what year did john reed sell the first gold nugget

After dark they carted the nugget to Deason's house, and hid it in a fireplace. The two men hovered around their claim for the rest of the day, waiting for night to come. Oates on arriving on the scene was equally amazed. After covering the nugget with soil he hurried home with the sensational news to his wife, sent a message to Oates, and returned to his claim. In his indescribable joy Deason's first Impulse was to cry out to diggers on nearby claims, but he decided to be discreet.

But while he cherished visions of sharing in the riches said to exist in such abundance in this new land, he never imagined, even in his wildest thoughts, that one day he would dig up the greatest golden prize ever found.įirst report of the find in The Age, February 11, 1869. It was natural, therefore, that ready credence was given reports of the finding of gold in this new southern land.įinding the urge for adventure stronger than the ties that held him to his homeland, and the associations of his youth, young Deason bade good-bye to his friends and sailed for the new El Dorado. Two or three years before, gold had been found in California, and people were becoming gold-minded. There, in his early twenties, his imagination was stirred by fantastic tales mariners and travellers were spreading around the world of the discovery of gold in Australia. The story really begins in the Scilly Isles, of which John Deason was a native, and from which he later went to Cornwall to work as a miner.

It is doubtful if any single event in the history of the Victorian goldfields, abounding as it is in eventful and colorful tales of the fortune seekers, equals the romance of the finding of the Welcome Stranger. of smelted gold, for which Deason and his partner, Richard Oates, received £9534. It was at Moliagul on Februjust three-quarters of a century ago to-day - that John Deason unearthed the largest nugget of gold found in the world, - the Welcome Stranger.īefore the nugget was sold, pieces of gold were broken off and given as souvenirs to friends, but the remaining 210 lb. IF there are any flags in the little township of Moliagul, in Central Victoria, they should be flown from the house tops today.

What year did john reed sell the first gold nugget