The Welcome Stranger
This nugget is the largest known to date in Victoria and was found on the 5th of February 1869, approximately 9 miles to the northwest of Dunolly, near a mining town called Moliagul. The finder, John Deason, and a fellow prospector Richard Oates located the nugget about 1 ¼ inches below the surface within the roots of a stringybark tree. The nugget weighed 2316 troy ounces* (about 158.733 Lb.) and at the time of discovery was the largest known gold nugget in the world, measuring 23 ½ by 17 ¾ by 7 1/2 inches.
The Welcome
The Welcome was discovered at Bakery Hill, Ballarat by the Red Hill Mining Company on the June 15th, 1858. It was located at a depth of 180 feet and was apparently water-worn and of an irregular shape. The nugget was exhibited in Melbourne and later sold and melted down in London in November 1859. The nugget weighed 2218 troy ounces (about 157.189Lb), measured 20 ¾ by 11 by 6 ½ inches and assayed at over 99 per cent pure gold.
The Hand of Faith
This nugget was found behind the State School in Kingower, Victoria in 1980 by Kevin Hillier using a metal detector. It was only 6 inches below the surface, resting in a vertical position. It weighed 845 troy ounces (about 59.965Lb) and measured 17 ¾ by 7 ½ by 4 inches. Despite concerted efforts to keep it within Australia, the nugget was later sold for reportedly one million dollars US and is on display in the Golden Nugget Casino, Las Vegas, USA. It is still regarded as the largest modern nugget found by a metal detector, anywhere in the world. The nugget was the 2nd largest nugget found in Australia, during the 20th century.
The Pride of Australia
This attractive nugget was found at Mosquito Gully near Wedderburn in June 1981. It weighed 256 ounces and is second only in size to the Hand of Faith amongst those nuggets found by metal detector. It was purchased for $250 000 by the State Bank of Victoria as a gift to the people of Victoria for the State’s 150th anniversary in 1985. It was displayed in the State Bank, then in the Museum of Victoria, until it was stolen in a smash and grab raid on its case in August 1991. Its fate is unknown.
These are just a few of the largest nuggets found in the world and not in the largest to smallest order. Others have been found in Brazil, Russia and the USA. Nuggets of this size and weight are extremely rare, however, finding nuggets of a few grains to a few grams are found daily worldwide.
