Unarmed Darwin Detectorist strikes gold
During a trip to Paris two years ago to receive an award from a well known international company , an Indonesian woman , accompanied by her partner , wore a stylish two-in-one hat, imitation leopard skin outside , black inside . While seeing the many sights of the French capital , including its massive market , the hat was unfortunately lost .
This week, her partner , a member of the Darwin metal detecting fraternity keen to find an Australian treasure trove , drove to the fabulous old gold mining town of Charters Towers, 137 kilometres west of Townsville .
Upon learning of the fortunes made on the goldfield in days gone by , he regretted not having brought a metal detector with him to make a quick search .
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A dab hand at the culinary arts , as he walked about the interesting main shopping centre , popping in and out of op shops , he went into a K-Mart store to buy a coffee grinder. He had recently seen an SBS food show in which a celebrity chef recommended using such a gadget to mix ingredients for a certain samosa.
Not only was there a coffee grinder for sale - but the exact lost chapeau jumped out at him from a stand - on special , for $4!!!! A possible French expression escaped his lips.
Baldy , he told the bemused check out chic the hat was for his partner and jubilantly left the shop . As he walked about Charters Towers feeling incredibly lucky because of the hat , he noticed a place that dealt in metal detectors and gold prospecting dishes . As far as he was concerned , the discovery of the missing hat was equal to finding the Welcome Stranger nugget .
He quickly emailed his partner in Bali .She , as can be expected , was surprised by her long lost hat turning up in outback Australia .
