Opening this centre today symbolises one of the great traits of Australians and that trait is resilience.
Beaconsfield's history is full of great achievements, some setbacks and always the strength of a people, a local people and a local community of always fighting back.
The opening of the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre today demonstrates that the people of this town are proud of their past and equally optimistic about their future.
And I would like to personally congratulate each and every one of you as members of this community, who have rallied behind this great cause.
Like many towns in Australia, mining was the reason Beaconsfield grew into a regional centre in the 19th century.
More than 130 years ago when gold was discovered here in 1877, miners looked for work as the gold rush on the big island to the north had passed its peak and then they came to Beaconsfield, on the big island in the south.
And Beaconsfield really took off when underground mining began here in 1879. The mine at the time was one of the most advanced in the world. The investors had put up their money because of the richness of the great reef of gold discovered deep underground.
I understand that the Tasmania Reef is still regarded as the best in Australia and possibly the world.
The Hart Shaft, the Main Shaft and the Grubb Shaft that were sunk in the 19th century brought employment and prosperity to this town and to this region.
Beaconsfield became the highest yielding gold mine in Tasmania.
But in 1914 operations ceased.
Despite using state-of-the-art equipment, the flooding in the mine shafts could not be stopped and the mine was abandoned.
It was a blow, a cruel blow to the town. The main industry was shutdown.
And the town felt the impact.
Jobs were lost.
People moved away.
But the town still kept growing.
For more than 70 years Beaconsfield kept going without a mining industry.
In that 70 years there were two world wars.
The great Depression came and went.
Australia continued to grow and develop as did this community here in Beaconsfield.
And then in the 1970s, prospectors realised that there was even more gold in the reef than previously thought.
A combination of more gold and better technology meant that the mine could be re-opened.
Once again, gold mining became the main industry of this town.
The work was, and is as the nation now knows all to well, dangerous work. Difficult and dangerous work. Difficult, hard and dangerous work.
The economic impact of mining on the town was clear - just as it had been back in the 19th century.
And once again the ore came out of the ground.
In 2006, the mine was still producing gold.
The gold price was high.
Things were going well in Beaconsfield.
But in April of 2006 the reality of the danger of this business was brought home to us all.
On ANZAC Day there was a collapse in the mine.
Larry Knight tragically lost his life that day.
And Brant and Todd were trapped underground for weeks, their families waited.
For two weeks, the whole nation watched Beaconsfield.
For two weeks the whole nation waited on Beaconsfield.
For two weeks the whole nation prayed for Beaconsfield.
And we all know every detail of the rescue efforts that followed.
For the people of Beaconsfield, for the miners and their families this was more than a story on television.
This was life in their community, life in your community, it was your community.
And the remarkable thing, the great thing, the truly wonderful thing is that this community pulled together.
Everyone threw themselves into the rescue effort.
The miners in the rescue teams doing whatever they could to rescue their mates.
The community coming together to support the families and hold vigils.
The CWA providing meals.
All the emergency workers and volunteers doing what they could to support the rescue teams.
The mine management and the Australian Workers Union, led by Bill Shorten working together in the best Australian way, working together.
It was a true example of what makes this country such a great country.
Because whether it is a bushfire or a flood or a mining tragedy, when we are faced with trials, when we are faced with tragedy, our instinct is to pull together, it is a great Australian trait of character.
Australians - particularly those in smaller communities - always pull together at times like that.
This was a terrible tragedy that Larry Knight lost his life and let us pause to reflect on his life.
This was a terrible ordeal for Brant, for Todd and their families, an ordeal that they came through.
And this was a terrible time that left Beaconsfield facing new challenges - uncertainty about the future of the mine, uncertainty again about the future of the town.
But the town of Beaconsfield has not only survived, it's bounced back.
I acknowledge the decision of the previous Commonwealth Government in providing $8 million to the Beaconsfield Community Trust, this was a good decision. It was a decision which we happily supported and which we happily continue to support.
This fund has in part supported this project that we are here today to celebrate.
You know Beaconsfield has a lot to be proud of in its history.
And the new centre that is being opened today brings that history to life.
At the same time the new centre is also about the future, because gold mining is not the only industry in this town.
Tourism has become a major industry in north-eastern Tasmania.
And the tourists come here to appreciate this wonderful of Australia's natural beauty, they come here to appreciate the local history and they come here to appreciate the fine food and your even finer wine and it's terrific.
This centre will help support this growing tourism industry in this great state of Tasmania.
You know I grew up in a small town a bit like this in rural and regional Queensland - population of 162 was the town a grew up in, called Eumundi.
It was a fantastic place to grow up in, a real sense of local community.
And that is what many of us who have come here, myself for the first time today but many of my friends and colleagues who have been here many times before tell me about this, your community as well.
A community with a history to be proud of. A community that has risen to the challenges that have come its ways and critically overcome those challenges.
And a community, therefore with a great future ahead of it.
And it is this sense of community - and let me say this to the nation at large today - it is this sense of community, this real sense of community, a real sense of looking after one another that will help see our nation through the challenging times that lie ahead of us now.
This spirit that we saw alive and we see alive in Beaconsfield.
It is therefore ladies and gentlemen with great pleasure and great pride that I participate today in the opening of the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre.