I've Got Half A Million In The Bank

[mn90403]

That was a statement by Kingy in Western Australia in the 80s!  That was the reason he kept a chest full of nuggets under his bed.

I think some of you here will know him and some of the prospectors.

WA photographers reminisce about bygone Goldfields era as gold's price surges - ABC News

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-08/photographers-remember-bygone-era-wa-gold-prospecting/106299710 

This came from the authors of "Off Like Flies."

[geof_junk]

You only need to keep (note KEEP)

198 Ounces of gold to get $1 million in Aust.

138 Ounces of gold to get $1 million in USA

Does that mean it is easier for you Yanks

 😀

[Dorado]

I met  Kingy and Floss at their camp and stayed there a few times. If I remember correctly Floss won the lottery at one time and there was quite a party. Kingy and his bulldozer pushed a lot of dirt around Nannine. He just about always made you welcome at his camp.

Cheers

[mn90403]

7 hours ago, geof_junk said:

You only need to keep (note KEEP)

198 Ounces of gold to get $1 million in Aust.

138 Ounces of gold to get $1 million in USA

Does that mean it is easier for you Yanks

 😀

If you hold on to it long enough you'll have to have less!  I should have just bought more of those ugly nuggets that were offered to me over the years!  We all should.

[matt]

What is so great about this hobby is that we really don't have to buy any gold. Being able to go out and find it is amazing. Now I just need to get out more and find more of it!

[Aureous]

On 2/9/2026 at 8:03 PM, Dorado said:

I met  Kingy and Floss at their camp and stayed there a few times. If I remember correctly Floss won the lottery at one time and there was quite a party. Kingy and his bulldozer pushed a lot of dirt around Nannine. He just about always made you welcome at his camp.

Cheers

I was wondering if this was the same 'Kingy' I met in Meeka back in the early 90's....looks like it was. There were a few such blokes back then, Jonny P in the Kimberley was an ex Italian POW who came back to Oz after the war and took to prospecting as a way of life. He had a freezer full of beef with a huge golden bottom layer with 100's of ounces in it, as well as numerous milk powder tins full of $$ notes and 'small stuff' (anything from crushed species to bits under 5 grams or so). The gold buyer in Halls Creek often handled his gold 'a tin at a time'. If any Aussies here remember the Sunshine instant milk cans, you'll know just how much gold they could handle....probably a kilo I reckon. He slept with a big black dog and a loaded Carcano rilfe. Another guy was 'Eric the Viking', a prospector from Victoria who went bush every winter to WA. He had a hugely successful miners right claim at Havelock and got 100's of ounces from it, plus 2 patches in WA that yielded a few 100oz as well. He often drove around with a shoebox full of gold under his seat. Alex Kamp was another pro prospector who kept a large 'kitty' of gold under his bed. I saw a couple army .30 ammo cans full...he was always armed. 'Pommy Dave John' was also a legend in WA on his leases (Wilsons or Goanna Patch...cant remember now) with his table often covered with gold after a 'good days pushing'.... all gone now but legends still.

[Dorado]

Yes the same Kingy , his camp was about 30klms south of Meekatharra, he had an old fridge on the side of the highway with a pointer to his camp.

Cheers

[geof_junk]

Aureous Did you know Lewie he was one of the first to use a bulldozer in Victoria as that was his normal job. Here is a photo of him with his 32 Oz necklace and one of his 16 Oz on my wife. Theyy wer taken back in 1980. Those were the days mate.

[Aureous]

12 hours ago, geof_junk said:

Those were the days mate

They sure were....nah I never knew the guy, but that suspiciously looks like a young Tony Mills in the background? The short guy with the blue shirt and brown pants?