On February 5, 1869, two British miners, John Deeson and Richard Oates, made history by discovering the largest gold nugget ever recorded in Victoria, Australia. Dubbed ‘Welcome Stranger’, the nugget weighs an impressive 72 kilograms and measures 61 centimeters long, and was found close to the surface in a slope known as Bulldog Gully.
After finding it using a crowbar, Deason and Oates took the nugget to the town of Dunolly, where it was weighed at the Chartered Bank of London. News of the discovery caused a sensation, and the nugget was quickly broken up into pieces due to its sheer size.
A replica of the historic artifact can be seen today at the Dunolley Museum, while a painting from the time serves as a visual record of this epic discovery. In 2019, descendants of Deason and Oates gathered at the discovery site to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the event. During the celebrations, a theater play recreated the moment of the discovery, and a photo was taken of the two miners’ family members together.
However, despite the historical value and economic potential of ‘Welcome Stranger’, direct descendants of Deason and Oates sold it a few years ago for a modest amount of 12 thousand euros. If sold today, the nugget is estimated to fetch up to 2.5 million euros, given its collector’s status and the rise in gold prices over the years.
Known as the ‘Golden Triangle’, the discovery site of Molyakul is now a remote community attracting gold prospectors. The area is a symbol of the gold rush that marks the 19th century, recalling an era where fortunes were made in the tireless search for precious minerals.
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