Sunday Times – 25 December 1927, page 40

Paddy Higgins Christmas
The Story of a Lost Nugget.

By John Meiklejohn.

The day after CoIreavy’s and Murphy’s teams from Southern Cross had dumped the first load of gold-hunters’ swags on Fly Spot Flat, Coolgardie, September 1882. Paddy Higgins and Frank Summer, sworn mates and two of the arrivals, left their newly-made camp, armed with tools, to test the value of the new Eldorado.

Arriving eastward of Bayley’s Reward, with Bayley’s lease in front of them, they noticed a score of men closely massed on the lease. They were excitedly jostling each other, backs bent, and their hands were clawing the loose rubble on the reef, putting what they found in their pockets. It was easy to guess they had located a rich patch on the reef and had rushed it despite it being inside Bayley’s lease pegs.

Paddy and Frank downed tools and pushed in to take their share of what was going on. Billy Martin followed, elbowing in with a shovel. He stuck it into the hole that had been clawed out, gave the shovel a levering lift and a golden beauty, rather bigger than an ostrich egg and nearly pure, gleamed for a moment on the point. Spontaneously, the crowd surged for it. A scrum followed in which the shovel was upset, and in the struggle, Paddy secured the prize, the crowd loosened out and allowed him the chance to stow it in his open shirt.

Some men would have been content with this lump alone and withdrawn to give the others a chance at what remained. Not so, Paddy. It was the first gold he had ever handled. He was feverishly excited and wanted more. He bent his back again to add to what he already had. However, in this position, his prize rolled out of his shirt and back into the hole. The crowd made another lustful scramble for it. Mitch Halloran, this time, lay heavily on top of the treasure till the crowd, realising he had it secured it, eased off, allowing him to rise, grasping it tightly in his possession.

Not for long, however, as Mitch backed away from the rear of the crowd, Frank saw his chance and dealt him a swift shoulder to the ribs, which sent him sprawling to earth as he fell, Mick involuntarily parted from his spoils, which landed some short distance away. Paddy, with a lightning sprint, picked it up and, gaining wisdom from his experience, scampered without any apology to Mick.

Arriving at camp, Paddy debated with himself what to do with the lump of gold; it was too big to sling on his belt, and it might not be safe to plant in their camp. He wrapped it in a piece of sacking and moved off to the bush, searching out a secure place to hide it. After zigzagging for some time, he spotted a mulga tree with a hole at the bottom of it. Inspection disclosed that the tree was hollow, an ideal place for this purpose. He jammed his treasure in tightly as high up as he could reach careful not to leave much trace, then stood back to take mental note of distinctive landmarks nearby the tree had a sharp lean southward and there was a large lump 6 feet up on the barrel shaped trunk, somewhat like a demon’s face and he placed a large lump of quartz 12 yards distance eastward with those signs noted he thought he had sufficient to guide him to find the place again.

Paddy was born on the plains in New South Wales and had spent his life on open sheep stations and was a stranger to the Bush conditions that now surrounded him. He reckons he had been half an hour coming out from camp, but to get back again, he found hour after hour was passing without the camp coming into sight. The sun was low when sounds from the campfires reached his ears and guided him back. Frank had tea ready, and they exchanged their news. Frank said that after Paddy had gone, Bailey showed up and made a rumpus trying to get the crowd to clear off his lease. Trouble would surely have started only if Warden Finnerty hadn’t arrived in time and settled matters by allowing the alluvial miners the right to work within 50 feet of the reef. Frank had pegged on the lead, some distance below the patch, claims for both of them and produced about 3 oz he had got in a few hours’ work.

Those claims kept them employed for some time and doing well; meanwhile, Frank did not have the chance to get a close look at the chunk Paddy had secured and naturally, he was curious to see it. So it was on a Sunday that they set out to visit the plant, and they came across dozens of mulga trees, many with the south lean and furnished with lumps. They found dozens of quartz boulders near such trees in the vicinity, but they could not find the particular tree in which the treasure was hidden. The hours lengthened out, and they were forced to return to camp, unsuccessful in their quest. Paddy cursing himself all the way for the silliest ‘yobu’ on the field, fortunately, Frank was a bushman and they struck the camp this time without trouble.

It worried Patty that he could not find his much-valued nugget. He had the habit of speaking aloud to himself when he was alone, whether it was on his claim or in his camp. His subject was always his nugget and where he had hidden it, the uses he could put it to if he found it and then he would bang whatever he had in his hand in exasperation and disgusted himself not being able to do so. He spoke loud enough for his neighbours to easily hear what he said, and in return, they heckled and made fun of him.

Paddy Higgins and his misplaced nugget became the topic of the camp.

Paddy was subconsciously cautious; he never allowed himself to voice the secret of any clue that would guide others to find the place. Time passed, and they had worked out their first claims. Several times, they made other attempts to locate the hidden gold, but without success. When the warden notified the fields of the dangerous shortage of water in early December, the two mates figured among the crowd who scurried down the road, but they returned immediately when rain fell and secured gold around Martins gully. Meanwhile, the big gold chunk was ever-present in Paddy’s mind and, as one could judge from the conversations he held with himself, he never lost hope of finding it again.

The diggers did not trouble much about Christmas, nor was there much scope for celebrating if they had. When Christmas Day arrived, some went to work as on ordinary days and others observed it like a Sunday and went out specking. Paddy and Frank formed two of the latter, but they took a direction by themselves; they had not left the camp a mile behind when they flushed a scared Iguana about 30 inches long, which slithered away in front of them. In high spirits, they gave chase until it found cover in a hole at the base of a mulga tree. Paddy recognised the tree at once,

spare me days, Frank, this is the place

As he spoke, he got on his knees, shoved his hand into the hole and pulled out the sack that contained the nugget. They had a fixed intention with it now as they gleefully bore it homewards with them, threading their way amongst the tents. Paddy flashed his treasure to the crowd, proclaiming its recovery and wished him hearty good luck. Their supper of tinned beef and damper was flavoured that night with the source of happy content. When finished, a shallow hole was dug underneath the fire in which the golden chunk was buried, and the fire and ashes were placed on top. Thank goodness we will always know where to look for it, now said Paddy, when finished.

“What’s that?” said Frank, who was singing. That’s the Parson singing, ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’, Paddy answered. That reminds me, best wishes of the season to you, and they shook hands.

Paddy also tried his hand at hotel keeping while in Coolgardie and was the licensee of the Red Bluff Hotel. It was here that his only child was born in 1903.

Coolgardie Miner Jan 1901

Patrick Justice HIGGINS was born in Nannup, WA on 11 Jan 1863. He was the sixth of twelve children born to John Higgins and Catherine Fannin. His father arrived in Western Australia from Ireland in 1841. His parents married twice, possibly due to the couple’s different religions, first in 1854 in Perth in the Wesley Church and then again in 1855 at the Toodyay Roman Catholic Church in 1855.
Patrick was known to his family as ‘Barney’, but his friends called him ‘Paddy’ as was often the case for those of Irish descent. Paddy married Alice Eleanor Katherine Mary Eliza ‘Grace’ WEEDON in Coolgardie in 1901; she was from Oxfordshire in England.. They were to have one child, Bernard Justice Fanning HIGGINGS, born in Coolgardie in 1903. Paddy passed away in Geraldton on 8 February 1924 and is buried there in an unmarked grave.

Grace HIGGINS nee Weedon c 1900

Bunbury Herald and Blackwood Express – 22 February 1924, page 5

Daily News, Perth – 20 February 1893