After a 37-year search, Syd Pearson’s luck changed when he found a massive 4.3kg gold nugget at a Victoran gold field. The 68-year-old garbage man from Maryborough was thrilled to finally hit the jackpot after years of searching. Initially unaware of its value, the rock is now worth nearly $300,000.
SYD Pearson can vividly recall the moment he hit the jackpot in Victoria’s vast gold fields. Walking around a small area behind Dunolly last December, the 68-year-old heard the distinctive buzz from his metal detector. As he dug at the spot with a pickaxe, he felt a satisfying “clunk,” sending his hands shaking with excitement. The Maryborough garbage man carefully brushed away the dirt to reveal a massive 4.3kg gold nugget—one of the largest ever found in Victoria’s historic goldfields. “I lit up a cigarette and brewed a cup of tea, but I didn’t even have to stir it,” Mr. Pearson chuckled.
After placing the stone in his toolbox, he eagerly drove home to share the exciting news with his wife. He lovingly decided to call the stone Lady Catherine in tribute to her. Lady Catherine has made her mark in Victoria’s history of prospecting, becoming a part of the state’s vibrant gold rush narrative. Nestled between Avoca, Castlemaine, and Wedderburn, the ‘Golden Triangle’ continues to attract numerous enthusiasts hoping to find their own fortune.
About 96% of the gold extracted from the area is regarded as some of the purest worldwide. To legally claim any gold found, prospectors only need to obtain a $22 permit. The President of the Prospectors and Miners Association of Victoria, Olly Oleszek, shared with the Herald Sun that Mr. Pearson’s nugget was one of two found in the past half-year. While it is one of the biggest discovered in the last ten years, there are even larger rocks waiting to be unearthed.
Mr. Pearson and his partner Jason have been searching for gold nuggets for years, not giving up even 166 years after the first rush. Mr. Pearson compared it to fishing, always chasing after that next big find. They eventually sold their Lady Catherine to a buyer in the US, but not before keeping replicas for themselves and displaying one at the Melbourne Museum. Their persistence paid off when they discovered a 2-kilogram nugget worth $140,000 in Central Victoria. Meanwhile, miners in Western Australia struck gold worth over $10,000,000 in just four days. Exciting new discoveries of big gold nuggets in the outback also brought success to a group of boys.
