Mount Maroon

Mount Maroon
Mount Maroon
Highest point
Elevation966 m (3,169 ft)
Coordinates28°12′59″S 152°43′59″E / 28.21639°S 152.73306°E / -28.21639; 152.73306
Geography
Mount Maroon is located in Queensland
Mount Maroon
Mount Maroon
Parent rangeMcPherson Range

Mount Maroon is a mountain in South East Queensland that is part of the McPherson Range. The mountain rises to 966 m (3,169 ft) above sea level about 12 km west of Rathdowney.

The original indigenous name for the mountain is Wahlmoorum which means sand goanna in the Yuggera language.[1] Another aboriginal name documented for the mountain is Dahl-moor-uhn, which means "big fellow waterhole bunyip" attributed to two small yet deep lagoons, on the summit of the mountain.[2] The earliest photograph of the lagoons are from 1910.[3] The current name for the mountain comes from the first grazing property in the area called Maroon.[4]

Mount Maroon consists mainly of rhyolite and has its geological origins in the cooling of molten rock beneath the surface.[1]

The mountain was first gazetted in 1938 as Mount Maroon National Park.[4] In 1950, Mount Barney National Park was extended to include Mount Maroon and nearby Mount May.[5] The mountain contains areas of montane heath vegetation, rocky pavement and mallee ash shrublands.[1][5]

Three rock climbers had to be rescued from the mountain in 2002.[6] In early 2008 a bull mastiff named Diff made headlines when it slipped over a ledge and had to be rescued via helicopter.[7] The dog, which was not permitted to be in the national park, led rescuers (by its barking) to two men who were stranded on a steep cliff ledge when trying to rescue the dog.

  1. ^ a b c Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland). "Mount Barney: Nature, culture and history". The State of Queensland. Retrieved 31 July 2009.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "THE MAROON DISTRICT". The Brisbane Courier. No. 16, 406. Queensland, Australia. 11 August 1910. p. 13. Retrieved 19 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "MAROON". The Queenslander. No. 2315. Queensland, Australia. 23 July 1910. p. 24. Retrieved 19 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2000). Heritage Trails of the Great South East. State of Queensland. pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-7345-1008-X.
  5. ^ a b Mount Barney National Park: Visitor Information[brochure]. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. 2001. Environmental Protection Agency.
  6. ^ "Rock climbers winched to safety". ABC News Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 September 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Diff the dog safe and sound". The Age. The Age Company Ltd. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2009.