1850s. Gold miners - the diggers - would describe their journey "to the diggings" and say they were "at (or on) the diggings". Because of the speed at which a "rush" to a particular location might occur, or at which it might be abandoned at news of another rush, the term diggings tended to apply to general areas.

In Victoria, some of the major diggings were Ballarat, Bendigo (Sandhurst), Mount Alexander or Forest Creek, Ovens Valley and Omeo.

As surface gold diminished and mining companies replaced individual diggers, the term "diggings" dropped out of use.

The miners used a shovel, a pan, a cradle and some other tools to dig for gold.



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Look at other dictionaries:

  • diggings — n. temporary living quarters. Syn: digs, domiciliation, lodgings, pad. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • diggings — [dig′iŋz, dig′inz] pl.n. 1. materials dug out 2. [often with sing. v.] a place where digging or mining, esp. gold mining, is done 3. Slang a) place, or locality b) one s lodging or quarters …   English World dictionary

  • diggings — noun plural Date: 1538 1. a place of excavating especially for ore, metals, or precious stones 2. material dug out 3. a. quarters, premises b. chiefly British lodgings for a student …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • diggings — /dig ingz/ for 1 3; /dig euhnz/ for 4, n. 1. (usually used with a sing. v.) a place where digging is carried on. 2. (used with a pl. v.) a mining operation or locality. 3. (used with a pl. v.) something that is removed from an excavation. 4.… …   Universalium

  • diggings — noun a) Late 19th and early 20th C: accommodations; lodgings; the precursor to the slang digs. b) In the US, in the same time period: establishment …   Wiktionary

  • diggings — Synonyms and related words: abysm, abyss, accommodations, bank, berth, chasm, coal mine, colliery, dig, digs, excavation, gold mine, gulf, housing, living quarters, lodging, lodgings, lodgment, mine, open cut, opencast, pit, quarry, quarters,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • diggings — dig|gings [ˈdıgıŋz] n [plural] a place where people are digging holes in the ground …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • diggings — dig·gings || dɪgɪŋz n. area where digging is taking place; mining project; mine; something that is dug from an excavation; digs, living quarters (British) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • diggings — plural noun 1》 a site such as a mine or goldfield that has been excavated.     ↘material that has been dug from the ground. 2》 Brit. informal, dated lodgings. [prob. referring to the land where a farmer digs (works) and, by extension, lives.] …   English new terms dictionary

  • diggings — noun (plural) a place where people are digging for metal, especially gold …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

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