Many wonder how the Hand of Faith gold nugget got its name. Many think the nugget was named due to its shape and this is partly true, it does resemble a hand, however, the set of circumstances leading to its discovery is the real reason behind the name.
Before they found the Hand of Faith, Kevin, and Bep Hillier were traveling Australia in a Bus, seeing the country and following work. Having a deep faith, Bep often prayed for guidance during the 18 months the family was on the road.
“I thought about the third prayer long and hard, as it is always me doing the praying, why couldn’t Kevin ask God for our third sign. So I asked Kevin, and he reacted in a typical manner, rubbing his hands together as he joked that a 50 oz nugget would do. I told him I couldn’t pray for such a thing, I had never prayed for money before. ‘Of course you can,’ he said. So a week went by and I told Kevin that I just couldn’t pray for a 50 oz nugget, and to think of something else. So Kevin conceded that $10,000 would do. I shook my shoulders and prayed that night with my children. ‘Lord, this is not my idea but this is Kevin’s request for our third sign.”
Bep Hillier, Hand of Faith Story, P.15.
That night Kevin dreamt he discovered a large gold nugget. In his dream, he kept digging and digging until he woke up. The dream was so powerful and the nugget such an unusual shape that he drew it on a piece of paper and asked a friend to sign it.
Exactly two weeks later Bep and Kevin were prospecting in Kingower, Victoria when Bep heard a scream through her metal detector headphones. She realised it was Kevin and when she found him he was kneeling on the ground crying and digging around the tip of a 27kg gold nugget that they would aptly name the Hand of Faith.
