The Curtis Nugget, the largest in Queensland, was discovered in Gympie, Queensland in 1868 by Curtis and Brigg on a lease close to the initial claim of the discoverer of the Gympie Goldfield, James Nash. The claim where the Curtis nugget was found had been pegged earlier by George Curtis and Charles Colin.
Charles Collin was the son of Jules Andre Colin de Souvigny, who with the family emigrated to Brisbane, Australia in 1826, from Poitier, France. During the passage they shortened the family name to Colin likely to accommodate English sensitivities. Gustav Colin, the lad to center right of the image below, was the Great Grandfather of this author. Jules Colin with the aide of Government Land Grants purchased what is now the suburb of Kenmore in western Brisbane. The Kenmore acreage was sold and the family moved to Bald Hills which was closer to the early Brisbance City. The funds from the sale of the nugget allowed for the return of several family members to France and for Charles Colin to establish a Christian Monastery and School in Sri Lanka.
