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Found only 3 cm (1.2 in) below the surface, near the base of a tree on a slope leading to what was then known as
Bulldog Gully, the nugget had a gross weight of 109.59 kilograms (3,523.5 ozt) (241 lb 10 oz). Its trimmed weight was 78 kilograms (2,520 ozt) (210 lbs), and its net
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in 1858. The goldfields warden F. K. Orme reported that 70.57 kilograms (2,269 ozt) of smelted gold had been obtained from it, irrespective of scraps that were given away by the finders, estimated as totalling another 1.46 kilograms (47 ozt).
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9,000. Deason and Oates were finally paid an estimated £9,381 (equivalent to A$ 1,485,000 in 2022) for their nugget, which became known as the "Welcome
Stranger". At August 2019 gold prices, it would be worth
212:. After the 1869 find, Oates returned to the UK and married. He returned to Australia with his wife and they had four children. The Oates family, in 1895, purchased 3.2 square kilometres (800 acres) of land at
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An obelisk commemorating the discovery of the "Welcome
Stranger" was erected near the spot in 1897. A replica of the "Welcome Stranger" is in the Old Treasury building, Treasury Place,
197:, England, UK. In 1851, he was a tin dresser before becoming a gold miner. Deason continued with gold mining and workings most of his life and, although he became a store keeper at
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The nugget was soon melted down and the gold was sent as ingots to
Melbourne for forwarding to the Bank of England. It left the country on board the steamship
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At the time of the discovery, there were no scales capable of weighing a nugget this large, so it was broken into three pieces on an
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Descendants of the two discoverers gathered to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the discovery of the nugget.
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Miners and their wives posing with the finders of the nugget, Richard Oates, John Deason and his wife
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Welcome, stranger: The amazing true story of one man's legendary search for gold – at all costs
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The
Welcome Stranger: a definitive account of the worlds largest alluvial gold nugget
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on 1 March 1869. The scale bar across the bottom represents 12 inches (30 cm).
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This article is about a gold nugget discovered in
Australia. For other uses, see
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weight was 72.02 kilograms (2,315.5 ozt) (192 lbs 11.5 oz).
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126:" of 69.0 kilograms (2,217 ozt) that had been found in
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which is the biggest ever discovered, and was unearthed by
276:"Welcome Stranger: World's Largest Gold Nugget Remembered"
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The text on the commemorative obelisk in pillared railings
524:"Welcome Stranger Gold Nugget Anniversary | GeoRarities"
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Deason, Oates, and a few friends took the nugget to the
497:"5 February 1869: World's biggest gold nugget is found"
193:, 45 km (28 mi) off the southwestern tip of
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A wood engraving of the
Welcome Stranger published in
448:""Welcome Stranger" Nugget: Death of the Discoverer"
404:"Unearthing the Welcome Stranger Nugget (picture)"
52:The Illustrated Australian News for Home Reader
185:John Deason was born in 1829 on the island of
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476:. freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com
428:. freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com
216:, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) west of
70:miners John Deason and Richard Oates on 5
27:Gold nugget found in Victoria, Australia
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122:3.4 million . It was heavier than the "
553:. Melbourne: Viking / Penguin Books.
204:Richard Oates was born about 1827 at
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495:Samueli, Michael (5 February 2015).
274:O'Shea, Johnny (5 February 2019).
255:. State Library of Victoria search
253:"The "Welcome Stranger" (picture)"
113:, in Dunolly, which advanced them
111:London Chartered Bank of Australia
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360:"The Real Welcome Stranger Story"
39:Welcome Stranger (disambiguation)
628:History of Australia (1851–1900)
358:Knight, Katherine (April 2000).
176:, England, celebrating the find.
643:Gold mining in Victoria (state)
146:which departed on 21 February.
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426:"John (John Jenkins) DEASON"
233:List of gold nuggets by size
623:History of Victoria (state)
406:. State Library of Victoria
362:. Gold-Net Australia Online
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618:Mining in Victoria (state)
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299:Potter, Terry F. (1999)
78:, 9 miles north-west of
30:Not to be confused with
584:36.76139°S 143.652444°E
549:Deason, Denise (2005).
613:Australian gold rushes
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638:Mining in Cornwall
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633:1869 in Australia
526:. 8 February 2021
454:. 19 October 1915
452:The Western Argus
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106:Archibald Walls.
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74:February 1869 in
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285:14 November
181:Discoverers
64:gold nugget
18:John Deason
602:Categories
572:36°45′41″S
559:0670028762
508:4 February
458:4 February
239:References
168:Statue in
104:blacksmith
502:MoneyWeek
480:23 August
432:23 August
388:23 August
366:23 August
343:23 August
151:Melbourne
90:Discovery
410:19 March
280:BBC News
259:19 March
227:See also
210:Cornwall
199:Moliagul
195:Cornwall
174:Cornwall
128:Ballarat
76:Moliagul
218:Bendigo
206:Pendeen
170:Redruth
144:Reigate
80:Dunolly
68:Cornish
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187:Tresco
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530:6 May
100:anvil
555:ISBN
532:2021
510:2018
482:2011
460:2018
434:2011
412:2015
390:2011
368:2011
345:2011
305:ISBN
287:2023
261:2015
120:US$
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