116-505: The Tamar Hematite Iron Company (THIC) was an iron mining and smelting company that operated from April 1874 to December 1877, in the area close to the location of the modern-day township of Beaconsfield , Tasmania , Australia. The company's operations consisted of an iron ore mine near Brandy Creek, a blast furnace, jetty and township, on the Middle Arm of the estuary of the Tamar River ,
232-493: A heat wave during the summer, no mass health crises occurred. Philadelphia passed an ordinance that authorized Mayor William S. Stokley to appoint 500 men as Centennial Guards for the exposition. Among soldiers and local men hired by the city was Frank Geyer , best known for investigating one of America's first serial killers, H. H. Holmes . Centennial Guards policed exhibits, kept the peace, reunited lost children, and received, recorded, and when possible, returned lost items,
348-503: A Launceston merchant, John Murphy. All these other new owners had recently had dealings—relevant to the THIC—that were associated with gold mining; perhaps that was why it was Ayde Douglas—an investor in the rival Ilfracombe Iron Company and later the buyer of its dormant assets—who bid for the THIC lands and assets. Hart, Tulloch and Murphy had, as recently as October 1877, been attempting to have
464-532: A brick and marble foundation and was 383 ft (117 m) long, 193 ft (59 m) wide, and 68 ft (21 m) tall. The building was designed in the Moorish style and intended as a tribute to the Crystal Palace of London 's Great Exhibition of 1851. Inside, nurserymen, florists, and landscape architects exhibited a variety of tropical plants, garden equipment, and garden plans. In dramatic fashion,
580-697: A bronze medal for the iron ore that it exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia , and first prize in its class for iron ore at the Victorian Intercolonial Exhibition of 1875 . The company was formed around April 1873. The main proponent of the new company was a Tasmanian man, Algernon Horatio Swifte, who became its manager. He enlisted a group of Melbourne-based investors, including Hastings Cuningham and John Benn, both of whom were wealthy and influential men. In June 1874,
696-668: A central boiler house. These buildings now house the Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre . Underground mining began in 1879 with the sinking and development of three main shafts to access the reef: the Hart Shaft , the Main Shaft and the Grubb Shaft . Beaconsfield became the richest gold town in Tasmania. In 1881 there were 53 companies working the field. These were all absorbed by
812-508: A commercial quantity—although others had made small quantities of iron earlier—and only the second commercial production of pig-iron from local ore in the six colonies that would later become Australia. The furnace worked well, being tapped every eight hours and casting pigs of 80 lbs , each that carried the brand, "T.H.I. Co.- Charcoal." The company had employed George Rowley as its furnacekeeper; Rowley also would be associated with some other colonial-era iron-making ventures. In late Jan 1875,
928-572: A creative and communal means for ordinary citizens to promote the welfare of Union Army soldiers and dedicate themselves to the survival of the nation, and the Great Central Fair bolstered Philadelphia's role as a vital center in the Union war effort. It anticipated the combination of public, private, and commercial investments that were necessary to mount the Centennial Exposition. Both had
1044-490: A fence nearly three miles long. There were five main buildings in the exposition. They were the Main Exhibition Building, Memorial Hall, Machinery Hall, Agricultural Hall, and Horticultural Hall. Apart from these buildings, there were separate buildings for state, federal, foreign, corporate, and public comfort buildings. This strategy of numerous buildings in one exposition set it apart from the previous fairs around
1160-640: A great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin , as president. In its first few months, the group raised $ 40,000. When the group learned the planning commission was not doing much to display the work of women, it raised an additional $ 30,000 for a women's exhibition building. In 1873, the Centennial Commission named Alfred T. Goshorn as the director general of the Exposition. The Fairmount Park Commission set aside 450 acres (1.8 km ) of West Fairmount Park for
1276-532: A loan. The board initially thought it was a subsidy . But after the exposition ended, the federal government sued to have the money returned, and the United States Supreme Court ultimately forced repayment. John Welsh enlisted help from the women of Philadelphia who had helped him in the Great Sanitary Fair. A Women's Centennial Executive Committee was formed with Elizabeth Duane Gillespie,
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#17330931759211392-403: A new mineral lease over the THIC land was taken out in the personal names of Cuningham and Benn, presumably because they had contributed much of the capital for the new company. Only some 14-acres of the leased land—east of Brandy Creek—contained the future iron ore mine, and much of the other leased land was probably intended to be a source of timber—especially for charcoal burning—although some of
1508-465: A pavilion devoted entirely to the artistic and industrial pursuits of their gender. They had to build their own structure because they lost their spot in one of the larger pavilions (the Main Building) due to an unexpected increase in the participation of foreign countries. Their aim was to employ only women in the construction of the pavilion and even to power it, and they succeeded with the exception of
1624-461: A popular means for justifying female autonomy outside of the home by demonstrating to visitors the many ways women were making a profitable living. Exhibits demonstrated positive achievements and women's influence in domains such as industrial and fine arts (wood-carvings, furniture-making, and ceramics), fancy articles (clothing and woven goods), and philanthropy as well as philosophy, science, medicine, education, and literature. Mexico participated in
1740-450: A separate annex was built to house them all. Another structure was built for the display of photography . Memorial Hall was designed by Herman J. Schwarzmann, who basically adopted an art museum plan submitted by Nicholas Félix Escalier to the Prix de Rome competition in 1867–69. Memorial Hall became the prototype, both from a stylistic and organizational standpoint, for other museums such as
1856-535: A similar neo-Gothic appearance, including the waving flags, a huge central hall, the "curiosities" and relics, handmade and industrial exhibits, and also a visit from the U.S. president and his family. The idea of the Centennial Exposition is credited to John L. Campbell, a professor of mathematics, natural philosophy , and astronomy at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana . In December 1866, Campbell suggested to Philadelphia Mayor Morton McMichael that
1972-460: A small furnace, and hope to be successful in their experimental operations. ” The blast furnace was constructed on land, at a location now known as Scotchman’s Point on the Middle Arm of the estuary of the Tamar River, close to the modern-day town of Beaconsfield. It was constructed, on a rock shelf near the water's edge, against a rockface, so that the tramway could run on the level from the top of
2088-458: A tramway connecting the two sites, and charcoal and brick kilns. The THIC was the first company to produce iron in commercial quantities from Tasmanian ore and bring their product to market, although others had made small quantities earlier. It was the third company in Australia—at the time considered to be six separate self-governing British colonies—to make commercial quantities of pig-iron that
2204-548: A viable operation at the lower prices. Some iron was sent to Britain and 200 tons of it sold in Glasgow for £6 7s 6d per ton, the landed cost in Britain being estimated as between £4 and £4 10s. In the long term, such an export market was not really viable, given the long distances involved. Operations were suspended in July 1875, after about 600 tons of pig-iron had been made. In August 1875,
2320-646: Is now the University of the Arts . Used for a time as a police station, the building now houses the Please Touch Museum , which includes a faithful 20x30-foot model of the exposition grounds and 200 buildings. The Women's Pavilion was the first structure at an international exposition to highlight the work of women, with exhibits created and operated by women. Female organizers drew upon deep-rooted traditions of separatism and sorority in planning, fundraising, and managing
2436-987: The Art Institute of Chicago (1892–1893), the Milwaukee Public Museum (1893–1897), the Brooklyn Museum (1893–1924), and the Detroit Institute of Art (1920–1927). Libraries such as the Library of Congress , the New York Public Library , and the Free Library of Philadelphia also emulated its form. Finally, Memorial Hall was the architectural inspiration for the German capitol, the Reichstag building in Berlin. After
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#17330931759212552-583: The Beaconsfield Mine Joint Venture has carried out drilling of the depth extension of the Tasmania Reef. A permanent stage pumping station 181 m below ground had been lowering the water in the shaft since August 1995. The permanent winder and head frame were completed in January 1996 and the shaft finished in late 1996. An ore treatment plant was built during the 1999/2000 financial year . In
2668-736: The International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine , was held in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official world's fair to be held in the United States and coincided with the centennial anniversary of the Declaration of Independence 's adoption in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776. It was held in Fairmount Park along
2784-463: 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. 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
2900-527: The Schuylkill River on fairgrounds designed by Herman J. Schwarzmann . Nearly 10 million visitors attended the exposition, and 37 countries participated in it. The Great Central Fair on Logan Square in Philadelphia , in 1864, also known as the Great Sanitary Fair, was one of the many United States Sanitary Commission 's Sanitary Fairs held during the American Civil War . The fairs provided
3016-554: The beaux-arts style , it was the largest art hall in the country when it opened, with a massive 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) footprint and a 150 ft (46 m) dome atop a 59 ft (18 m)-high structure. The central domed area is surrounded by four pavilions on the corners, with open arcades to the east and west of the main entrance. It provided 75,000 sq ft (7,000 m ) of wall surface for paintings and 20,000 sq ft (1,900 m ) of floor space for sculptures. The exposition received so many art contributions that
3132-563: 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,
3248-607: The BMJV, with the mine manager, and all personnel reporting to him, employed by Allstate. On Tuesday 25 April 2006, a small earthquake caused a rock fall in the Beaconsfield gold mine. Fourteen miners escaped safely, one miner, Larry Knight, was killed, and the remaining two, Todd Russell and Brant Webb, were trapped in a shaft approximately one kilometre underground. The two trapped miners were found alive five days later on Sunday 30 April. Rescue operations continued for nearly two weeks until
3364-692: The Beaconsfield Municipal Council and the people of West Tamar in their role in the introduction of fluoride to Australia ". At the 2016 census , Beaconsfield had a population of 1,298. 82.9% of people were born in Australia and 91.2% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 38.6%, Anglican 25.2% and Catholic 11.1%. 41°12′S 146°48′E / 41.200°S 146.800°E / -41.200; 146.800 Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition , officially
3480-699: 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. The waters of the Tamar River estuary form part of the northern boundary. 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
3596-610: The Centennial or on trains heading for Philadelphia. Philadelphia streetcars increased service, and the Pennsylvania Railroad ran special trains from Philadelphia's Market Street , New York City , Baltimore , and Pittsburgh . The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad ran special trains from the Center City part of Philadelphia. A small hospital was built on the exposition's grounds by the Centennial's Medical Bureau, but despite
Tamar Hematite Iron Company - Misplaced Pages Continue
3712-471: 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 the gold mine and 26 tonne of gold was recovered. An early settler at the time, Mr Campbell wrote that, "the blacks were here in those days…. On each side was nothing but thick tea tree scrub and snakes…. When
3828-592: The Exposition, six from typhoid fever , one from smallpox , and one from organic disease of the heart. The Centennial National Bank was chartered on January 19, 1876, to be the "financial agent of the board at the Centennial Exhibition, receiving and accounting for daily receipts, changing foreign moneys into current funds, etc.," according to an article three days later in The Philadelphia Inquirer . Its main branch, designed by Frank Furness ,
3944-558: The Exposition, the building continued to be used for horticultural exhibits until it was severely damaged by Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and was subsequently demolished. As a replacement, the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center was built on the site in 1976 as part of the United States Bicentennial exposition. Designed by Joseph M. Wilson and Henry Pettit, Machinery Hall was the second largest structure in
4060-488: The Government Geologist, Charles Gould . There was an increase in pig-iron prices in the early 1870s, which led to the formation of a number of colonial-era iron-making ventures in Australia. The price of imported pig-iron increased, from £4 10s per ton in 1870 to £9 per ton in 1873 greatly advantaging locally manufactured iron. However, this high price did not last long, as iron-making capacity increased and pig-iron
4176-485: The Main Exhibition Building dealt with mining , metallurgy , manufacturing , education, and science. Offices for foreign commissioners were placed in proximity to the products exhibited along in the aisles along the sides of the building. The walkways leading to the exit doors were ten feet wide. After the Exposition, the structure was turned into a permanent building for the International Exhibition. During
4292-726: The Maryland House, which was moved to Druid Hill Park in Baltimore , where it is extant today, and the Missouri House, which was moved to Spring Lake, New Jersey , along with several other exhibition buildings, some of which are still extant in various Jersey Shore towns. The United States government had a cross-shaped building that held exhibits from various government departments. The remaining structures were corporate exhibitions, administration buildings, restaurants, and other buildings designed for public comfort. The formal name of
4408-780: The Swedish Charcoal Iron Company never went beyond issuing a prospectus. There were also three commercial iron-smelting operations in mainland Australia during the 1870s, the Fitzroy Iron Works , the Lal Lal Iron Company , and the Lithgow Valley Iron Works . In July 1877, the cap of a payable gold reef—later known as the Tasmania Reef—was discovered on the eastern slope of Cabbage Tree Hill by brothers William and David Dally, although alluvial gold
4524-479: The THIC mineral lease cancelled but had failed. Beaconsfield, Tasmania Beaconsfield / ˈ b iː k ən z f iː l d / 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
4640-413: The THIC operations, once iron prices fell from their peak of 1873. It seems that it was the company's intention—having commenced operation and proven viability—to seek more capital for a larger smelting operation. There were two large charcoal kilns, each capable of turning out 1200 to 1500 bushels of charcoal, over a period of three or four days and nights. These were located alongside the tramway. There
4756-416: The THIC resolved to dispose of its land and assets, with the stated hope that local Tasmanian capitalists might both resume the iron-making operation and work the gold. At the start of November 1877, the leases and assets were put up for sale. The effective end of the THIC came on 10 December 1877, when the leases and other assets were sold to new owners. No picture survives of the THIC blast furnace, but it
Tamar Hematite Iron Company - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-507: The THIC was asking that all accounts owing be submitted for payment. It seemed to be bringing the early operation to a financial as well as operational closure. At the beginning of September 1875, there was still some 200 tons of pig-iron at the works, which was gradually being shipped to market. The THIC's pig-iron was being used at a local foundry in Launceston, in May 1876. As early as January 1875,
4988-487: The THIC was seeking tenders for shipping to Melbourne and seeking to employ charcoal burners. By the time that the THIC's smelting operations had begun, the price of iron in Australia had fallen from the peak of 1873. Despite the quality of its pig-iron, the company struggled to sell it in Melbourne, at prices that returned an adequate profit. The company's relatively small furnace did not make quantities large enough to sustain
5104-554: The THIC was tendering for up to 150,000 more bricks. It is likely that the bricks were intended for a larger furnace, which was never commenced. It seems that it had always planned to increase the smelting capacity of the works, and raise the additional capital to do so. As late as September 1875, the THIC's plan was reported to be " the re-organisation of the Company on a larger basis ". The death of its manager Algernon Swift, in February 1876,
5220-507: The THIC's original lease was combined with the operations of the adjacent 'Tasmania' gold mine, bringing huge profits to the new owners. Soon after the first settlement in Northern Tasmania, at York Town in 1804, colonial settlers found that there were extensive deposits of iron ore in the hills to the west of the Tamar estuary. Interest in the area was aroused again by the report in 1866 of
5336-586: The United States Centennial be celebrated with an exposition in Philadelphia. Naysayers argued that the project would not be able to find funding, other nations might not attend, and domestic exhibits might compare poorly to foreign ones. The Franklin Institute became an early supporter of the exposition and asked the Philadelphia City Council for use of Fairmount Park . With reference to
5452-539: The United States. On June 1, 1872, Congress created a Centennial Board of Finance to help raise money. The board's president was John Welsh , brother of philanthropist William Welsh, who had raised funds for the Great Sanitary Fair in 1864. The board was authorized to sell up to $ 10 million in stock via $ 10 shares. The board sold $ 1,784,320 ($ 45,381,205 in 2023 ) worth of shares by February 22, 1873. Philadelphia contributed $ 1.5 million and Pennsylvania gave $ 1 million. On February 11, 1876, Congress appropriated $ 1.5 million in
5568-615: The Women's Pavilion was commissioned in 1873 by the United States Centennial Board of Finance with the expectation that it would generate enthusiasm for the celebration of the fair and increase subscriptions to exposition stock. Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, president of the Women's Centennial Committee, led the effort to gather 82,000 signatures in two days to raise money for the pavilion. Gillespie also helped convince Congress to grant additional funding. It took only four months to raise
5684-402: The auction held on December 1, 1876, it was bought for $ 250,000. It quickly ran into financial difficulties but remained open through 1879 and was finally demolished in 1881. The third-largest structure at the exposition was Agricultural Hall. Designed by James H. Windrim , Agricultural Hall was 820 ft (250 m) long and 540 ft (160 m) wide. Made of wood and glass, the building
5800-429: The back. The furnace was 40 feet high, with a base of 20 feet square. It was built as a "Swedish" cold-blast type that used charcoal as fuel and reducing agent. Limestone was used as a flux. Improvements were made to convert it to hot blast and two flues were included below the hearth to maintain its temperature. These changes let the THIC's furnace operate reliably, without the hearth becoming 'chilled'. The furnace
5916-402: The brick kiln and the other to the jetty. The tramway was horse-drawn. The gauge was 3-feet and the wooden rails were 4-inch by 4-inch hardwood timber. Some of the wheels for the tramway trucks were cast from THIC pig-iron. A timber jetty was erected on Middle Arm close to the site of the blast furnace. Materials and equipment was landed there during construction of other parts of the plant and
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#17330931759216032-481: The building was east–west in direction, making it well lit, and glass was used between the frames to let in light. Skylights were set over the central aisles of the structure. The corridors of the building were separated by fountains that were attractive and also provided cooling. The structure of the building featured a central avenue with a series of parallel sheds that were 120 ft (37 m) wide, 1,832 ft (558 m) long, and 75 ft (23 m) high. It
6148-423: The building's corners. These towers had small balconies at different heights that served as observation galleries. Within the building, exhibits were arranged in a grid, in a dual arrangement of type and national origin. Exhibits from the United States were placed in the center of the building, and foreign exhibits were arranged around the center, based on the nation's distance from the United States. Exhibits inside
6264-420: The cap of a payable gold reef—later known as the Tasmania Reef—was discovered on the eastern slope of Cabbage Tree Hill, by brothers William and David Dally. Their claim was on Crown land , immediately adjacent to part of the THIC lease. It appears that at some point, the assets of the THIC were transferred to two of its major shareholders, Melbourne-based investors Hastings Cuningham and John Benn, in whose name
6380-458: The city and state, and Daniel Johnson Morrell introduced a bill to create a United States Centennial Commission. The bill, which passed on March 3, 1871, provided that the U.S. government would not be liable for any expenses. The United States Centennial Commission organized on March 3, 1872, with Joseph R. Hawley of Connecticut as president. The Centennial Commission's commissioners included one representative from each state and territory in
6496-403: The design by Hermann J. Schwarzmann. Their overarching goal was to advance women's social, economic, and legal standing, abolish restrictions discriminating against their gender, encourage sexual harmony, and gain influence, leverage, and freedom for all women in and outside of the home by increasing women's confidence and ability to choose. A project of the Women's Centennial Executive Committee,
6612-496: The evolved bicycle, with tension spokes and a large front wheel. Two English manufacturers, Bayless Thomas and Rudge, displayed their high-wheel bikes (called "ordinary bikes" or "penny farthings") at the exposition. The bicycle displays inspired Albert Augustus Pope to begin making high-wheel bikes in the United States. He started the Columbia Bike Company and published a journal called " LAW Bulletin and Good Roads", which
6728-563: The expense of the Tasmanians ;! Why those works should be allowed to go to "wreck and ruin" after so large an expenditure of capital, and with an inexhaustible supply of ore, remains a mystery to all but the initiated ." Such unsympathetic views of the Victorian investors' plight turned more hostile, once payable quartz-reef gold was found in the area. Pressure to cancel the THIC's lease, supposedly to open it up for small-scale gold mining,
6844-627: The exposition and located west of the Main Exhibition Building. With a superstructure made of wood and glass resting on a foundation of massive masonry, it had a main hall painted light blue, 1,402 ft (427 m) long and 360 ft (110 m) wide, with a wing of 208 ft (63 m) by 210 ft (64 m) attached on the south side of the building. The length of the building was 18 times its height. With eight entrances, it occupied 558,440 sq ft (51,881 m ), had 1,900 exhibitors, and took six months to construct. The exhibits focused on machines and evolving industries. Machinery Hall
6960-419: The exposition introduced the general public to the notion of landscape design, as exemplified the building itself and the grounds surrounding it. A long, sunken parterre leading to Horticultural Hall became the exposition's iconic floral feature, reproduced on countless postcards and other memorabilia. This sunken garden enabled visitors on the raised walkways to see the patterns and shapes of the flowerbeds. After
7076-600: The exposition mainly consisted of two types of building, traditional masonry monuments and buildings with a structural framework of iron and steel. The Centennial Commission turned to third-place winner's architect Henry Pettit and engineer Joseph M. Wilson for design and construction of the Main Exhibition Building. A temporary structure, the Main Building was the largest building in the world by area, enclosing 21.5 acres (87,000 m ). It measured 464 ft (141 m) in width and 1,880 ft (570 m) in length. It
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#17330931759217192-458: The exposition the next day. The average daily attendance for May was 36,000 and for June 39,000. A severe heat wave began in mid-June and continued into July, hurting attendance. The average temperature was 81 °F (27 °C), and on ten days during the heat wave the temperature reached 100 °F (38 °C). The average daily attendance for July was 35,000, but it rose in August to 42,000 despite
7308-411: The exposition was the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, but the official theme was the celebration of the United States centennial. This was reinforced by promotional tie-ins, such as the publication of Kate Harrington 's Centennial, and Other Poems , which celebrated the exposition and the centennial. At the same time, the exposition was designed to show
7424-420: The exposition, Memorial Hall reopened in 1877 as the Pennsylvania Museum of Art and included the Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art. In 1928 the museum moved to Fairmount at the head of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, and in 1938 was renamed the Philadelphia Museum of Art . Memorial Hall continued to house the school, and afterward was taken over by the Fairmount Park Commission in 1958. The museum school
7540-417: The exposition, which was dedicated on July 4, 1873, by Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson . The Commission decided to classify the exhibits into seven departments: agriculture, art, education and science, horticulture, machinery, manufactures, and mining and metallurgy. Newspaper publisher John W. Forney agreed to head and pay for a Philadelphia commission sent to Europe to invite nations to exhibit at
7656-437: The exposition. Despite fears of a European boycott and high American tariffs making foreign goods not worthwhile, no European country declined the invitation. To accommodate out-of-town visitors, temporary hotels were constructed near the exposition's grounds. A Centennial Lodging-House Agency made a list of rooms in hotels, boarding houses , and private homes and then sold tickets for the available rooms in cities promoting
7772-418: The exposition. In 1869, Schwarzmann began working for the Fairmount Park Commission, which administered the site of the 1876 Centennial Exposition. It is one of the great urban parks of the United States; its importance in landscape history was surpassed only by Central Park . Schwarzmann was the chief architect for the Centennial Exposition, designing Memorial Hall, Horticultural Hall, other small buildings, and
7888-429: The fairgrounds, and exorbitant rates were charged by carriage drivers. Drawing lessons from this failure, the Philadelphia exposition was ready for its visitors, with direct railroad connections to service passenger trains every 30 minutes, trolley lines, street cars, carriage routes, and even docking facilities on the river. More than 200 buildings were constructed within the exposition's grounds, which were surrounded by
8004-404: The financial year 2004/05, 240 685 tonnes of ore was produced from which 3890 kilograms of gold was extracted. In 2006 the participants in the unincorporated Beaconsfield Mine Joint Venture (BMJV), which operated the Beaconsfield Mine, were the Allstate group (Asx:ALX - delisted) with a 51.51% interest and the Beaconsfield Gold group (Asx:BCD - delisted) with a 48.49% interest. Allstate managed
8120-427: The flanks of Cabbage Tree Tier to the eastern side of Middle Arm Creek, some iron cropping out wherever the thickness of marine drift has been sufficiently stripped away to permit of its re-appearance ." The iron ore from the Brandy Creek mine was brown hematite or limonite —with recorded iron contents of 51.1% iron and 46.8%—and was relatively rich compared to contemporary iron ore deposits in England . The THIC won
8236-424: The former gold mining era operating since 1984. During the 1970s exploration drilling confirmed that the reef continued at least another 200 metres below the old workings. By 1991 the old Hart Shaft collar had been re-established and water pumped out to 160 metres deep. The project was suspended until 1992 when the mine's owners changed. Deep drilling resumed in 1993 to review the resource estimates and, from 1994,
8352-454: The funds for the pavilion. Much of the pavilion was devoted to human ecology and home economics . On exhibit were over 80 patented inventions, including a reliance stove, a hand attachment for sewing machines, a dishwasher, a fountain griddle-greaser, a heating iron with removable handle , a frame for stretching and drying lace curtains, and a stocking and glove darner. The Centennial women not only showed domestic production but also employed
8468-476: The kiln was filled with locally-cut wood, the top was covered with sods, and then fired. The pig-iron produced by the THIC's blast furnace was good quality and made good castings. THIC iron won first prize in its class at the Victorian Intercolonial Exhibition of 1875 . An analysis of the THIC pig-iron in England provided the results in the table below. These results indicate a high quality pig-iron, which—except for
8584-532: The land near Cabbage Tree Hill did contain more iron ore. However, all the leased land was leased under the Mineral Leases Act, 1870, something that would later be of great significance. The THIC controlled 620-acres of leasehold land, and another 83-acres of freehold land—in the area around what would become Swifte's Jetty—just south from where Brandy Creek flowed into the Middle Arm of the Tamar estuary. The new company started work quickly. In November 1873, it
8700-540: The landscaping around them. His work for the Centennial Exposition was informed by the Vienna International Exposition in 1873 , which Schwarzmann visited to study the buildings and the grounds layout. The Vienna International Exposition in 1873 was marred by disastrous logistic planning and was taken as a cautionary example. At the Vienna Exposition, there was no convenient way for visitors to reach
8816-524: The leaseholds were held. It was these two who subsequently put the assets and lease up for sale. The assets and mineral lease of the THIC were originally advertised for a sale by auction on 22 November 1877, but the sale was deferred—possibly twice—until 10 December 1877. The successful bidder was Ayde Douglas —a prominent Tasmanian politician—with a bid of just £1,700. He was just one of the new owners. The others were three wealthy Tasmanian politicians— William Dawson Grubb , William Hart , Samuel Tulloch —and
8932-414: The longest 125 ft (38 m) in length. The construction included red and black brick-laid design with stained glass or painted glass decorations. The Interior walls were whitewashed, and woodwork was decorated with shades of green, crimson, blue, and gold. The flooring of the building was made of wooden planks that rested directly on the ground without any air space underneath them. The orientation of
9048-444: The most unusual of which were front hair pieces and false teeth. Guards were required to live onsite and were housed at six police stations strategically located throughout the Exposition. A magistrate's office and courtroom were located at the only two-story police station located on the grounds and was used to conduct prisoner hearings. Officers slept in cramped quarters, which fostered health issues. Eight guards died while working
9164-469: The nearby township. The water in the part of Middle Arm near the site of Swifte's Jetty is shallow and the bottom is exposed at low tide. Lighters were used to carry the pig-iron to ships anchored in deeper water. Most of the iron was shipped to Melbourne, but some was shipped to England. After iron mining on the THIC lease had ceased in mid-1875, the focus of mining interest around Brandy Creek—now known as Beaconsfield—became quartz-reef gold. The first of
9280-490: The northern boundary. 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
9396-530: The numerous events of national importance that were held in the past and related to the city of Philadelphia, the City Council resolved in January 1870 to hold the Centennial Exposition in the city in 1876. The Philadelphia City Council and the Pennsylvania General Assembly created a committee to study the project and seek support of the U.S. Congress . Congressman William D. Kelley spoke for
9512-579: The occasion written by Dudley Buck and Sidney Lanier was performed. The opening ceremony concluded in Machinery Hall, with Grant and Pedro II turning on the Corliss Steam Engine which powered most of the other machines at the exposition. The official number of first day attendees was 186,272 people, with 110,000 entering with free passes. In the days following the opening ceremony, attendance dropped dramatically, with only 12,720 people visiting
9628-595: The owners of the Tasmania mine . The gold mine closed in 1914 due to regular flooding of the shafts but re-opened in 1999 with mixed success. To 1914, the mine was worked to a depth of 450 metres and produced 800,000 ounces of gold. In 1982, the Grubb Shaft Gold & Heritage Museum was established,(now called the Beaconsfield Mine & Heritage Centre url www.beaconsfieldheritage.com.au) with displays relating to
9744-620: The pavilion's exhibits, indicating the growth of a sector of elite women during the Porfirio Díaz regime of the late nineteenth century, with many individual women sending examples of woven textiles and embroidery. Eleven nations had their own exhibition buildings, and others contributed small structures, including the Swedish School house referenced below, now in Central Park , New York City. The British buildings were extensive and exhibited
9860-564: The prevailing legislation, the THIC held the large lease only for the purpose of mining the iron ore and had no right to any gold found there, which was legally the property of the Crown . Some alluvial miners found payable amounts of gold on the THIC leasehold lands, and some pegged claims. The dormant THIC did not interfere in any way with these small-scale gold mining operations; the company later claimed to have provided its consent to work gold on its lease to those whom had asked for it. In July 1877,
9976-400: The rockface to the charging platform of the furnace. It has been described as a small experimental furnace. A small test furnace—made from sandstone quarried at the site—was erected next to the blast furnace to test the ore. It made the first iron smelted from THIC iron ore on 5 December 1874. Using the little furnace " a quantity of pig iron was made, one piece weighing, about ½ cwt. [25kg],
10092-455: The rush for gold was discovered there was only two shops, drapery and grocery but soon the little township swarmed with people. More shops, hotels, dance halls and hall were built for plays to come to the town which they did in plenty. There came circuses and the children got excited and followed to see the horses and elephants going through the town to get somewhere to camp and build their tents. Those entertainments came very often because there
10208-511: The significant quartz-reef gold mining companies, The Brandy Creek Quartz Gold Mining Company was established in December 1876. This company displaced some existing alluvial miners from its lease, and those miners moved to prospect in nearby areas. Some gold miners who held valid Miner's Rights squatted on THIC lease—with the expectation that the lease would be thrown open as a part of the surrounding goldfield—and started to mine alluvial gold. Under
10324-419: The slag ran well, separating. from the iron which ran freely " This iron was worked by a blacksmith, Peter Massey, who pronounced it to be " excellent material to work, standing the filing well, and polishing more like steel than iron. " The THIC's blast furnace was charged on New Year's Day 1875, and its first iron was tapped on 2 January 1875. This was the first production of pig-iron made from Tasmanian ore in
10440-548: The south entrance of the building served as a primary entrance to the building for streetcars. The north side related the building to the Art Gallery and the west side served as a passageway to the Machinery and Agricultural Halls. In the Main Exhibition Building, columns were placed at a uniform distance of 24 ft (7.3 m). The entire structure consisted of 672 columns, the shortest column 23 ft (7.0 m) in length and
10556-404: The sulphur content—would meet modern standards. The tramway from the mine to Swifte's Jetty—the site of the jetty, township and blast furnace—was 1¾ miles long. It ran through gently sloping country and required only three culverts to be constructed. At the blast furnace end, the tramway ran level right to the charging platform at the furnace top. There are two short branch tramways, one leading to
10672-751: The then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom at the time "in a ceremony conducted Governor Weld after he rejected a suggestion that it should be named after him". In 1903 an English company bought the Tasmanian Gold Mining and Quartz Crushing company and formed the Tasmanian Gold Mining Company Ltd. As water had become such a huge problem at Beaconsfield, a substantial injection of capital was required to purchase and operate suitable dewatering equipment. The Company extracted gold from two shafts adjacent to each other, Grubb and Hart Shafts. In 1904 engine houses were built at these shafts and
10788-591: The time she was a budding singer and had been told that keeping her teeth was necessary to sing well. She claims this further prompted Grey to follow the research occurring in the USA. On the 50th anniversary of this first water fluoridation in Australia a monument was erected in Beaconsfield at West Street, near the Grubb Shaft Museum "by the Australian Dental Association in gratitude to Mr Frank Grey,
10904-574: The time, Frank Grey, produced a report for the town council detailing evidence from studies in the USA that supported water fluoridation to improve dental health. With permission of the Tasmanian Director of Public Health and the Chief Health Inspector, Grey oversaw the introduction of fluoride to the town water supply. In an interview in 2019 Frank Grey's daughter, Jeanette, added a personal note about her father's fluoride promotion. At
11020-608: The two miners were freed on Tuesday 9 May. In September 2007, the Foo Fighters released a tribute (" Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners ") to the miners on their album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace . The Beaconsfield gold mining operations finally ended with the closure of the mine in June 2012. On 30 September 1953 Beaconsfield was the first town in Australia to add fluoride to its water supply. The municipal chemist at
11136-481: The world that had relied exclusively on having one or a few large buildings. The Centennial Commission sponsored a design competition for the principal buildings, conducted in two rounds; winners of the first round had to have details such as construction cost and time prepared for the runoff on September 20, 1873. After the ten design winners were chosen, it was determined that none of them allowed enough time for construction and limited finances. The architecture of
11252-585: The world the United States' industrial and innovative prowess. The exposition was originally scheduled to open in April, marking the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord , but construction delays caused the date to be pushed back to May 10. Bells rang all over Philadelphia to signal the exposition's opening. The opening ceremony was attended by President Ulysses Grant and his wife as well as Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and his wife . A cantata commissioned for
11368-420: Was 45 ft (14 m) tall, weighed 650 tons, and had 1 mi (1.6 km) of overhead line belts connecting to the machinery in the building. It symbolized the technology that was transforming the United States into an industrial powerhouse. Amenities available to the visitors within the hall were rolling chairs, telegraph offices, and dinner for fifty cents. Machinery Hall had 8,000 operating machines and
11484-415: Was a large charcoal storage shed near the blast furnace. The kilns were 10-feet wide by 50-feet long, and were constructed of slabs stuck on end into the ground. At one end the walls were 4-foot high, and gradually rose to 8-feet or 9-feet at the other end. Air-vents or "nostril holes" are formed in the sides 4-feet apart, by the insertion of earthen drain pipes. The inside walls were formed of sods, and then
11600-459: Was a major blow for the company. The THIC was facing a protracted period of low iron prices, during which its operations were suspended, without its dedicated Tasmanian manager and local representative. In March 1877, the THIC's works at Swifte's Jetty were described as " deserted, desolate, and dull, suggestive of the much-lauded energy and enterprise of the Victorians in contradistinction to and at
11716-590: Was a small furnace that was similar in external appearance to the one at the Derwent Iron Company in Hobart. The furnace was erected by Messrs Shields, of Hobart. The blast furnace was constructed of freestone —quarried on-site—and bricks made from clay nearby, with a lining of imported English fire-bricks." The whole is substantially built, well bound together with strong hoops, arid the base firmly cramped, together. " It had three tuyeres, one on each side and one at
11832-448: Was advertising for 100,000 bricks to be provided within four months of the order and 20,000 feet of 4-inch by 4-inch hardwood timber in 12-foot or 15-foot lengths, which were the rails for its tramway. In early February 1874, Swifte returned from Melbourne with 6000 fire bricks, fire clay and other material for the blast furnace lining. By March 1874, it was reported that “ The Tamar Hematite Iron Company are progressing with their tramway and
11948-545: Was building. Some of those working to cancel the THIC's lease were Tasmanian politicians. The THIC's view was that its holding the mineral lease for iron was not a barrier to gold mining, as it had consented to gold mining on its leasehold previously. In the face of increasing opposition—and even parochial hostility—to the THIC's mineral leases being held by Victorians —and with some perceived risk that those mineral leases might soon be cancelled, without compensation—the THIC's Victorian shareholders finally gave up. In October 1877,
12064-402: Was constructed using prefabricated parts, with a wood and iron frame resting on a substructure of 672 stone piers. Wrought iron roof trusses were supported by the columns of the superstructure. The building took eighteen months to complete and cost $ 1,580,000. The building was surrounded by portals on all four sides. The east entrance of the building was used as an access way for carriages, and
12180-500: Was designed to look like various barn structures pieced together. The building's exhibits included products and machines used in agriculture and other related businesses. Situated high atop a hill presiding over Fountain Avenue, Horticultural Hall epitomized floral achievement, which attracted professional and amateur gardeners. Unlike the other main buildings, it was meant to be permanent. Horticultural Hall had an iron and glass frame on
12296-448: Was designed to produce 20 to 25 tons of iron per week. It had the smallest capacity of the colonial-era blast furnaces that entered commercial production— a furnace of twelve times that capacity was used by the British and Tasmanian Charcoal Iron Company and even the revived Fitzroy Iron Works furnace had five times the production capacity—something that constrained the economic viability of
12412-511: Was discovered on land adjacent to the company's lease in mid-1877 and gold mining interests became interested in accessing the company's lease. In December 1877, the leases and other dormant assets of the THIC were sold cheaply to a group of wealthy and influential investors, under controversial circumstances. It soon became clear that the new owners—collectively known at 'the Hematite Company'—were interested in gold, not iron. In 1878, part of
12528-405: Was filled with a wide assortment of hand tools, machine tools, material handling equipment, and the latest fastener technology. Some of the sandstone that was used to build the hall was from Curwensville, Pennsylvania . The Art Gallery building (now known as Memorial Hall ) is the only large exhibit building still standing on the exposition site. Constructed of brick, glass, iron, and granite in
12644-522: Was known to exist in the area for some years before then. The ore deposit was the sixth and last of the deposits in the West Tamar area that were mentioned by Charles Gould in his report of 1866. The area that the THIC would later mine lay on approximately 14-acres land to the east of Brandy Creek. Gould also noted that iron ore outcropped at various points in a line that " may be traced south-easterly continuously to Brandy Creek and thence in intervals along
12760-467: Was once again imported cheaply as ballast in sailing ships returning from England to Australia. The Tamar Hematite Iron Company was one of four ventures that smelted iron from local iron ore, in Tasmania during the 1870s; the others were, the British and Tasmanian Charcoal Iron Company , the Ilfracombe Iron Company —both nearby on the Tamar estuary—and the Derwent Iron Company. A fifth venture,
12876-485: Was opened that April on the southeast corner of Market Street and 32nd Street. A branch office operated during the exposition on the fairgrounds. The Centennial Commission ran out of funds for printing and other expenses. Philadelphia city officials appropriated $ 50,000 to make up for the shortfall. Herman J. Schwarzmann , an engineer for the Fairmount Park Commission, was appointed the main designer of
12992-503: Was plenty of money about The town began its early life as "Brandy Creek" because of the colour of the water in the creek where the gold was originally discovered. "The growing civic consciousness found voice in the demand for a new name for the town and in March 1879 Brandy Creek was renamed Beaconsfield, after Lord Beaconsfield, (Benjamin Disraeli)", (Town With a History by Coultman Smith, 2006)
13108-447: Was smelted from Australian iron ore. Pig-iron of good quality was made in its blast furnace from January 1875, until July 1875 when operations were suspended. Complicated by a decline in the price of pig iron, the venture was uneconomic at the scale of its operations. Plans to raise capital and increase the scale of production lapsed, after the manager of the company—Algernon Horatio Swifte—died in early-1876. A quartz-reef rich in gold
13224-729: Was the beginning of the Good Roads Movement . . The main British building, also known as St. George's Hall or the English Commission Building, survived at its original site as Fairmount Park offices until it was demolished in 1961. 26 of the 37 U.S. states constructed buildings along States Drive in the exhibition grounds. Only three such state houses are still extant: the Ohio House at its original location in Fairmount Park,
13340-473: Was the longest nave ever introduced into an exhibition building up to that time. On both sides of the nave were avenues 100 ft (30 m) in width and 1,832 ft (558 m) in length. Aisles 48 ft (15 m) wide were located between the nave and the side avenues, and smaller aisles 24 ft (7.3 m) in width were on the outer sides of the building. The exterior of the building featured four towers, each 75 ft (23 m) high, at each of
13456-490: Was the show case for the state of the art industrial technology that was being produced at the time. The United States of America alone took up two-thirds of the exhibit space in the building. One of the major attractions on display in the building was the Corliss Centennial Steam Engine that ran power to all the machinery in the building as well as other parts of the world's fair. The 1,400 horsepower engine
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