The first gold deposits in Australia were discovered by the Hardy Brothers, Polish immigrants who had originally come out to cut cane in North Queensland. Whilst visiting relatives along the Macquarie River, they were digging the latrine du jour, and the next thing you know, 800,000 Chinese were flooding the area.
Eureka
The Eureka was the biggest gold nugget ever found in Australia. It was unearthed by a Greek who was heard to shout "Eureka!" when he uncovered what turned out to be the world's third largest nugget. His loud cry started a gold rush in the area and he was forced to fence and protect his 87 kilo nugget which became known as 'The Eureka Stockade'.
Kalgoorlie
Humble and modest, Paddy Hannan absolutely hated the outcome of his discovery of gold at Kalgoorlie. A hermit and a total non-conformist he began to get uneasy in the area the moment gold diggers began arriving from around the world. Here we have a man who doesn't want to see a person waking up each morning to a hive of 200,000 people. Paddy lived out his days on a pension, regretting ever finding the initial nugget, 'The Hello Crow', which began one of history's great gold rushes.
Ballarat
The town having been named after him, Freddie Ballarat walked down the main street with a cigar, had a permanent seat at the Opera and eventually became a member of Parliament. Yet though he was the first one to find gold in the area, Freddie Ballarat's own nuggets were only so-so, while only inches from his claim was found the mother of all nuggets, 'The Eureka'. The expression 'Blind Freddie could see it,' had its origins from this incident.
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