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Welcome Stranger
Welcome Stranger

Photographs supplied by Kent Watson

The Welcome Stranger monument was erected by John A. Flett and consists of a miners` pick and shovel commemorating the anvil on which the gold nugget was cut on 9 April 1869.

The 'Welcome Stranger' was found on 5 February 1869 by Cornish miner John Deason, who was working in Bulldog Gully, near Moliagul in central Victoria. While searching around the roots of a tree he discovered, 3 cm below the surface, a gold nugget. He concealed his find until dark, then with his partner, Richard Oates, dug it out. They then held a party during which they revealed their find to the guests.

The 66 kilogram 'Welcome Stranger', then the world's largest-known gold nugget, was taken to Dunolly where it had to be broken on an anvil before it could fit on the bank's scales. It was worth 10,000 pounds - around $3-4 million in today's money. Deason returned to Moliagul and his descendants are still in the area. Oates returned to Cornwall.

Location

Address:75 The Broadway , Dunolly Museum , Dunolly, 3472
State:VIC
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -36.860233
Long: 143.732258
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Monument
Monument Theme:Technology
Sub-Theme:Industry
Actual Event Start Date:09-April-1869
Actual Event End Date:09-April-1869

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:January-1968
Front Inscription

The world`s largest nugget [2332 ozs] `The Welcome Stranger` was cut up on this anvil on the 9th Febr.1869.

Erected by John A. Flett
[Curator] 
January 1968

Source: MA,VMR,RHSV
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au