Where oh where is the Honorable Roddy Nugget?

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

NZ gold nugget lost at the palace

By GILES BROWN - The Press | 5:00AM - Saturday, 12 September 2009



A treasure hunt through the riches of Buckingham Palace has failed to solve the mystery of what happened to New Zealand's biggest gold nugget.

Today, people in the West Coast town of Ross will celebrate the centenary of the discovery of the Honourable Roddy Nugget near the town in 1909.

Weighing in at just over 3 kilograms, it was discovered by Arthur Sharpe and John Scott on September 10, 1909, near Jones Creek.

Three kilograms of gold would have fetched about NZ$137,000 in New York yesterday.

The nugget was named after West Coast politician Roderick McKenzie.

Ross Centenary Committee member Trish Hutana said the nugget "was purchased by the Government and given to King George [V] for his coronation [in 1911].

The story goes that it was melted down and used to gild a tea service."

In May, Hutana wrote to Buckingham Palace to ask if there was any trace of the glistening tea service which once graced the royal lips.

The Royal Collection Trust, which manages the Queen's collection of valuables, replied last week that it had found nothing related to the nugget or tea service in its records.

"They had searched their records extensively and found no trace of it. It's got to be somewhere," Hutana said.

The palace had promised to keep looking and asked for more information.

Not only are the nugget's whereabouts unclear, but there is also a conspiracy theory about its origins. "There's been a lot of stories told of the miners coming from Melbourne to Hokitika directly and that it might have come from one of the local goldfields there," said Kath Maitland, of the Ross Goldfields Information and Heritage Centre.

The theory was that it may have been planted by the Ross Goldfields Co to try to boost its share price. However, a local goldminer had analysed the structure of the nugget and said it indicated it came from the Ross goldfield.

"That's our story and we are sticking to it," Maitland said.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/2857315/NZ-gold-nugget-lost-at-the-palace