John Deason born 1829 on island of Tresco in the Scilly Isles. 1841 worked in Cornish tin mine. 1851 married Meg Davis, along with Richard Oates travelled to Bendigo Goldfields. By 1858 Meg and the four children were dead. John married Catherine McAndrew 28 October 1858. Left the Bendigo Goldfields for Bulldog Gully Moliagul. Discovered the Welcome Stranger nugget 5 February 1869. Newspaper article from The Bendigo Monthly October 2020 Page 25, Includes copies of photographs and other newspaper articles within the story. Story of John Deason, and the discovery of the Welcome Stranger Gold Nugget.

The first recorded discovery of gold in Moliagul was in September 1852 and, before long, the area was flooded with over 4,000 miners. Two of those miners, John Deason and Richard Oates, had arrived in Bendigo in 1954 seeking their fortune. After eight years of little success, the friends moved to Moliagul and pegged a puddling claim. On 05 February 1869, Deason discovered a nugget near the roots of a tree, just 3cm beneath the soil. With the help of Oates, he uncovered the largest recorded alluvial gold nugget – known as the Welcome Stranger. The 61cm x 31cm nugget was taken to Dunolly to be measured on the bank’s scales, however at 69kg the gold needed to be broken on an anvil to actually fit on the scales.Photograph of the monument for the Welcome Nugget, a large gold nugget found by John Deason and Richard Oates at Moliagul.Obelisk inscription Welcome Stranger Nugget On this spot the largest nugget of gold in the world was discovered on the 5th February 1869 by John Deason and Richard Oates. Weight 2316 oz, Value £9553 Erected by the Mines Department 1897 Henry Foster Minister of Mines, D. J. Duggan M.L.A. Member for Dunollywelcome nugget, welcome nugget monument, john deason, richard oates

Welcome Stranger Centenary, Moliagul, Victoria, Australia 1869 1969. Replica of 'Welcome Stranger' Nugget, discovered at Bulldog Gully, Moligaul, on February 5, 1869, by John Deason and Richard Oates. History of gold nuggets in Australia in particular the 'Welcome Stranger.' 7 black and white photos. 1st photo is a group taken on site where the 'Welcome Stranger' nugget was discovered at Bulldog Gully, Moliagul, in February, 1869. John Deason is shown holding the shovel, and Richard Oates has the pick. Mrs Deason is seated on the ground. The gross weight of the nugget was 2,520 ounces. The nugget sold for 9,553 pounds and was 98.66 per cent pure gold. Henry Lawson's description of a goldfield would have been typical of Moliagul during the hectic goldrush days a century ago:- ''The yellow mounds of bullock With the spots of red and white, The scattered quartz that glistened Like diamonds in light; The azure line of ridges, The bush of darkest green, The little homes of calico That dotted all the scene.'' This booklet was prepared by Ronald L Carless, of Moliagul, Via Dunolly, and is dedicated to the gold miners who pioneered the Mount Moliagul goldfield.event, back to, welcome stranger centenary, welcome stranger centenary, victoria, australia 1869 1969. discovered at bulldog gully, moligaul, 5, 1869, john deason richard oates. gold nuggets in australia' black and white photos. mrs deason. gross weight of the nugget was 2, 520 ounces. the nugget sold for 9, 553 pounds 98.66 per cent pure gold. henry lawson's:- ''the yellow mounds of bullock with the spots of red and white

Pink soft covered book of 76 pages and 7 plates. Includes two loose newsclips .2) The Larkinville Nugget (The Age 21 Jan 1931) .3) Discovery of the Welcome Nuggetmaryborough, memoirs of the geological survey of victoria, d.j. mahony, maryborough goldfield, geology, faults, welcome nugget, richard oates, mrs deason, moliagul, larkinville nugget, m. larcombe, john deason, eucalypts

Yellow covered booklet titled 'Gold Nuggets of Australia'. Information obtained from every Mines Department in the Commonwealth of Australia. Information includes the name of the nugget, who found it and where. Also included is the weight of the nugget in ounces. Book compiled and written by Harry Ware and printed by Williams Boardley Print Kalgoorlie. The names of the large nuggets are: Welcome Stranger, Welcome, Bullock's Tongue, Curtis, Lady Bowen, Kerr's Hundredweight, Brennan, King of Water Worn, Blanch Barklay, Precious, Canadian, Lady Hotham, Sarah Sands, Viscount Canterbury, Little Hero, Big Ben, Joker, Monarch, Bobby Dazzler, General Gordon, Coolgardie, Friendly Creek, Daisy and Golden Eagle.book, book, gold nuggets of australia, harry ware, williams boardley print kalgoorlie, hargreaves, lister, tom, hotermann, byers, star of hope gold mine, mcginty & party, griffen & party, mcintyre, johnson, ah loy, geo curtis, dr kerr, guiness book of records, richard oates, john deason, red hill mining co., hall, slattery, yilgarn goldfield, arthur bayley, william ford, a villars, doyle & party, peterkin, mcpherson, perriman, pearce, dawson, john dunne, williams & party, anderson, p martin, summons, hart, millar, byrne, dawson, rampling, cole & party, woodall, dawkin, grant, roche, corry, sheehan, thompson, d mcintosh, hurstj, muir, a clive, w mcphee, h mcphee, j simmonds, w eddy, moran, s dighton, w abbott, sam wood, hogan, o'connor, c woods, s willcocks, gessner, huffa, w j murphy, jack legge, micky larkin, jack hehir, paddy hehir, joe matheson, dan browne, jim browne, mcwhinney & party, james larcombe jnr, james larcombe, zuegg & party, f h leach, newman bros

This alluvial gold nugget was discovered in 1869 at Moliagul, by Cornish miners, John Deason and Richard Oates. It's gross weight was 109.51 kg and net weight of gold was 72.02 kg. It was melted down and the ingots sent to the Bank of England.Softcover book with gold coloured cover with a sketch of the Welcome Stranger nugget on the front and a blurb on the back. Contains 50 pages covering the history, myths, geology, details of the discoverers and the discovery of the nuggett. Contains black and white photographs and sketches.Terry F Pottergold

Mounted black and white photograph of the discovery of gold, the "The Welcome Stranger" nugget at Moliagul in 1869 Nugget weighed 210 lbs, and realised £9,437. Photograph shows the finders John Deason, his wife Mrs. Deason & Richard Oates Photo stamped "Royal Historical society of Victoria" Rear has a newspaper cutting of the event, with photograph, fro the Argus September 9th 1926