Australian man finds 624g gold nugget worth $37,000 while walking dog

An Australian family have literally struck gold after finding a valuable gold nugget during a Mother's Day outing.

The family from Bendigo in Victoria, who asked to remain anonymous, were walking their dog — fittingly named Lucky — on the outskirts of town on Sunday morning when the daughter kicked something hard lying on the ground.

At first, the father and his two daughters were unsure of what they had found — but it has since been confirmed by experts as a 624 gram gold nugget with an estimated value of at least $35,000 ($37,000).

"I actually walked right past it but my daughter pretty much kicked it as she was walking. She then goes — dad, is this gold? I said, I think it might be," the father told the Bendigo Advertiser.

The stunned family first took their find to an IGA supermarket to weigh it, with the rock coming in at 624 grams, or 20 ounces.

The father said he had been informed the nugget would likely be worth more than the A$35,000 estimate if it was sold whole, and that he did plan to sell it eventually.

He said the unexpected windfall had come at a crucial time.

"We've come on some tough times so it's really good because we've been struggling financially. It couldn't be better timing really," he told the Bendigo Advertiser.

"Just having it at home, I've been like where do we store it? I haven't been sleeping very well and we think it's best just to sell it."

He said the "really random find" had inspired the family to return to the site and look for more gold lying beneath the surface.

"Usually when you find a nugget that big, there will be more gold around so hopefully that's the case," he told the publication.

However, it's not the first time an Aussie has struck it rich.

Last September, a huge gold nugget worth at least A$110,000 was uncovered by a retired prospector in remote Western Australia.

That find weighed in at a hefty 3.23 kilograms and was dubbed "Duck's Foot" because of its unique shape.

And in 2017, Surfers Paradise gold digger Greg Cooke made headlines after finding several gold nuggets on a northern Gold Coast beach over several visits.

In fact, Australia is famous for its treasure trove of gold nuggets, with eight of the world's 10 largest found in the country over the years.

The "Welcome Stranger" nugget, pictured below, weighing between 2380 and 2284 ounces, is the biggest ever found on the planet and was discovered at Moliagul, near Dunolly in Victoria, in 1869.

The "Welcome Stranger" nugget, weighing between 2380 and 2284 ounces, is the biggest ever found on the planet. Photo / Supplied