The Tin Mine Centre

Derby
Old mining town notable for its excellent Tin Mine Centre museum
If you arrive in Derby at the same time as one of the many tourist buses which make their way around Tasmania, you're likely to find hundreds of people either inspecting the town's major attraction, The Tin Mine Centre, or busily consuming scones and tea in the 'Crib Shed' tearooms attached to the centre. This should not be surprising. Derby is a classified historic town.

Located 103 km north east of Launceston on the banks of the Ringarooma River, Derby is an interesting little town which wanders along the hillside beside the river. It lies about halfway between Launceston and the east coast and therefore has become something of a natural tourist stopover point.

The town came into existence after George Renison Bell discovered tin in the area in 1874. The area had been surveyed by James Scott in 1855 but it wasn't until the discovery of tin that people began to move into the rugged valley. The economic future of Derby was assured when the 'Brothers Mine' (named after the Krushka brothers who found the particular tin lode) was opened in 1876. A dam was built and the mine continued to extract tin until 1948.

The town was originally called Brother's Home, after the mine and the Krushka brothers, but the name was changed to Derby, probably to honour the Prime Minister of England, the Earl of Derby, in 1897.

In the 1880s and 1890s the town was prospering. The district had a population of around 3000 and the mine, which had been renamed Briseis after the 1876 Melbourne Cup winner, was recognised as the richest tin mine in north east Tasmania. It was producing up to 120 tons of tin every month.

The mine was sold to an English company in 1899. It continued to operate successfully until 4 April 1929 when, after heavy rains, the Cascade Dam burst releasing nearly 3500 cubic metres of water which swept through the town killing 14 people. After this tragedy the mine was closed. It reopened in 1934 but never reached the same level of output it had achieved in the late nineteenth century.

Things to see:  

Derby Tin Mine Centre
The town's major attraction is the Derby Tin Mine Centre (open from 9.30 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. daily) which is a carefully recreated mining village including a main street, a huge sluice and a wide variety of mining equipment. The highlight of the main street (which includes a Miner's cottage, General Store, Butcher's Shop, and Mine office) is the old Derby gaol, a particularly intimidating small building.

The museum, located in the old Derby School, has extensive displays of mining and everyday goods including scales, cross-cut saws, old butter churns, displays of rocks found in the local area, old telephones and documents from the Briseis Mine.

The tiny Westpac Bank

Westpac Bank
Over the road from the Tin Mine Centre is one of the town's real novelties - the Westpac bank which opens rarely and has a reasonable claim to being the smallest bank in Tasmania and one of the smallest in Australia.

The town itself is undistinguished and in decline. A detailed history of the district is provided in the informative Let's Talk About Ringarooma District brochure.

	Hotels
	Dorset Hotel Main St Derby TAS 7264 Telephone: (03) 6354 2360 Facsimile: (03) 6354 2361
	Federal Tavern Main St Derby TAS 7264 Telephone: (03) 6354 2145
	Restaurants
	Derby Sweet Thoughts Main St Derby TAS 7264 Telephone: (03) 6354 2555
	Dorset Hotel Main St Derby TAS 7264 Telephone: (03) 6354 2360 Facsimile: (03) 6354 2361
	Federal Tavern Main St Derby TAS 7264 Telephone: (03) 6354 2145