An excellent piece on the history of the find of The Golden...

An excellent piece on the history of the find of The Golden Eagle.
If sold today it would fetch $3.5 million.

The Golden Eagle Story

Jim Larcombe had received a letter in the mail and was busyreading it, while Jim jnr kept on working, as he was picking down the softearth about 18 inches from the surface, his pick hit hard with a metallic ringand thinking it was a stone, he cleaned the dirt away and hooked out the largeNugget with the pick at the same time calling his father to assist.

They couldn’t believe their eyes when they realised they hadsuch a large slug.

After examining it and cleaning someof the clay coating it and bringing it out in the open. The dish was rung andthe cry of sluggo, sluggo was heard.

Men from all parts of thefield gathered around the claim to test weigh the nugget and congratulate thelucky finders.

In due course the nugget wastaken to O’Callaghan’s Store. Jock Parks a friend of J. J. Larcombe of manyyears, carried the nugget on his shoulder with the Larcombe’s accompanying himup the main and only street of Larkinville to the store

By placing a gimlet about 6feet long across a case of Nestles Milk turned on it’s side and balancing a70lb bag of sugar, on one end of the gimlet and the nugget on the other end.The nugget out-weighing the bag of sugar it was reckoned at over 1,000 ouncesTroy.

Valued at the time 5,431 Pounds or $10,862.

The Larcombes received 5,435 Pounds, 15 Shillings, 2 Pence

When the men were gathered around the nugget on the claim,someone asked Jim what was he going to call the slug, his reply was “LittleJim”, it of course being found by little Jim. Someone suggested it looked likea Camel, another a Lion, another said a bird, no it has to be “little Jim”. Anelderly gent, small in stature and with an Uncle Sam beard stepped forwardsaying it looks like an Eagle to me, sell it to the American Government as aGolden Eagle and you will get anything for it.

No said Jim, can’t do that, Scadden {who was the Premier at thetime}, would not allow it to go out the State. Its to be “Little Jim”.

When the slug was cleaned up it looked more like an Eagle andApparently Jim was persuaded to call it the Golden Eagle.

Later in the afternoon “The Nugget” and the Larcombes left forWidgiemooltha in Jock Park’s Model T Ford. They stopped at Jim Doyle’s Hoteland invited all and sundry to inspect the slug before moving onto Coolgardie.

From Jim Doyle’s Hotel, they rang Constable Martin inCoolgardie, who met them at Horse Rocks on the Coolgardie-Widgiemooltha Road toescort them into Coolgardie.
The nugget weighed 1135oz15dwt12grms, it was 24.5 inches long, 11.5 inches wideand 2.5 inches thick.

When the Eagle was found a large number of people were in theLarkinville and Widgiemooltha district and many more arrived and got nothing.

Later Jim Larcombe gave his claim over to Jack Ward and his sonon a share basis, but they got very little.

By hitting a panning off dish with a bar or pick to make it ringis called “Ringing the Dish”, and is usually a signal of something important….A dispute, a meeting, a fair size slug etc.
James J. Larcombe arrived at Larkinville in 1930 at the invitation of BobbyClough, finder of the rich Groundlark.

Under the Gold Buyers Act at that time Gold had to be declaredand sold within 12 days of finding it.