York Town, Tasmania
York Town is a locality in northern Tasmania. It was the first attempt to establish a British presence in northern Tasmania, in 1804. It was a "bustling village" until 1808.
All the original buildings have now gone, but the landscape and natural setting remain largely unchanged. The site is preserved as the York Town Historic Site and provided with interpretive signage.
Extensive deposites of rich iron ore were discovered in the nearby hills by the settlers during the time of the York Town settlement. Later - in the 1870s - these iron deposits led to the establishment of a short-lived iron mining and smelting industry on the western side of the Tamar estuary at Redbill Point and at Ilfracombe.
