1886
Main Witwatersrand gold rush begins
Payable gold discoveries on the Witwatersrand transformed the regional economy, migration patterns, labour systems and imperial politics.
established
discovery
gold-rush
economic-development
Payable gold discoveries on the Witwatersrand transformed the regional economy, migration patterns, labour systems and imperial politics.
Disputed interpretations
Earlier discoveries predated the 1886 rush, so 1886 is best treated as the beginning of the major payable gold boom rather than the first discovery of gold.