Gold found in the Northern Territory in the 19th century

What if Gold had been found in the Northern Territory in the 19th century, instead of in the 20th century? Would the Northern Territory be more populous and developed, today? If so, how populous would it be? Would it be a state? How would the authories and the settlers deal with the extremely dangerous saltwater crocodiles?
 
It may have been slightly more helpful if you specified which Northern Territory you were talking about. Lots of places have a north.
 
What if Gold had been found in the Northern Territory in the 19th century, instead of in the 20th century? Would the Northern Territory be more populous and developed, today? If so, how populous would it be? Would it be a state? How would the authories and the settlers deal with the extremely dangerous saltwater crocodiles?

Where is the Northern Territory? Edit - oh OK. Australia. What is the climate like up there? I have a vague idea it's not good habitat for cultivation? How much rainfall is there?
 
British dominion enjoys a brief gold rush to an otherwise inhospitable area. It's essentially Klondike a few decades early, though presumably Britain has a slightly easier time financing World War I with greater gold reserves.
 
Ahhh, I was thinking you meant the Canadian Northwest Territory. No, I don't think it would do too much, unless there is also a steady supply of water. It was a necessity in the Gold Rushes in Canada and the United States, both for panning and blasting. And of course a lot of gold was found in the rivers, where it had been washed into. If their is any noticeable amount of gold found in the northern portion near the coast then I would say that the various people from Indonesia would have found out about it. At least if it is in an easy to find area. If it is hard to get to or buried under a mountain then you- ahh wait, there was gold there. Hmmm. Well, I still think we would get loads of people from Dutch, Portuguese, and independent areas. We really need at least a decade to aim for though, as there were loads of territorial changes in that century.
 
Where is the Northern Territory? Edit - oh OK. Australia. What is the climate like up there? I have a vague idea it's not good habitat for cultivation? How much rainfall is there?

Ahhh, I was thinking you meant the Canadian Northwest Territory. No, I don't think it would do too much, unless there is also a steady supply of water. It was a necessity in the Gold Rushes in Canada and the United States, both for panning and blasting. And of course a lot of gold was found in the rivers, where it had been washed into. If their is any noticeable amount of gold found in the northern portion near the coast then I would say that the various people from Indonesia would have found out about it. At least if it is in an easy to find area. If it is hard to get to or buried under a mountain then you- ahh wait, there was gold there. Hmmm. Well, I still think we would get loads of people from Dutch, Portuguese, and independent areas. We really need at least a decade to aim for though, as there were loads of territorial changes in that century.

Thing, is Saudi Arabia has a large population despite being a desert.
 
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Thing, is Saudi Arabia has a large population despite being a desert.
You are still doing to need to give us data on location and date. Anyways, Saudi Arabia has loads of money and most people live in areas where there was water. And then Wikipedia mentoins in 2017 37% of the population is foreign workers. Without oil revenue you wouldn't be able to get everyone fed and watered. Heck, the Ottomans just wrapped around Nejd because their was nothing their, and a lot of societies in deserts (such as on the Silk Road) relied upon international trade, and acting as waystations for the goods everyone else made.
 
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