Welcome Stranger

The Welcome Stranger is the biggest alluvial gold nugget found, which had a calculated refined weight of 3,123 oz (260 1/4 lbs) 6 dwts 9 gr (71.018 kg). It measured 61 by 31 cm (24 by 12 in) and was discovered by prospectors John Deason and Richard Oates on 5 February 1869 at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, about 9 miles (14.6 kilometres) north-west of Dunolly.

Discovery

Found only 3 cm (1.2 in) below the surface, near the base of a tree on a slope leading to what was then known as Bulldog Gully, its gross weight was 3,523.5 troy ounces (109.59 kg) (293 1/2 lbs 1 1/2 oz), the trimmed weight was 2,520 troy ounces (78 kg) (210 lbs), and net it weighed 2,315.5 troy ounces (72.02 kg) (192 lbs 11.5 oz, [almost 193 lbs]).

At the time of the discovery, there were no scales capable of weighing a nugget this large, so it was broken into three pieces on an anvil by Dunolly-based blacksmith Archibald Walls.

Deason, Oates, and a few friends took the nugget to the London Chartered Bank of Australia, in Dunolly, which advanced them £9,000. Deason and Oates were finally paid an estimated £9,381 for their nugget, which became known as the "Welcome Stranger". It is estimated that the nugget would have been worth around 3,766,950 dollars (US) in January 2013. It was heavier than the "Welcome Nugget" of 2,217 troy ounces (69.0 kg) that had been found in Ballarat in 1858. The goldfields warden F. K. Orme reported that 2,269 ounces (189 lbs 1 oz) 10 dwt 14 grains (70.5591 kg) of smelted gold had been obtained from it, irrespective of scraps that were given away by the finders, estimated as totalling another 47 ounces (3 lbs 11 oz) 7 dwt.

Welcome Stranger (film)

Welcome Stranger is a 1947 film directed by Elliott Nugent. It stars Bing Crosby, Barry Fitzgerald, and Joan Caulfield. It was filmed in Hollywood with location shots at Munz Lakes during February to April 1946. Elliott Nugent appeared in one scene as a doctor sent to examine Barry Fitzgerald and that scene was directed by Billy Wilder.

Plot

Crusty Dr. McRory (Barry Fitzgerald) of Fallbridge, Maine, hires a replacement for his vacation sight unseen. Alas, he and young singing doctor Jim Pearson (Bing Crosby) don't hit it off, but Pearson is delighted to stay, once he meets teacher Trudy Mason (Joan Caulfield). The locals, taking their cue from McRory, cold-shoulder Pearson, especially Trudy's stuffy fiancée. But then, guess who needs an emergency appendectomy.

Cast

Welcome Stranger (album)

Welcome Stranger is the debut studio album by The Blackeyed Susans. Released in August, 1992, the album is a compilation of their first three EPs – Some Births Are Worse Than Murders, Anchor Me and …Depends On What You Mean By Love – with the addition of three tracks recorded at the same time as the material released on those EPs.

Track listing

Personnel

Formic acid

Formic acid (also called methanoic acid) is the simplest carboxylic acid. Its chemical formula is HCOOH or HCO₂H. It is an important intermediate in chemical synthesis and occurs naturally, most notably in some ants. Its name comes from the Latin word for ant, formica, referring to its early isolation by the distillation of ant bodies. Esters, salts, and the anions derived from formic acid are referred to as formates.

Properties

Formic acid is a colorless liquid having a highly pungent, penetrating odor at room temperature. It is miscible with water and most polar organic solvents, and is somewhat soluble in hydrocarbons. In hydrocarbons and in the vapor phase, it consists of hydrogen-bonded dimers rather than individual molecules. Owing to its tendency to hydrogen-bond, gaseous formic acid does not obey the ideal gas law. Solid formic acid (two polymorphs) consists of an effectively endless network of hydrogen-bonded formic acid molecules. This relatively complicated compound also forms a low-boiling azeotrope with water (22.4%) and liquid formic acid also tends to supercool.

Formic acid (data page)

This page provides supplementary chemical data on formic acid.

Material Safety Data Sheet

The handling of this chemical may incur notable safety precautions. It is highly recommend that you seek the Material Safety Datasheet (MSDS) for this chemical from a reliable source and follow its directions.

Structure and properties

Thermodynamic properties

Vapor pressure of liquid

Table data obtained from CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 44th ed. The "(s)" notation indicates temperature of solid/vapor equilibrium. Otherwise the data is temperature of liquid/vapor equilibrium.

Distillation data

Spectral data

Safety data

References