Discover down under! Each day a different picture pertaining to Starfire's tour of Australia is featured, along with a brief explanation written by Australia enthusiasts.
2005 June 13
When was gold discovered in Australia?
1851
-- shortly after gold was discovered in California.
The picture is of the world's largest gold nugget,
"The Welcome Stranger Nugget,"
which was found on the 5th of February 1869 near a mining town called
Moliagul. (Moliagul is near Bendigo and Ballarat, which are about 80 miles northwest of Melbourne, in Victoria, Australia.) The finder, John Deason, and a companion Richard Oates located the nugget an inch below the surface within the roots of a stringybark tree (a type of Eucalyptus). The nugget measured 24 by 18 by 8 inches and weighed 2541 ounces (about 159 pounds, which is well over twice as much as your suitcase is allowed to be!!!).
At the
current price of gold
(about US$425 per troy ounce or $387 for a "regular" ounce), how much is the Welcome Stranger Nugget worth?
(US$1,000,000)
Authors & editors:
Bob Bolles
&
Phil Bolles