The Hann family with Richard Daintree and two others took up several holdings along the Clarke River, a tributary of the Burdekin River. The properties included Lolworth, Maryvale and Kangerong Stations. The young Hann boys grew up handling cattle and when their father died in January 1864, followed by their mother in June the same year, they assumed responsibility for the family's share of the properties. Frank became manager of Lolworth prior to turning 20 years old. By 1875 he had done well enough to stock Lawn Hill Station with wild cattle, and for twenty years made a business of supplying cattle to widespread goldfields throughout Queensland and the Northern Territory. In 1881 he acted as a guide on a survey for a proposed transcontinental railway in northern Queensland. He discovered deposits of silver and lead in the Lawn Hill area, but commercial operation of the finds did not occur until 100 years later, leading to the present name of Century Mine.