Population 287 (2011 census) Area 1,370 km² Local time Wednesday 5:10 PM | Postcode(s) 7214 Elevation 300 m Postal code 7214 | |
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Location 63 km (39 mi) from Launceston133 km (83 mi) from Devonport160 km (99 mi) from Hobart Weather 24°C, Wind N at 19 km/h, 59% Humidity | ||
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.
Map of Mathinna TAS 7214, Australia
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. Melbourne-based mining company Riltec made a failed attempt to re-establish the Golden Gate mine in 1994, although recent gold mining efforts have been more successful, with a production target of 70,000 ounces made for the Mathinna mine in 2006.
Blackboy Post Office opened on 30 June 1870, was renamed Reedy Marsh, Blackboy in 1871 and Mathinna in 1882.
Premier of Tasmania Eric Reece, was born in the town in 1909.