George McCaul
Date of birth / Date established
1835
Place of birth / Place established
Person/Corporate type
Individual
Biography
"George McCaul was born in Perthshire, Scotland, in 1835. When the gold rushes began in Australia he travelled to Adelaide and then to the gold fields. He tried his luck again in the early 1860s when gold was discovered in New Zealand, sailing to Gabriel’s Gully, near Lawrence in Otago province. He moved on to the Hokitika fields when gold was discovered there. To get there, he had to cross New Zealand’s South Island from east to west. Many men died during the journey. McCaul did not have any luck at the Hokitika fields either. After abandoning gold prospecting McCaul moved to Grahamstown in Thames, in the north of the North Island, where he returned to his trade as a plumber, gasfitter, tinsmith and coppersmith." Source: Museum Victoria website. http://museumvictoria.com.au/collections/items/77222/token-1-penny-george-mccaul-grahamstown-new-zealand-1874
