In the 1870's the British and Tasmanian Charcoal Iron Co. was established to exploit a large iron ore deposit discovered at Mt Vulcan. The deposit, located at the end of Tattersalls Road was 'proved' to contain reserves sufficient to produce 20,000 tonnes of pig iron a year for 25 years.
The town of Leonardsburgh sprang up near the mine and a 12 kilometre tramway was built to transport the ore to the Tamar River. A smelting town was established at Redbill Point where a 300 metre jetty was built to access the deeper waters of West Arm.
After battling on for 5 years, the company was in trouble. Overseas markets were depressed and metallurgical experts were questioning the viability of the ore, citing that...
'the chrome rendered the pig iron hard and brittle and unmarketable except for very special purposes.'
Extensive trials were undertaken to reduce the chrome, but to no avail. By late 1877 the mining and smelting operations had ceased. A mere 10,000 tonnes of pig iron had been produced.
The smelter and tramway were sold off and dismantled, the jetty rotted away. The mining town of Leonardsburgh was abandoned and reclaimed by the bush. The town of Redbill Point slowly faded to later be resurrected into the modern day Beauty Point.
The cache is a hidden away bison tube and lies within the Redbill Point Conservation Area.
An automated boom gate limits vehicle traffic after hours, so you might want to walk in, if close to closing time (9pm during summer and 6pm in winter).