Yarrum
Hero Member
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2007
- Messages
- 958
- Reaction score
- 15
- Golden Thread
- 0
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
- Detector(s) used
- Jackeroo, BH Landstar
- #1
Thread Owner
Gold strike in phone box
Leah Fineran
July 28th, 2009
IT looked like a bunch of snotty tissues abandoned in a public phone booth, but hidden inside were two lumps of pure gold.
The unusual parcel sat untouched in the Bilinga phone booth for three days before Gold Coast shopkeeper Stewart McNaughton decided to clean up.
But when he gingerly picked up the tissues he made the shock discovery -- wrapped inside were two ounces of gold.
The precious metal, worth more than $2300, belonged to Victor Robertson, of NSW, who accidentally left it behind the day he flew out of Gold Coast Airport for a month-long international holiday.
On his return to the Coast yesterday, the 31-year-old painter was astounded to find Mr McNaughton had handed in the gold to police and he was able to reclaim it.
As a reward for returning his precious parcel, Mr Robertson repaid the favour by giving Mr McNaughton a carton of Fourex Gold.
"His honesty and decency just blew me away -- it's changed my perception of people," said Mr Robertson.
Have your say on the feedback form below
Mr Robertson, who lives west of Newcastle, said he had invested in the gold several years ago and was carrying two ounces in the coin compartment of his wallet as he planned to use it for spending money on his trip to the UK and Malaysia.
But just before his flight out of the Gold Coast he bought a hamburger from Mr McNaughton's Eat 'N' Run takeaway on Golden Four Drive at Bilinga and made a call from the phone booth outside the shop.
"I emptied my coins out to make the call and it wasn't until I was sitting on the plane that I realised the gold wasn't in my wallet any more.
"It was a horrible sensation when I realised but I just wrote it off as one of those stupid things you learn from," he said.
Mr McNaughton said he noticed the pile of tissues in the phone booth that day but when he went to pick them up he heard 'a jangle' and thought someone had left change or their keys in the bundle and would be back to claim it.
Three days later, Mr McNaughton decided no one was coming and went to throw the tissues out.
"As I picked it up I realised it was really heavy so I opened it up and saw it was gold," he said.
"I couldn't believe it would be real so I phoned a bullion company and I found out it was the real thing.
"I asked them if they had a lost and found department but they said no, so I took it to the police."
Mr Robertson said he was ecstatic to have his gold returned against all odds.
Leah Fineran
July 28th, 2009
IT looked like a bunch of snotty tissues abandoned in a public phone booth, but hidden inside were two lumps of pure gold.
The unusual parcel sat untouched in the Bilinga phone booth for three days before Gold Coast shopkeeper Stewart McNaughton decided to clean up.
But when he gingerly picked up the tissues he made the shock discovery -- wrapped inside were two ounces of gold.
The precious metal, worth more than $2300, belonged to Victor Robertson, of NSW, who accidentally left it behind the day he flew out of Gold Coast Airport for a month-long international holiday.
On his return to the Coast yesterday, the 31-year-old painter was astounded to find Mr McNaughton had handed in the gold to police and he was able to reclaim it.
As a reward for returning his precious parcel, Mr Robertson repaid the favour by giving Mr McNaughton a carton of Fourex Gold.
"His honesty and decency just blew me away -- it's changed my perception of people," said Mr Robertson.
Have your say on the feedback form below
Mr Robertson, who lives west of Newcastle, said he had invested in the gold several years ago and was carrying two ounces in the coin compartment of his wallet as he planned to use it for spending money on his trip to the UK and Malaysia.
But just before his flight out of the Gold Coast he bought a hamburger from Mr McNaughton's Eat 'N' Run takeaway on Golden Four Drive at Bilinga and made a call from the phone booth outside the shop.
"I emptied my coins out to make the call and it wasn't until I was sitting on the plane that I realised the gold wasn't in my wallet any more.
"It was a horrible sensation when I realised but I just wrote it off as one of those stupid things you learn from," he said.
Mr McNaughton said he noticed the pile of tissues in the phone booth that day but when he went to pick them up he heard 'a jangle' and thought someone had left change or their keys in the bundle and would be back to claim it.
Three days later, Mr McNaughton decided no one was coming and went to throw the tissues out.
"As I picked it up I realised it was really heavy so I opened it up and saw it was gold," he said.
"I couldn't believe it would be real so I phoned a bullion company and I found out it was the real thing.
"I asked them if they had a lost and found department but they said no, so I took it to the police."
Mr Robertson said he was ecstatic to have his gold returned against all odds.
