Summary

The 'Schlemm' gold nugget was found at 'The Shoots Gully' between the towns of Dunolly and Jones Creek, about 40 km west of Bendigo, by miner Henry Davey in 1875. Weighing 538 ounces (16.7 kg), the nugget is unusual in that it contains a significant amount of quartz, as well as some ironstone, mixed throughout its mass.

The nugget was purchased by Bendigo tobacconist and gold buyer Mr Charles Schlemm, after whom it was named.

M 38742 is a replica of the Schlemm nugget. It is not clear exactly when the model was produced, but it is likely to have been close to when the nugget was found, and certainly before the 1930's when the practice of making casts of such finds had died down. An unusual feature of this model is that the white angular quartz chunks visible on its surface are made of real, naturally occurring quartz, although the rest of the model is painted plaster.

Specimen Details