John Moffat (mining pioneer)

In 1879, Moffat sent two of his agents, William Jack and John Newell to survey the wild frontier of north Queensland on the Atherton Tablelands, west of Port Douglas.

While prospecting there, Jack and Newell met John Atherton, an early settler knew that the first European explorer in that region, James Venture Mulligan had noticed rich deposits of tin ore on the Wild River, higher up in the 'wild ranges' in 1875.

Atherton led Jack and Newell on an exploratory expedition to the area in 1879 but the party failed to find the rich alluvial deposits that had been noted by Mulligan.

Realizing the value of the lode and the abundant resources he was surrounded by, he instigated the Great Northern Mining company, arranged to have a mill and smelter built and embarked on a fact-finding and purchasing trip in Europe.

John Moffat lived in Irvinebank from 1884 to 1912 and from there helped spur the development of north-eastern Australia by building mines, mills, smelters, towns, railways, tramways, aerial cableways and other infrastructure.