Famous NZ Gold Nuggets: The Biggest Finds in History

Every prospector dreams of the big one — a nugget so large it changes your life overnight. New Zealand has produced some remarkable specimens over the years. Here are a few of the most famous.

The Ross "Honourable Doris Gordon" Nugget (1909)

At 99 ounces (2.8 kg), this is generally considered the largest nugget ever found in New Zealand. It was discovered at Ross on the West Coast and named after the wife of a local member of Parliament.

The nugget was found by a group of miners working a deep lead — an ancient buried river channel. It wasn't river gold in the traditional sense, but a mass of crystalline gold embedded in quartz. The find was so significant that it made national news.

Unfortunately, like many historic nuggets, the Honourable Doris Gordon was eventually melted down. No specimen remains.

The Donoghue Nugget (1868)

Found near Reefton, this 79-ounce (2.2 kg) nugget was discovered by Irish miner Patrick Donoghue. It was reportedly found in a shallow creek crossing, spotted glinting in the water.

The story goes that Donoghue saw the gold but pretended to tie his bootlace while studying it, waiting until nearby miners moved on before he could extract it without attracting attention. Whether that's true or embellished, the nugget was real — and made Donoghue a wealthy man.

The Welcome Stranger (Australian, for Comparison)

New Zealand's biggest nuggets are impressive, but they pale beside Australia's giants. The Welcome Stranger, found in Victoria in 1869, weighed 2,316 ounces (65.7 kg) — the largest alluvial gold nugget ever recorded.

New Zealand's geology simply doesn't produce nuggets on that scale. The gold here tends to be finer, distributed through schist formations rather than concentrated in massive veins. That said, plenty of ounce-plus nuggets have been found throughout the Otago and West Coast goldfields.

Modern Detector Finds

The age of the big nuggets isn't entirely over. Metal detector technology has improved dramatically, and detectorists regularly find multi-ounce specimens in areas that were heavily worked by hand miners.

Most serious finds aren't publicised — prospectors guard their locations jealously. But nuggets of several ounces continue to be found on private claims and (occasionally) in public fossicking areas.

The key is patience, good ground, and a quality detector. The gold is still out there — it's just harder to find than it was in 1862.

Where Nuggets Are Found

Nuggets tend to occur in specific geological settings:

• Eluvial deposits: Gold that's eroded out of a nearby source reef but hasn't travelled far. Often found on hillsides above quartz veins.
• High-level terraces: Ancient river channels now stranded above current water levels. The gold hasn't been broken down by transport.
• Bedrock traps: Crevices and hollows in bedrock where heavy gold accumulates. Often requires crevicing tools to extract.

Fine river gold — the stuff you typically find panning — is gold that's travelled a long way and been battered smooth. Nuggets are gold that's stayed close to its source.

Could You Find One?

Realistically? Probably not. Big nuggets are rare, and most accessible areas have been worked intensively for 160 years. But smaller nuggets — "pickers" of a gram or two — are still found regularly by recreational prospectors.

If you're serious about finding nuggets (as opposed to fine gold), you'll need a metal detector, access to productive ground, and a lot of patience. But the dream is real — people still find them.