BEACONSFIELD

 

1/ Beaconsfield is located in north eastern Tasmania north of Launceston. It is an old mining town with a very proud history. This modern shaft controls access to tunnels over a kilometre below. It was recently the scene of the famous rescue of 2 miners in 2006 and it is today the symbol of Beaconsfield.

2/ This is the original Beaconsfield Branch of the Bank of Tasmania, where the gold was kept usually safe in the roaring days. However, in 1884 this bank suffered the biggest robbery in Tasmania.

3/ This is the Ophir Hotel. It was build in 1878 and is the oldest hotel in Beaconsfield. The wing on the left was rebuilt in more recent times.

4/ This abandoned cottage is a survivor of a bygone era. It is one of the oldest in Beaconsfield. Beaconsfield once had a much larger population than it has today.

5/ This is a view of the old mining office, which is now the council office. The park is to the right.

6/ This is the entrance to the council house.

7/ The orange building was once a class room in the old school at nearby Flowery Gully. It shows visitors what a school looked like in the Golden Days.

8/ Back in the Golden Days of Beaconsfield the Alicia Theatre hosted stars like Melba and Caruso. There are plans to restore it to its old glory.

9/ This old office is now a news agency. It is one of many heritage buildings in Beaconsfield.

10/ The Exchange Hotel was a very important place in the Golden Days of Beaconsfield.

11/ The Catholic Church still has its bell, which once summoned the faithful to church on Sundays.

12/ The Holy Trinity, Anglican Church of Beaconsfield was built in 1907 in a European, Renaissance style. Note the distinctive tower with a hat. Its style demonstrates how the different religions were competing. There was an older church built in 1878 formerly on this site.

13/ These two monster palms demonstrate in their size, how old this cottage is.

14/ These 2 facades are remnants of the ancient mining buildings of Beaconsfield. They are now part of the famous mining museum.

15/ This is the entrance to the mining museum. It is build to blend with the older mining buildings.

16/ The mining museum is now decorated with this lovely mural. It celebrates mining.

17/ The old courthouse is now the computer centre and the visitor information office.

18/ Beaconsfield has a stylish war memorial. On the right behind it is a skate park.

19/ This ex army leopard tank of the 1980s flanks the war memorial.

20/ Near the tank is this World War One trophy. It is a German 105mm field howitzer.

21/ The Club Hotel at the northern end of Beaconsfield is a proud survivor of the Golden Days of Beaconsfield. Exciting things once happened here.

22/ Near the museum is this attractive new memorial. The wheel is an imitation of the water wheel that once powered a crusher mill and behind it are four panels of historic personalities of Beaconsfield.

23/ The two panels on the left are of the 19th Century founders of the Beaconsfield mines, T.C. Just and W. Dally. The first right panel celebrates a historic Chinese personality Tom Sing, while the last panel celebrates the spectacular rescue of the two miners, Todd Russell and Brandt Webb, from the mine disaster of 2006.

 

1/ The Beaconsfield Mining Museum is in Beaconsfield in central northern Tasmania. This photo shows the plaque that attests that fluoride was first tested on the people of Beaconsfield. Ironically the sign below it now says that this fountain's water is unsafe.

2/ This museum model gives an insight into what the original settlement at Yorktown looked like in 1805.

3/ The whole of Beaconsfield is interlaced by old tunnels. This photo shows the remnants of a collapsed shaft. The large stones here are about the size of cars, while the shaft descends 500 metres into the ground.

4/ This display shows the inside of a poor miner's hut in old Beaconsfield. When you see exhibits together in their actual historic environment, they make much more sense.

5/ In this display we see the complicated equipment used by the modern miners of Beaconsfield.

6/ In 2006 two miners, Brandt Webb and Todd Russell, were trapped in a very small area underground for two weeks. This sparked a major rescue operation, which made Beaconsfield famous. In this model you can poke your head in and view just how small the area they were trapped in really was.

7/ This large model showed how an old mining shaft worked in the roaring days of Beaconsfield.

8/ This large display showed a variety of old vehicles and equipment once used in agriculture in Beaconsfield.

9/ From this platform you could see a variety of old mining machinery of Beaconsfield. You need to note the size of the people above to appreciate the size of the machinery below.

10/ This model replicates a steam train once used in the Beaconsfield mine.

11/ Just outside the museum you can see the original locomotive that was once used in the Beaconsfield mine.

12/ Here a well informed guide explains to visitors how the intricate network of tunnels in the Beaconsfield area are inter connected. He also told many interesting stories of the history of the mine.

13/ This steam prime mover was once used by the farms in the Beaconsfield area.

14/ This is an early 20th Century telephone switch board. In the early days a lady operator had to connect you to the other person's telephone. Thus the telephone, lady operator came to learn all the gossip of Beaconsfield.

15/ This is a working model showing an old iron smelter. The horse and cart give you some idea of its historic size.

 

1/ Deviot is South East of Beaconsfield in central northern Tasmania. It is the site of the Batman Bridge, which joins the western and eastern sides of the Tamar Valley. It makes for impressive geometric style photos.

2/ This photo shows the impressive lines of the Batman Bridge from the park on the eastern side of Deviot.

3/ This photo shows the symmetric lines of the Batman Bridge at Deviot.

4/ This impressive photo emphasizes the power and size of the pylons of the Batman Bridge at Deviot.

5/ This photo shows a long shot of the Batman Bridge from Sidmouth. Sidmouth is a hamlet north of Deviot.

6/ This is the Auld Kirk at Sidmouth near Deviot. It was built by convicts in 1845.

7/ This profile photo of the Auld Kirk at Sidmouth shows the clean finish of the masonry.

8/ This strange object at Sidmouth is a pilot light for boats navigating the Tamar River.

 

1/ Yorktown is in central northern Tasmania. In 1804 the first European settlement in Van Diemen's Land (Later called Tasmania.) was established on this site at Yorktown by Lieutenant William Paterson. It was made to prevent the French from establishing a base in Tasmania from which they could isolate the new settlement of Sydney Town. This was during the long wars against Napoleon. A small town grew up here, until the main settlement was moved to what became Launceston in 1809. This photo shows the monument.

2/ Yorktown is today an archaeological site. You can make an interesting walk around the site and see the restoration of the vegetation that is taking place. This hut has been built to show what the huts in the original town looked like. More are planned.

3/ This is the creek at Yorktown at low tide. It was once busy with ships unloading their stores.

4/ About 4 kilometres south of Yorktown is this plaque. It commemorates the landing of farmers from Norfolk Island here in 1805.