The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria in Australia between approximately 1851 and the late 1860s.

During this era, Victoria dominated the world's gold output. Ballarat for a while was the richest place on earth in terms of gold production.

Gold discoveries in Beechworth, Ballarat and Bendigo staggered the world and sparked gold rushes similar to those of California in 1849. At its peak some two tonnes of gold per week flowed into the Treasury Building in Melbourne.

The gold era hurled Victoria from a sheep grazing economy based around wealthy squatters, into an emerging industrial base and small (yeoman) farming community. The social impact of gold was that Victoria's population boomed and the lack of available land for small farming generated massive social tensions. Those on-going tensions around land and selection (small farming) culminated in the Kelly Outbreak of 1878.

It was gold that created the growth and power of Melbourne over its rivals; this is witnessed in the rail networks radiating out of Melbourne to its regional towns and ports. Politically, Victoria's goldminers led the world with the introduction of male franchise and secret ballots, based on Chartist principles. As gold dwindled, pressures for land reform, protectionism and political reform grew and generated social struggles. . McNaughton wrote that the landed elite perceived any move to unlock the lands as 'a declaration of war'. A Land Convention in Melbourne during 1857 demanded land reform. Melbourne, or "Smellbourne" (due to the stench of the tanneries along the river) became one of the great cities of the British Empire and the world. Following the huge gold rushes were the Chinese in 1854. Their presence on the goldfields of Bendigo, Beechworth and the Bright district resulted in riots, entry taxes, killings and segeration in the short term and became the foundations of the White Australia policy. In short, gold was a revolutionary event and reshaped Victoria, its society and politics.