Past the vineyards, hills dense with greenery and quiet residential pockets proudly stands a mine headframe.
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The steel structure, also known grimly as a gallows frame, is a symbol of employment for Beaconsfield and for wealth with the town known mostly for its gold deposits for more than a century.
After Anzac Day 2006, it became known worldwide for the remarkable rescue of miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb who were trapped 925 metres underground after an earthquake triggered a rockfall.
The fall unfortunately claimed the life of their friend and co-worker, Larry Knight, who was driving a teleloader attached to a 1.2-metre cage that they were in.
What started as a early morning enquiry from The Examiner newspaper grew into one of the largest news events of the decade involving more than 100 news organisations, engulfing the town with a population of less than 1000.
The town has never been the same again although the story’s principal characters still remain there with their lives continue to adjust to normality.
Mr Russell and Mr Webb still live within 15 minutes of their former workplace – Mr Russell on a bush property just a few kilometres away while Mr Webb lives in a comfortable home at Beauty Point.
A reassuring crutch for many at the time, church minister Frances Seen, still holds mass at the Uniting Church.
Locals will speak of the enduring interest from the outside that the mine rescue has brought to the town, bringing visitors and tourism dollars to the place which was subject to so much disheartenment, grief, anxiety, hope, and finally, joy.
The mine’s 2012 closure has allowed visitors to chance to walk around the mine yard, see the elevator that took Mr Russell and Mr Webb to freedom, and touch the famous tagboard where the men clocked off for the last time.
Visitors can experience the miners’ underground tomb through a multisensory simulation and see the uniforms on which the men scrawled messages to their families in case they didn’t survive.
Mine museum manager Sharon Sikkema said visitation to the museum doubled directly after the rockfall to 40,000 people a year.
“The mine yard is made to look as if workers have knocked off for the day, leaving everything as is for a return to work tomorrow,” she said.
Mrs Sikkema said half of the town’s visitors came specifically to see the place where the story unfolded, giving the town’s businesses tourism benefits.
“Like everything else, unfortunate situations get the names of places on the map,” she said.
“A lot of small towns don’t have this luxury, so to speak.”
Mrs Seen said the community had become more open towards each other and more inviting since the event.
“I certainly think about it every day because I’m aware of the impact that it has had on so many lives and the whole community,” she said.
“People have a pride in themselves about what they were able to accomplish and support one another.
“People who had never mixed before came together and friendships have continued on.
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