The nugget measured two feet in length and almost a feet in width.
Miners and their wives posing with the finders of the worlds biggest gold nugget, Welcome Stranger .
Deason and Oates discussed the find excitedly, but in hushed tones.
The nugget had to be safely put away before word got out.
The nugget was fired all weekend, and on Monday morning, about 70 lbs.
Sixty-six kilograms were sold to the bank, and the rest Deason and Oates kept for themselves.
There are different reports on the nuggets actual weight, but the most commonly citied figure is 72 kg.
A replica of Welcome Stranger.
After the find, Deason continued with gold mining and eventually became a store keeper at Moliagal.
He lost most of his wealth due to bad investment.
He bought a small farm near Moliagal, and spent his last days as a farmer.
Oates, meanwhile, returned to England and got married.
The memorial is located near Moliagul.
Monument marking the spot where the Welcome Stranger nugget was found.
Photo credit:Mattinbgn/Wikimedia
The statue in Redruth, England.
Eighteen months later, a group of nine miners found Lady Hotham, weighing 44 kg.
Then, in 1858, a 69-kg nugget, dubbed Welcome Nugget was discovered, also in Ballarat.
It remains the second largest gold nugget ever found.
Of these, 400 exceeded 100 ounces (2.8 kg).
Even today, large nuggets turn up inside this Golden Triangle.
Only three years ago, a massive4.1 kg nuggetwas unearthed.
