Miner's Right

The Miner's Right was introduced in 1855 in the colony of Victoria, replacing the Miner's Licence. Protests in 1853 at Bendigo with the formation of the Anti-Gold Licence Association and the rebellion of Eureka Stockade in December 1854 at Ballarat led to reform of the system with a cheaper annual fee of five shillings the right to mine gold, the right to vote, and the right to own land. Previously the mining licence was eight pounds a year.

In Ballarat as at 1978 some houses were still held with the tenure associated with a miner's right.

Other Australian colonies and New Zealand soon replaced the licensing system with Miner's Rights also.