Sleepers and bridge spans were constructed from local timber such as cypress pine, bloodwood and spotted gum.

Four years later a group of prospectors found tin in the Wild River and pegged the Great Northern Mine in what became the primary township of Herberton.

In 1884 the Queensland Government chose Cairns as the coastal terminus for the Tablelands railway to Mareeba across the Great Dividing Range, although the line was not built until 1893.

Copper deposits were discovered at Chillagoe/Mungana in 1888 creating renewed calls for increased transport between the coastal ports and the mining areas west of the Atherton Tablelands.

[1] The construction of the 3-foot-6-inch (1.07 m) Cairns to Mungana railway by the Queensland Government in 1893 sparked interest in the Herberton area from a group of Adelaide based mining entrepreneurs.

The company was particularly interested in the Eureka Creek mines, which had been abandoned by tin workers in the early 1890s due to high transport costs.

[1] In 1901 North Queensland Tin Mining Corporation was floated to raise the capital to construct the Boonmoo to Stannary Hills tramway.

After the Boonmoo to Stannary Hills line opened in May 1902, instead of proceeding to Watsonville, it was extended 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) to Rocky Bluff, a battery site on the Walsh River where minerals from the Eureka Creek tin deposits could be processed.

[1] A modern 33 head stamper battery, capable of crushing 100 tons a day, was installed at Rocky Bluff immediately on completion of the line.

[1] Mining entrepreneur of north Queensland, John Moffat, had a strong interest in the transport developments at Stannary Hills.

Firewood was particularly important, as the Loudoun Mill consumed in excess of 100 tonnes a day in its peak and supplies from Irvinebank were dwindling.

The construction of a tramway from Irvinebank to Stannary Hills had the potential to link Moffat's tin mining empire by rail to the newly discovered coal supplies at Mount Mulligan, the port of Cairns, Brisbane, and on to Sydney, Melbourne and eventually Adelaide.

It took the form of a grand picnic, hosted by John and Margaret Moffat at the "All-but" near Fireclay Gully on the west of town on 29 June 1907.

A long procession of politicians, journalists, promoters, company directors and Governor William MacGregor himself came this way to visit John Moffat and the Loudoun Mill.

The passenger carriage was attached to the goods wagon loaded with coke and town and mill supplies and hauled by wood burning locomotives.

[1] While the Stannary Hills to Irvinebank tramway was principally used for transporting ore, metal, fuel and general supplies, it also offered an enormous social benefit to those employed in the tin industry west of the Atherton Tablelands.

[1] After several unsuccessful attempts had been made to revive the mining industry in the district, tramway operations ceased permanently at the end of 1936.

The formations are evidence of two tramways that operated between Irvinebank and Boonmoo for approximately 29 kilometres (18 mi) in the tin mining fields west of the Atherton Tablelands.

The formation is raised over some areas of solid rock by means of stone retaining walls containing earth fill.

Some glass and metal fragments are evident here, and there are some remains of the Stannary Hills station building, most notably remnants of the loco service pit.

[1] From Stannary Hills to the Black Bridge site (17°18′55″S 145°13′17″E / 17.31528°S 145.22139°E / -17.31528; 145.22139) the formation is benched into the side of a steep slope into Eureka Creek.

Concrete blocks and the base of timber stumps are all that remains of this bridge, the largest on the Stannary Hills to Irvinebank section.

[1] The Irvinebank line turns south from the Junction and can be clearly traced to a point at 17°18′42″S 145°13′52″E / 17.31159°S 145.23102°E / -17.31159; 145.23102 where it has been disturbed by mining activities The formation again becomes visible at 17°18′56″S 145°13′53″E / 17.31564°S 145.23133°E / -17.31564; 145.23133 to 17°19′29″S 145°13′53″E / 17.3246°S 145.23143°E / -17.3246; 145.23143.

There is evidence of the spur line to a point of major disturbance at 17°21.675′S 145°12.612′E / 17.361250°S 145.210200°E / -17.361250; 145.210200 about 25 metres (82 ft) from the Stannary Hills Road junction.

Other sections are very clear and include raised areas, shallow cuttings, a stone formation and a fallen telegraph pole with wire and insulator fragments.

[1] From here, the tramway formation runs fairly close to the Herberton-Petford Road and is frequently visible, particularly for about a kilometer in the vicinity of Weinart Siding.

There is a section of tramway formation visible between these points but part of it serves as a bank on the Mont Albion Station dam.

The heritage boundary ends at a deep rock cutting at Games Flat which is marked by a mature mango and other exotic trees.

Archaeological remains such as discarded mining equipment, bottle dumps, locally made bricks and bridge span constructions associated with the tramway formation have the potential to yield information that will contribute to an understanding of Queensland's history.

[1] The place has a special association with the life or work of a particular person, group or organisation of importance in Queensland's history.