The world's largest recorded gold nugget is the "Welcome Stranger", found in Australia on 5 February 1869. The Welcome Stranger measured 61cm by 31cm and was discovered by prospectors John Deason and Richard Oates at Moliagul, about half-way between Maryborough and St Arnaud in western Victoria, Australia. No scales of the time could handle the weight of the nugget, so it was broken into three pieces by a blacksmith in order to be weighed: it weighed in at over 2300 ounces, or 70 kilograms. Deason (Deeson) and Oates were paid £19,068 for their nugget which became known as "Welcome Stranger". It is not the same as the "Welcome Nugget" found in Ballarat in 1858.
