In the year 1869, two British prospectors, John Deason and Richard Oates, made a groundbreaking discovery in central Victoria, Australia. While searching for gold, they stumbled upon a large rock that turned out to be a massive block of gold weighing an incredible 72 kg. The block was so large that it measured 0.6 meters long and nearly 0.3 meters wide.
Excited by their discovery, Deason and Oates decided to keep it a secret until they could safely secure the gold. They retrieved the gold under the cover of darkness and took it back to Deason’s tent. After removing the dirt and black quartz covering the gold block, they took a portion of the black quartz to a local ore crusher, which yielded 1.7 kg of gold. The remaining gold block was transported to the town of Dunolly, where they sold it for an astonishing £9,563 – equivalent to an average worker’s salary for 43 years at that time.
Despite their windfall, Deason and Oates faced different fates after the discovery. Deason continued mining for gold and eventually became a store manager in Moliagal but lost most of his wealth due to failed investments. Meanwhile, Oates returned to England, got married, returned to Australia and lived on a farm until his death in later years.
The town where this historic discovery took place was once bustling during the Victorian Gold Rush but is now quiet with sparse houses and crop cultivation. However, the area known as the Golden Triangle still attracts gold prospectors who have uncovered some of the world’s largest blocks of gold over the years including Lady Hotham Gold Block and “Welcome Nugget.”
Modern mining practices in Victoria have advanced significantly with companies using technology to better predict and access gold-bearing quartz reefs deep underground through drilling methods and machinery that extract rock samples more efficiently leading to approximately 18,427 kg yearly gold production from Victoria’s mines despite challenges and risks associated with mining; prospectors continue drawn towards this historic region due to its lure of striking