Not many of my relatives make it into pretty much all the papers in the country. Even fewer make it in there because of good news. But John Balgowan (1850-1934) did make it in and for a good news story. At the prices close of business yesterday (2011 November 30) in the Perth Mint the value of his find was a little over $188,000. Not bad for an old prospector who had effectively retired.
A RICH SLUG. (1922, June 29). Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 – 1954), p. 7 Section: PICTORIAL SECTION. Retrieved December 1, 2011, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41693425
An old prospector, John Balgowan, who thought that he had become too old for his job at the Payne’s Find State battery, recently gave it up and went dryblowing among old alluvial workings. About a fortnight ago he found a quartz specimen weighing 150oz., and it was kept secret until he had worked out the surrounding ground without further good fortune. Smelted at the State battery the specimen yielded 110oz. of .gold which is probably worth £500. The news was telegraphed to the Superin-tendent of State batteries (Mr. A. M. Howe), by the manager of the Payne’s Find State Battery (Mr. J. Halligan), who added that a rush to the locality was not warranted. The specimen, which is the biggest discovered on the goldfields for a long time, was found a few inches deep in a small patch of ground that others had not thought worth touching.
