Book excerpt: Tasmania's Beaconsfield is nationally known for its gold. Few people realise that before the gold rush of 1877, the Beaconsfield district was the centre of Australia’s iron industry. It was here the largest iron smelter in the southern hemisphere was built on the west bank of the Tamar River – forty years before BHP Newcastle! Is it true Beaconsfield was where iron ore was first discovered in Australia? Who came here and what did they find? Is this where the Australian mining industry began? This book documents the events and introduces the people who explored the region from the first settlement in 1804. We uncover the lives of forgotten pioneers who made many of Australia’s first mineral discoveries and created industries to extract them and build our nation.