The Last Chance: A Tale of the Golden West

In Short

Rolf Boldrewood’s 1905 novel follows Arnold Banneret, an underpaid police magistrate and mining commissioner in New South Wales burdened by family expenses and failed investments. Partnering with seasoned prospectors, he finances a deep-reef claim in Western Australia named the "Last Chance." When the mine yields unprecedented wealth, Banneret retires from official life, relocates his wife and children to England, and purchases the grand estate of Hexham. The narrative follows their transition into aristocratic pursuits—hunting, university life, and grand tours—before administrative troubles at the distant mine require Banneret and his eldest son to return to Australia to secure their fortune.

The Story

The narrative opens in New South Wales, where Arnold Banneret struggles on a modest government salary to support his large family, educate his children, and satisfy pressing creditors. Having lost his spare capital in a failed mining claim, his financial outlook appears bleak. Opportunity arrives through Jack Waters, a veteran prospector who proposes a joint venture to prospect an exceptional, untouched gold reef in the remote interior of Western Australia. Resigning his official posts as magistrate and Goldfields Commissioner, Banneret commits his remaining resources to the expedition.

Banneret, Waters, and their companions undergo a grueling month-long journey overland, transporting heavy equipment and supplies across arid, inhospitable terrain where water and horse forage are scarce. Upon establishing their camp at Pilot Mount, they develop the "Last Chance" mine. The venture faces immediate danger from a gang of armed gold-robbers who attack the outpost. In the ensuing gunfight, the miners successfully defend their claim and hard-won gold, aided decisively by Dick Andrews, a laborer with a hidden criminal past who dies of his wounds after securing his family's financial future.

With the claim defended and legally registered, the deep quartz reef produces extraordinary yields, yielding thousands of ounces of gold and transforming Banneret into an immensely wealthy man. He expands his holdings, registers adjacent claims for his partners, and formalizes the management of what becomes the richest goldfield in the region.

Translating his sudden affluence into social transformation, Banneret moves his family to England. He purchases Hexham, a vast historic country estate complete with a clock-tower stable, from Lord Hexham, an impoverished nobleman forced to retrench his household to Bruges. The Banneret family fully embraces English gentry life: they stock their stables with high-priced hunters for the Quorn hunt, tour the university colleges and museums at Cambridge, and holiday among the English Lakes at Rydal Mount, discussing romantic literature and classical poetry. Along the way, Banneret's social circle intersects with colorful international figures, including pirate captains and former colonial acquaintances living under assumed identities.

This period of aristocratic leisure is interrupted when news arrives that Jack Waters has died at Pilot Mount. Without Waters's firm oversight, the mining community faces potential disorganization and administrative collapse, threatening the output of the mine. Banneret recognizes that a stranger cannot manage the complex local dynamics. Assisted by his assertive wife, who manages household affairs, Banneret resolves to return to Western Australia alongside his eldest son, Reggie, to assume personal command of the mine and protect the family's empire.

How It Unfolds

Struggles on the goldfield Arnold Banneret, a magistrate burdened by mounting domestic bills and a failed mining investment, ponders his debts at the police barracks. He agrees to partner with prospector Jack Waters on an unproven reef in Western Australia.

The overland trek The party arrives by sea at a quiet western port, packs a heavy wagon with supplies, and embarks on a month-long journey across desolate, water-scarce country to establish their camp.

Defending the claim Armed bushrangers launch a frontal attack on the camp from a rocky boulder. The miners fight off the raid with the help of Dick Andrews, a reformed fugitive who is mortally wounded in the conflict.

Striking boundless wealth The "Last Chance" reef delivers thousands of ounces of gold, allowing Banneret to pay off all debts, deposit massive holdings at the Bank of Barataria, and register surrounding claims.

Buying into the gentry Banneret moves his family to England and buys Hexham, the ancestral seat of Lord Hexham, who sells his hunters and livestock to live cheaply in Europe.

Life among the elite The Bannerets buy expensive thoroughbred hunters, tour the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, visit Wordsworth's haunts in the Lake District, and entertain colorful international travelers.

Duty calls them back Following the death of partner Jack Waters, management of the mine falters. Banneret and his son Reggie prepare to sail back to Australia to assume personal control of the property.

The People

• Arnold Banneret: An upright former magistrate and Goldfields Commissioner in New South Wales. Driven by a desire to provide for his large family, his financial gambles pay off, transforming him from a cash-strapped public servant into a wealthy landed proprietor who must ultimately return to oversee his source of wealth.
• Mrs. Banneret: Arnold’s steadfast, highly conservative wife. She serves as the practical head of the household, navigating their social elevation in England with poise while keeping her family grounded in moral duty and literary appreciation.
• Jack Waters: An experienced, plain-spoken prospector who discovers the rich reef. He provides the practical mining expertise necessary to establish the "Last Chance" and maintains order at Pilot Mount until his death.
• Dick Andrews: A skilled worker on the claim with a hidden criminal background and a price on his head. He redeems his past by courageously defending the mine against gold-robbers, dying of his wounds after ensuring his family is provided for.
• Reggie Banneret: The eldest son, educated in England. Energetic and confident, he urges his father to take him to Australia as a lieutenant to learn the mining business and restore order at the claim.
• Lord Hexham: An English aristocrat whose overextension forces him to sell his family estate, livestock, and hunters to live modestly abroad in Bruges.

In Its Own Voice

Describing the financial strain that prompts Arnold Banneret to risk everything on a new claim:

"His tradespeople, usually forbearing, had suddenly disclosed monetary pressure—requiring to be relieved by cash payment."

On the dramatic transformation brought about by their sudden gold strike:

"Now, however, for the Commissioner all the anxieties, uncertainties, and regrets of daily life had suddenly come to an end."

Reflecting on the complex character of the fugitive who died defending their claim:

"‘I only meant that it was queer, though folks at home wouldn’t realise it, that our best and boldest defender, poor Dick Andrews, who really won the fight for us, turns out to have been a notorious criminal...’"

What It's Really About

At its core, the novel examines the fluidity of class and wealth in the late British Empire. Boldrewood contrasts the rugged, dangerous meritocracy of the Australian frontier with the rigid, hereditary traditions of upper-class England. The narrative argues that colonial enterprise and frontier hardship build the discipline required to sustain wealth, whereas inherited aristocratic privilege—represented by the displaced Lord Hexham—inevitably decays without practical effort. Underneath the romance of sudden riches lies a persistent emphasis on duty, moral responsibility, and domestic order: wealth is not merely an end for personal indulgence, but a trust that requires active stewardship and constant vigilance, ultimately pulling the newly rich back to the harsh landscapes where their fortunes were forged.

Why Read It Today

The Last Chance offers modern readers an authentic colonial view of the Australian gold rushes written by an insider who served as a genuine goldfields magistrate. Boldrewood writes with an unhurried, gentlemanly charm, blending frontier adventure, bush philosophy, and domestic comedy. It provides a fascinating historical window into how nineteenth-century colonials viewed the relationship between the Australian frontier and the British motherland.

Readers should be prepared for the book's period pacing and ideological framework. The narrative moves leisurely, often pausing for lengthy digressions on classical architecture, English horse racing, and Victorian poetry. Furthermore, its uncritical acceptance of imperial class hierarchies, social snobbery, and casual period attitudes toward race and criminal backgrounds reflect the prevailing Victorian worldview of its 1905 publication date.

What remains compelling is the detailed depiction of frontier logistics—from the realities of overland wagon travel and water scarcity to the technicalities of quartz mining and claim registration. For readers interested in colonial history, Victorian popular fiction, or tales of sudden fortune, Boldrewood’s novel stands as a detailed document of colonial ambition and its global rewards.