Malcolm Drinkwater, Researcher, lecturer, author & owner/curator of History Hill Museum at Hill End, educates Bill Woods on the anniversary of the world’s largest gold specimen being found.

This October marks 150 years since the discovery of the world’s largest known single mass of gold, the Beyers and Holtermann Specimen, at Hill End, near Bathurst.

Often incorrectly referred to as the ‘Holtermann Nugget’, the gold mass contained 3,000 ounces of gold in one lump and was discovered on 19th October 1872 at Star Hope Mine, Hill End, which was originally established by Bernard Otto Holtermann and Louis Beyers.

News of this stunning find quickly reverberated around the world causing a short-term flood of diggers into the Hill End goldfield. Nothing like it, that we know of, has been unearthed before or since and its enormity can only be appreciated by the fact it was less than 20% of the total patch of gold discovered; it just happened to be the biggest intact piece.

To celebrate this sesquicentenary, locally-based, renowned goldrush historian and History Hill Museum owner, Malcolm Drinkwater, is bringing gold and the Holtermann name together once again, hosting a special event, ‘Gold: The Beyers & Holtermann Specimen’, at Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre (BMEC), on Saturday 22 October.

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