Abstract
THOUGH FEW AUSTRALIANS have migrated to the United States, Australia furnished the Sydney Ducks, one of the most maligned immigrant groups in American history.1 Attracted to California by the discovery of gold, the Ducks acquired a reputation for criminal activities that was remarkable even during the gold rush era in San Francisco. The California census of 1852 provides the data for a demographic analysis of this distinctive immigration stream. News of the California gold discovery reached Australia in December 1848, and the first gold seekers from Australia arrived in San Francisco in April 1849.2 By the end of May 1851, some 11,000 Australians had migrated to California: approximately 7,500 from Sydney. These figures compare with a population in San Francisco County in 1852 of approximately 36,000.4
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