Roddy nugget found at Ross and Victory Nugget found at Moonlight.1909.

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DescriptionRoddy and Victory Nuggets....The heaviest gold nugget in New Zealand was found at Ross on the West Coast in 1909 weighing 99.63 ounces. In 2020 the Roddy would be worth 300,000 Dollars. It was given to King George 5th as a coronation gift and melted down later to make a royal tea service.

The Victory nugget was the 2nd largest found in the Moonlight Gorge off the Grey river. It weighed 87.5 ounces and was found in 1917 by Peter Passeni, a lonely prospector from Italy.Date of Photo1909Map^[1]^[2]ContributorTony Kokshoorn

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Location (city or town)RossMoonlightEventRoddy and Victory gold nuggets

Category Information

Category TagGoldmining

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CommentsKerry Molloy
Thanks for that tony .I knew of the Passeni one(mum of course came from moonlight ),but i always thought he'd hidden it in his hut .however he fell ill and was admitted to grey hospital where he passed away .it was during the packing up of his meagre… See More

Rebekah Fairhurst Geer
I was always annoyed with the royals making a tea set with it, still irritating to me now lol

Suzie Breeze
Rebekah Fairhurst Geer especially when the information Center in Ross wrote to them asking for a photo of the tea set and they can not find it or have a record of where/what to it….
Wendy Gilmour
Suzie Breeze a bit suspicious,

Rebekah Fairhurst Geer
Suzie Breeze well that just ices the cake aye!

Wendy Gilmour
Suzie Breeze who actually gave the gold to the royal family and when, and why , heard this years ago ,

Pauline Healey
Rebekah Fairhurst Geer I can't imagine the Queen doing that. I think the Royals are more sensitive these days.

Wendy Gilmour
Pauline Healey it would before her time but should still be traceable

Michael Mclauglin
F the royals bunch of free loaders

Matt Clarke
It is said that the roddy could have come from Australia. With the sampling technology today they could tell for sure.

Craig Norman
Matt Clarke my grandmother always claimed it was found on her father's claim at Ross. The snag was they had sold the claim months before and the new owners found it in the scrubby part at the back where they had not mined as they didn't think there was… See More

Karen Thomson
Our great great grandfather Giovanni Gagliadi was also a prospector in Ross where he is buried. From Sessa in Switzerland his family were originally from the west side of Lake Maggiore in Italy.

Karen Thomson
There is a photo of him in the Ross museum with his wife Sarah from Wales & their 8 grown children.

Spr SimRacer
I think there was a nugget in the 70oz region that was supposedly dropped and lost in Charleston.

David Meech
Why gift gold to the unemployed ? They've stolen enough gold and jewels from around the world as it is.

Mike Keenan
The Ross info centre wrote away to Buckingham Place to clarity that story about the Roddy Nugget being melted down for the Royals dinner set------it was only a myth ! There was no records of Buckingham Place receiving the Roddy Nugget-----even thought the NZ Government at the time purchased to send it to the Queen & King of England !!
Gregory Ross
I camped at Passeni's Hut beside the Moonlight Track for a few nights in 2014, and poked around in that area. The stone chimney of the hut still stands, as in photo attached. In the early 1900s Passeni bought up old claims around that spot, after the 1800s rush was over and spent, and as he worked the old claims he found the Victory nugget, which the early miners had missed. I believe that he passed away in his hut soon after finding the big nugget, and sadly did not get a chance to spend any of the money it fetched.
No photo description available.
Reply11h
Garry Nevin
Gregory Ross been there, have some video somewhere, wonderful place an mr george fairweather moonlight fascinates me
Reply2h
Ray Port
Gregory Ross interesting.
Tx for telling the background story.

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Roddy nugget found at Ross and Victory Nugget found at Moonlight.1909.

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