Gold was discovered in Australia in 1850, and Frederick and Clement decided to try their luck there searching for gold. At the beginning of 1852, he quit smoking, drinking, drinking coffee, tea and eating meat, as he was boarding himself needed to save his money. By the time he left Mr. Taines’ store in July, Fred had saved $67.00 and went to Australia in search of gold in company with some other young men.

In Australia, he soon learned that the majority of the people who had come to seek gold could be classed as the scum of the earth—murderers, robbers, etc., and he had some unpleasant experiences with some of them. These were often more treacherous than the natives they had encountered in New Zealand. He worked for some time in a store before trying his luck in the gold fields. When he and a friend did try for gold, they didn’t have any luck at first, and at one time found it necessary to borrow some money in order to eat. Finally they were able to find a profitable location where they “made money hand over fist.”

Fred was in Australia about a year when he heard of the death of his father and returned to New Zealand. He intended to settle there, but his mother had sold the farm and was keeping a boarding house, so he had to seek employment elsewhere. Against the entreaties of their mother and friends, Fred and his brothers, Alfred and Clement, again set sail for Australia on October 1, 1853 to look for gold. In Australia, a friend offered them the use of his cabin for a short while until he himself was able to travel up to it.

After a long and weary march they arrived at that place. The following Sunday while at dinner, a gentleman came in accompanied by a number of others and informed the boys that they were going to hold a meeting there. Fred judged him to be a Methodist, inasmuch as the owner of the cabin was a zealous Methodist. He and Clement and a friend had decided to go out prospecting, but Alfred, who was very religious (in Fred’s words), begged them to stay to the meeting. Fred said he had heard "enough of Methodist doctrine and humbuggery.” However, the preacher came out and persuaded them to stay. Fred was struck at the peculiarity of the hymns. The hymn books were in pamphlet form and headed Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When he read that, he thought to himself that the Methodists were getting up. He was even more astonished at the prayer that was offered by the preacher. He prayed to the Lord to bless the Prophet, Seer and Revelator, Brigham Young, his counselors, the twelve apostles and others. Frederick wondered who all these were. The preacher turned out to be a Mormon Elder and he was instrumental in persuading Frederick to eventually accept the gospel. They had heard and felt something that could not be obtained anywhere else and from which they could not get away from. Alfred, however, was against the Mormons from the very first.

The brothers worked very hard and got very little gold. After the owner of the cabin arrived with his family, the Hurst brothers had a steady diet of Mormonism. Alfred became discouraged with searching for gold, and after their meetings with the Mormons, he decided to return to New Zealand.

Frederick and Clement attended all the Mormon meetings. Frederick eventually offered himself for baptism and was astonished when his brother Clement did likewise. They were baptized Sunday, January 12, 1854, at a place called the Sheep Wash. After they had been in the church a few weeks they wrote home to tell their family about the gospel, thinking that as soon as they heard the truth they would accept it. However, they were sadly disappointed, as the letters they received from home were full of abuse toward Joseph Smith and the church in general. The letter criticized them for their disgraceful conduct and stating that their names would be scratched from the family record until they should denounce Mormonism. This fact was substantiated when Frederick returned home to New Zealand twenty years later to fill a mission there. They also held him responsible for Clement’s defection inasmuch as he was older. Frederick and Clement wrote home repeatedly, but received no other answer in return.

Mary Ann Hurst was so determined her sons should not be identified with the Mormons that she hired detectives to prevent Fred and Clement from sailing to Zion (Utah). The detectives were furnished with pictures of the boys, as well as a thorough description of them. Acting under council, the boys remained in the same crowd as the detectives, but acted so very unconcerned because of a promise made to them that they would not be molested. The boys were not recognized and were successful in boarding their boat with the detectives looking on and sailing a way on their long journey to the "valleys." The detectives were heard to say, "Well, we have not found them, but we have at least prevented them from sailing."