Mathinna, Tasmania

Mathinna
Tasmania
Mathinna
Coordinates 41°28′S 147°53′E / 41.467°S 147.883°E / -41.467; 147.883Coordinates: 41°28′S 147°53′E / 41.467°S 147.883°E / -41.467; 147.883
Population 287 (2011)[1]
 • Density 0.2/km2 (0.52/sq mi)
Postcode(s) 7214
Elevation 300 m (984 ft)
Area 1,370.4 km2 (529.1 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s) Break O'Day Council
State electorate(s) Lyons
Federal Division(s) Lyons

Mathinna is a small Australian town in the north-east of Tasmania, 63 km east of Launceston. It was named after a young Aboriginal girl befriended by the Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land, Sir John Franklin and his wife, Lady Jane Franklin.[2]

The town became established as a gold mining centre, shortly after gold was discovered in the area in the 1890s. The Golden Gate Mine in Mathinna was one of Tasmania's highest-yield gold mines, second only to Beaconsfield. At its peak in the late 1890s, the town sustained a population of over 5,000, including a large number of Chinese miners, making it the third largest town in Tasmania at the time.[3] Melbourne-based mining company Riltec made a failed attempt to re-establish the Golden Gate mine in 1994,[4] although recent gold mining efforts have been more successful, with a production target of 70,000 ounces made for the Mathinna mine in 2006.[5]

Blackboy Post Office opened on 30 June 1870, was renamed Reedy Marsh, Blackboy in 1871 and Mathinna in 1882.[6]

Premier of Tasmania Eric Reece, was born in the town in 1909.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Mathinna (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2012-11-15.
  2. ↑ Tasmanian Personalities - Mathinna, Discover Tasmania. Retrieved on 27 May 2007.
  3. ↑ Community History - Mathinna, Fingal Online Access Centre (Tasmanian Communities Online). Retrieved on 27 May 2007.
  4. ↑ Making a Nation - About Mathinna, The Examiner. Retrieved on 27 May 2007.
  5. ↑ Gold exploration ramping up in state's north east, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 29 May 2006. Retrieved on 27 May 2007.
  6. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  7. ↑ The Parliament of Tasmania from 1856 - Eric Reece, Government of Tasmania. Retrieved on 27 May 2007.


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