Beaconsfield is a former gold mining town near the Tamar River, in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 40 kilometres north of Launceston on the West Tamar Highway. It is a rural and residential locality in the local government areas (LGA) of West Tamar and Latrobe in the Launceston and North-west and west LGA regions of Tasmania. The 2016 census has a population of 1298 for the state suburb of Beaconsfield. History The area around Beaconsfield was first explored by Europeans in 1804 when William Paterson led an expedition to Port Dalrymple and established a settlement at York Town. Settlement of Beaconsfield itself, then known as Brandy Creek did not occur until the 1850s. Limestone mining led to the discovery of gold in 1869. Gold mining began in 1877 and the area's population boomed. Brandy Creek Post Office opened on 1 December 1877 and was renamed Beaconsfiel in 1879. The town was named Beaconsfield in 1879 in honour of Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time. In 1881, the Beaconsfield newspaper was called the Beaconsfield Tickler. In 1953, Beaconsfield was the first town in Australia to fluoridate the water supply. Beaconsfield was gazetted as a locality in 1967. Geography The waters of the Tamar River estuary form part of the northern boundary. Road infrastructure The West Tamar Highway (Route A7) passes through from south-east to north-east. Route C720 (Greens Beach Road) starts at an intersection with A7 and runs north-west until it exits. Route C715 (Holwell Road) starts at an intersection with C720 and runs south until it exits. Route A7 (now called West Arm Road) rejoins Greens Beach Road just inside the northern boundary. Gold mining at Beaconsfield Gold was first discovered in Beaconsfield in 1847. When the gold rush hit Victoria and New South Wales in 1851 and the Tasmanian Government offered a reward for the discovery of a payable goldfield. In 1877 the cap of a payable gold reef was discovered on the eastern slope of Cabbage Tree Hill by brothers William and David Dally. This became known as the fabulous Tasmanian Reef. In October 1877 the Dally brothers sold their claim on the Tasmania Reef to William D Grubb & William Hart for 15,000 pounds, and 1/10 share in any company formed. At the peak of the gold rush 700 men were employed in