BEACONSFIELD

town in South Bucks district, administrative and historic county of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills. The wide main street of the old town of Beaconsfield, bordered by 18th-century houses, contrasts with the modern town, in which commuters to London-28 miles (39 km) to the southeast-reside. Beaconsfield was adopted by Benjamin Disraeli, the 19th-century British prime minister, for his earl's title and was also the home of Edmund Burke, the 18th-century statesman, who is buried in the parish church. Pop. (1991) 12,292. town in northern Tasmania, Australia. It lies on the west bank of the Tamar River, 29 miles (46 km) northwest of Launceston. The site of the present town, originally known as Cabbage Tree Hill, was renamed Brandy Creek when gold was found nearby in 1870. In 1879 F.A. Weld, governor of Tasmania, gave the town its present name in honour of Benjamin Disraeli, the 1st Earl of Beaconsfield. Between 1877 and 1919 Beaconsfield's Tasmania Mine was the largest single source of gold in the state, reaching its peak in gold production in 1899. Today gold is mined together with copper, lead, and zinc. Beaconsfield is also an agricultural centre producing apples, dairy products, and oysters. Inc. town, 1908. Pop. (1986 prelim.) 226.