1857 Grant for Purchase of Land in Dunolly

1857 Grant By Purchase of Land in Dunolly, John Carter of Melbourne purchases a town lot in Dunolly on 5th October 1857. The vellum document bears the seal of the Colony of Victoria and is signed by Sir Henry Barkly, 2nd Governor of Victoria. 34 x 45 cm. One of the first accounts of the Dunolly Gold Rush was recorded in the Bendigo Advertiser on 3 July 1857 that estimated the population in the area 12,000. Confirmation of a rush followed in the paper on 10 July. The exact date that Dunolly was founded is unknown. The location of the township itself moved four times before the 1856 rush, further adding to the confusion of its early history. The modern town is the 5th location, and was founded in July 1856 with the previous resettlements driven by further discoveries of gold leads.