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

Poster heading - 'Gold' - 'In the whole world, only 47 nuggets weighing over 30lbs Troy have been recorded. Of these 40 are from Australia. The region from Ballarat around to Bendigo yielded 32 of these large nuggets. This monument erected in 1897 by the Mines Department, is the only one ever erected to honour the discovery of a gold nugget. The 'Welcome Stranger' nugget was unearthed on 5th February, 1869, weighing 2316 ounces and it was sold for 9.553 pounds'. Poster includes a map of Victoria depicting the main gold mining areas, also mention of gypsum, and tin in northern Victoria. A photo of the monument to the discovery of the 'Welcome Stranger' nugget found 1 1/4 miles from Moliagul in the bottom corner.document, gold

The Pioneer Miners’ Monument marks the very first finding of gold at Poverty Point in 1851. The quartz structure features a replica of the 62.8kg Welcome Nugget – the world’s largest at the time, found in Ballarat in 1858. The original was once displayed, and local mothers would sit their babies on top for luck. The artwork tells the story of gold discovery with plaques and dates of some of the more famous gold nuggets finds in Ballarat and is a reminder that these gold discoveries changed the world for Australians. The monument is of aesthetic and historical significance to the people of BallaratFitted copper miniature poppet head set atop a rough made plinth in Quartz and concrete mortar. A copy of the Welcome Nugget (Ballarat) is affixed to the front of the memorial. Includes several plaques listing the nuggets, the companies involved, the shop that paid for the last repair. THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED/ BY THE BALLARAT HISTORICAL/ SOCIETY TO COMMEMORATE THE/ FINDING OF GOLD AT POVERTY/ POINT 21ST AUGUST 1851 AND IS/ DEDECATED TO THE MEMORY OF/ PIONEER MINERS OF BALLARATgold, ballaraat, gold rush

Gold was discovered in Ballarat in 1851 when many people rushed to the diggings. A monument commemorates the centenary of the finding of gold at Poverty Point and is dedicated to the memory of pioneer miners of Ballarat. It records gold yields, nuggets and the richest recorded yields of both alluvial and quartz mines. The replica gold nugget on the monument is the `Welcome Nugget`, found in Ballarat in 1858, weighed 2,217 ounces and was sold for £10,500. The memorial, known as the Pioneer Miners’ Monument, was made to commemorate Ballarat's gold centenary. It was proposed that part of the Pioneers' Memorial Fund might be used. This fund was started with £1300 profit from the 1938 centenary celebrations. (Age (Melbourne), The monument was created by John Edward Skilbeck, a toolmaker with Ronaldson and Tippett. John Skilbeck had a deep interest in Ballarat History, and undertook much research with Bert Strange and Keith Stacpoole. Councilllor William Ernest Roff provided the copper for the memorial from scrap copper obtained during his plumbing business. The copper was reworked by John Skilbeck, and was soldered in the kitchen of his home at 14 Frank Street. Colour photograph of the gold monument on the corner of Sturt Street and Albert Street, Ballarat. It commemorates the discovery of gold at Poverty Point in August 1851, and was The monument was unveiled in 1951 and is mainly constructed of large piecesof quartz, with a miniature popper head on the top made of copper. Mounted on the side is a replica of the Welcome Nugget, which was unearthed on the corner of Humffray and Mair Streets, Ballarat on 09 June 1858.FRONT This monument was erected by the Ballarat Historical Society to commemorate the finding of gold at Poverty Point 21st August 1851 and is dedicated to the memory of/ pioneer miners of Ballarat LEFT SIDE Richest recorded yields alluvial mines Band of Hope 303269 Ozs Prince of Wales 168929 Koh I Noor 164157 Great Redan Ex 110111 Albion 107125 Bonshaw Fr 96520 Park 94699 St George 86702 Sir Wm Don 76830 Hand in Hand 76830 Sir Henry Loch 43562 Quartz Mines Star of the East 256758 Ozs Band of Hope 158299 Victoria United 152013 N Woah Hawp 129562 New Normanby 127562 Britannia 103225 Llanberris No 1 100533 Black Hill 91665 Last Chance U 83766 Llanberris 71364 Speedwell 66000 South Star 64444 Sulieman Pasha Companies 62666 RIGHT Recorded gold yield 20606000 ozs Nuggets Alluvial Welcome 2217 ozs Saraha Snads 1619 Lady Hotham 1177 Canadian 1 1117 Canadian 2 1011 Koh 1 Noor 834 Eureka 625 Lady Loch 617 Prince of Wales 606 Bakery Hill 571 Native Youth 540 Faboulous yields of earliest diggings not offically recorded Quartz Nuggets N Woah Hawp 5-- 300 200 Ozs White Horse 500 Woah Hawp 444 266 262 Canton 257 200 Q Victoria lease 410 U Black Hill Coy 315 Tinworths 250 Parade Coy 245gold monument, ballarat, skilbeck, poppet head, j.e. skilbeck, john skilbeck

The Gold Discovery centenary (1851-1951) monument in its original position in Albert St, Ballarat facing Sturt St, with the original public toilets behind. The monument features a replica of the Welcome Nugget, found in 1858 and the world's largest at that time. The monument also lists the weight of gold removed from the large "deep lead" mines, with a model of surface buildings of a mine sitting on top. Mrs Bon Strange and her husband Bert were well known Ballarat residents. When Mrs Strange died some years ago, her extensive slide collection was sorted through and those relevant to Ballarat were gifted to the Ballarat Library. ballarat, vintage bus, gold mining, welcome nugget