Please note: Images in this article were taken before current COVID-19 safety measures were in place.
[Vision: Group of people in the bush setting listening to the presenter ]
Paul McDonald - Director, Geological Survey of Victoria
We are here today celebrating the discovery of the Welcome Stranger nugget 150 years ago.
It was a massive nugget. Over 2,300 ounces. Worth about $4 million in today's dollars.
[Vision: Close up of the replica newspaper article about the nugget find]
John Tully - President, Goldfields Historical & Arts Society
Two experienced Cornish miners came out. Were very good at finding gold. And they worked this area around here. And ultimately, found what became the largest nugget in the world.
[Vision: Monument at the spot the largest nugget of gold was found]
Suzie Deason - Descendant of John Deason
[Vision: Suzie with child talking to the camera]
My great great great- grandfather, so three greats, was co-finder John Deason. So he and Richard Oates found it, in this gully.
It's an important part of our history, and we've just had a re-enactment photo done as they did in 1869.
[Vision: Camera pans to a group of locals and descendants of the miners who are getting together for a re-enactment photo]
Paul
The history of gold is prevalent through the last 165 years for Victoria. And the Geological Survey of Victoria maintains those records and maps from that day and age. And the modern day explorer still uses that data and those maps from all that time ago to find gold today.
[Vision: Visitors reviewing maps and historical artefacts ]
John
People love stories about gold. It's something that, all over, even places that don't have gold, they still like stories about gold. It's got that sort of attraction.
Paul
We believe that only half the amount of gold has been discovered to date , over the last 165 years. So there's another 80 million ounces of gold yet to find. That's the great thing about Victoria - there's something in it for everybody. So, whether you're prospecting for a hobby or whether you're a serious commercial miner, there's a lot of gold to be found on both sides of the camp.
John
[Vision: Camera pans to locals dressed in traditional dress from the 1860s]
A lot of people who go buy a metal detector, they'll come out here and look and stand next to the monument and read the story. And then they'll go off detecting and think, if they did it, I might.
Back to the article titled: Welcome Stranger: History points to golden future
