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I thought I might share something that happened quite a few years ago and made me realize just how strong gold fever can be.
A friend of mine had access to the latest metal detector and all the panning gear, sieves etc for gold prospecting due to his wife working in the right section of Wollongong Uni. He was really keen to have a go but had absolutely no experience, he had read a few books but that was about it. It just so happened that my next door neighbour was an old bushy, Tom, that had worked on the Braidwood to Nowra road during the war and had come across a few areas that had been mined during the depression. He was keen for a weekend away so a trip was planned.
It should be pointed out that my friend was a great practical joker, to the point that you had to be very careful believing anything he said. After talking to old Tom we decided it might be a good chance to give a little back.
On my last night shift before our weekend away I took in some old brass bolts I had lying around and took to them with the oxy set. I dripped the molten brass into small holes and cracks in a rock until I had about 30 little nuggets. The largest was about the size of a ten cent piece.
The next afternoon we were setting up camp beside a creek out near Nerriga, it was too late to start prospecting so we just sat around the fire and made plans for the next morning. Just after dark I went for a short walk and came back with a few Witchetty Grubs, they looked like the real thing but were actually jelly lollies. I offered my mate one but he wasn't game to try it so I gave one to Tom. He knew what it was so he impaled it with a small stick and roasted it over the coals, I did the same and we ate them and told our mate he didn't know what he was missing.
Next morning we commenced our gold hunt. Old Tom and I were walking up front while our mate was working slowly behind us with his detector. After about 50mts I dropped the first nugget in his path and kicked a little surface litter over it, I continued to walk dropping a nugget every ten meters or so. We soon heard the detector scream and turned around to see what our mate had found. He scratched around for a few seconds then pulled up his first shiny "nugget". He was looking at it a bit strange and we thought he was onto us. He put it in his mouth and bit it then said it felt too hard for gold and was not very heavy. Old Tom countered it was only small hence the light weight and what else could it be? This was enough to convince my mate he had found his first gold. We continued along the creek with me dropping the nuggets and my mate finding most of them with an excited scream until Tom decided it was time to boil up the billy again. Our mate looked at him in disbelief that he could be thinking of a brew when there was so much gold to be found. We said it will still be there after we have had a cuppa and walked back to camp.
Back at camp our mate was like a crack addict waiting for a hit. Old Tom had to keep turning away to avoid losing it, he actually started laughing a couple of times but our mate thought nothing of it, he was just thinking about the gold. Tom then asked him if he was going to give his wife a call and tell her the good news. With this his demeanor completely changed. He said there is no way he would call his wife as any call would be intercepted at the local exchange and the word about the gold strike could get out putting us all in danger. He then said we needed to go back to Nowra and buy some large coils of rope so that the whole area could be gridded to avoid missing any nuggets. A few minutes later the fever got too much for him and he said we could finish our cuppa but he was going back for more. He was starting to look a bit out of it so we decided to let him in on the joke.
He cracked, he started ranting and raving accusing us of wanting all the gold for ourselves. When we explained it was only brass and that is why it was so light and hard it finally dawned on him. He said he was also surprised it was so shiny and we thought he had finally seen the funny side of it but when we said we should start prospecting seriously he demanded to be taken home. We tried to settle him down but he said if we didn't take him home he would start walking. The trip home was very quiet, the silence only broken by the occasional chuckle from Tom.
It took about a month before he would talk to us again and he never again played a practical joke on us or anyone else I know.
A friend of mine had access to the latest metal detector and all the panning gear, sieves etc for gold prospecting due to his wife working in the right section of Wollongong Uni. He was really keen to have a go but had absolutely no experience, he had read a few books but that was about it. It just so happened that my next door neighbour was an old bushy, Tom, that had worked on the Braidwood to Nowra road during the war and had come across a few areas that had been mined during the depression. He was keen for a weekend away so a trip was planned.
It should be pointed out that my friend was a great practical joker, to the point that you had to be very careful believing anything he said. After talking to old Tom we decided it might be a good chance to give a little back.
On my last night shift before our weekend away I took in some old brass bolts I had lying around and took to them with the oxy set. I dripped the molten brass into small holes and cracks in a rock until I had about 30 little nuggets. The largest was about the size of a ten cent piece.
The next afternoon we were setting up camp beside a creek out near Nerriga, it was too late to start prospecting so we just sat around the fire and made plans for the next morning. Just after dark I went for a short walk and came back with a few Witchetty Grubs, they looked like the real thing but were actually jelly lollies. I offered my mate one but he wasn't game to try it so I gave one to Tom. He knew what it was so he impaled it with a small stick and roasted it over the coals, I did the same and we ate them and told our mate he didn't know what he was missing.
Next morning we commenced our gold hunt. Old Tom and I were walking up front while our mate was working slowly behind us with his detector. After about 50mts I dropped the first nugget in his path and kicked a little surface litter over it, I continued to walk dropping a nugget every ten meters or so. We soon heard the detector scream and turned around to see what our mate had found. He scratched around for a few seconds then pulled up his first shiny "nugget". He was looking at it a bit strange and we thought he was onto us. He put it in his mouth and bit it then said it felt too hard for gold and was not very heavy. Old Tom countered it was only small hence the light weight and what else could it be? This was enough to convince my mate he had found his first gold. We continued along the creek with me dropping the nuggets and my mate finding most of them with an excited scream until Tom decided it was time to boil up the billy again. Our mate looked at him in disbelief that he could be thinking of a brew when there was so much gold to be found. We said it will still be there after we have had a cuppa and walked back to camp.
Back at camp our mate was like a crack addict waiting for a hit. Old Tom had to keep turning away to avoid losing it, he actually started laughing a couple of times but our mate thought nothing of it, he was just thinking about the gold. Tom then asked him if he was going to give his wife a call and tell her the good news. With this his demeanor completely changed. He said there is no way he would call his wife as any call would be intercepted at the local exchange and the word about the gold strike could get out putting us all in danger. He then said we needed to go back to Nowra and buy some large coils of rope so that the whole area could be gridded to avoid missing any nuggets. A few minutes later the fever got too much for him and he said we could finish our cuppa but he was going back for more. He was starting to look a bit out of it so we decided to let him in on the joke.
He cracked, he started ranting and raving accusing us of wanting all the gold for ourselves. When we explained it was only brass and that is why it was so light and hard it finally dawned on him. He said he was also surprised it was so shiny and we thought he had finally seen the funny side of it but when we said we should start prospecting seriously he demanded to be taken home. We tried to settle him down but he said if we didn't take him home he would start walking. The trip home was very quiet, the silence only broken by the occasional chuckle from Tom.
It took about a month before he would talk to us again and he never again played a practical joke on us or anyone else I know.
