 Large scale Cornish emigration to Australia did not begin until the 1840s, coinciding with the Cornish potato famine and slumps in the Cornish mining industry.The gold rushes and copper booms were major draws on Cornish people, not just from Cornwall itself, but also from other countries where they had previously settled.In recent years the story of the "Lost Children of Cornwall", child migrants sent from Cornwall to Australia up until the early 1970s, has come under intense scrutiny.