Possum was built by Manning Wardle & Co, Leeds as their builder's number 1802 of 1912, and arrived in Australia in 1919 for work at the G & C Hoskins Ironworks at Lithgow. ^(a)

The G & C Hoskins Ironworks at Lithgow were dismantled following the transfer of operations to the newly-created Australian Iron & Steel (AIS) works at Port Kembla.  Possum moved to AIS Port Kembla in 1928 ^(a) as part of the transfer of reusable Hoskins plant & equipment to the new AIS venture. ^(b)

Possum worked at AIS Port Kembla until retirement in 1967. Possum's links to the original Hoskins Ironworks at Lithgow were remembered and the locomotive was donated to the Lithgow District Historical Society in 1969. ^(a)  Possum has since been plinthed in the gardens of the Eskbank House Museum at Lithgow, near to the site of the Hoskins Ironworks. 

The remains of the Hoskins Ironworks are also preserved as an historical and industrial archaeology site.

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