It was heavier than the " Welcome Nugget" of 69.0 kilograms (2,217 ozt) that had been found in Ballarat in 1858. At August 2019 gold prices, it would be worth US$3.4 million. Deason and Oates were finally paid an estimated £9,381 (equivalent to A$666,000 in 2018) for their nugget, which became known as the "Welcome Stranger". ĭeason, Oates, and a few friends took the nugget to the London Chartered Bank of Australia, in Dunolly, which advanced them £9,000. Īt the time of the discovery, there were no scales capable of weighing a nugget this large, so it was broken into three pieces on an anvil by Dunolly-based blacksmith Archibald Walls. ![]() It measured 61 by 31 cm (24 by 12 in) and was discovered by prospectors John Deason and Richard Oates on 5 February 1869 at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, about 14.6 kilometres (9 miles) north-west of Dunolly.įound only 3 cm (1.2 in) below the surface, near the base of a tree on a slope leading to what was then known as Bulldog Gully, the nugget had a gross weight of 109.59 kilograms (3,523.5 ozt) (241 lb 10 oz). The Welcome Stranger is the biggest alluvial gold nugget that has ever been found, which had a calculated refined weight of 97.14 kilograms (3,123 ozt). The scale bar across the bottom represents 12 inches (30 cm). A wood engraving of the Welcome Stranger published in The Illustrated Australian News for Home Reader on 1 March 1869.
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