Edward Hammond Hargraves was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, the third son of Lieutenant John Edward Hargraves and his wife Elizabeth Hargraves. He was educated at Brighton Grammar School in England and Lewes. He travelled to California during the California Gold Rush, but his prospecting there was not successful. On 12 February 1851 he, with John Lister, william and James Tom, found five specks of gold in Lewis Ponds Creek in New South Wales Australia. Enlisting the help of others to continue the search, he returned to Sydney in March to interview the Colonial Secretary, and, encouraged by his friends at Bathurst, wrote to the Sydney Morning Herald describing the rich fields.