Mount Warning
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox mountain Mount Warning (Bundjalung: Wollumbin<ref name=gnbmountain1/>), a mountain in the Tweed Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, was formed from a volcanic plug of the now-gone Tweed Volcano. The mountain is located Template:Convert west-south-west of Murwillumbah, near the border between New South Wales and Queensland.<ref name=gnbmountain1>Template:NSW GNR</ref>Template:Dead link<ref name=gnbmountain>Template:NSW GNR</ref> Lieutenant James Cook saw the mountain from the sea and named it Mount Warning.<ref name=gnbmountain/><ref name ="Cook"/>
Shield volcanoEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Wollumbin is the central volcanic remnant of an ancient shield volcano, the Tweed Volcano, which would have been about Template:Convert above sea level or just under twice the height of the current mountain.<ref name="iviea">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="cald">The Caldera of the Mount Warning Shield Volcano. [brochure] New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. 1990.</ref> This volcano last erupted around 23 million years ago.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> As the mountain's central vent cooled it shrank, forming a depression at the top that has greatly eroded.<ref name="cald"/>
Today the vast areas that were part of the volcano include many mountains and ranges at some distance from Mount Warning, and include the Border Ranges, Tamborine Mountain, the McPherson Range and both the Lamington Plateau and Springbrook Plateaus. The erosion caldera formed since this eruption is easily visible around the summit and forms the rim of the Tweed Valley.
During the last stages of eruption, different and more resistant forms of lava that were cooler than those flows that created the shield volcano remained to form the current peak. The whole central Mount Warning massif was also pushed up by forces that remained active after lava eruptions had stopped.<ref name="cald"/>
EcologyEdit
A species of frog, the Mount Wollumbin hip-pocket frog (Assa wollumbin) is endemic to the slopes of the mountain.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Aboriginal significanceEdit
Wollumbin is a place of cultural and traditional significance to the Bundjalung people and contains sacred sites, where particular ceremonies and initiation rites are performed.<ref name=gnbmountain/> The summit area of the Mountain is a declared Aboriginal Place under the National Parks and Wildlife Act.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
While now spelt Wollumbin, the Aboriginal word had numerous alternative spellings which are recorded in the historic record including; Walumban,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Walumbin,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Wooloombin,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> all referring to the same place. In 1873 reference can be found to the Mountain being referred to by Aboriginal people as "Wollumbin", signifying "big fellow mountain".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Aboriginal significance of the area is contextual and dependant on direction of observance, gender, and status of whoever is telling the story.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Several different stories exist about Wollumbin including reference to the Mountain as the Warrior Chief,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> a special place of significance for brush turkey,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the cloud catcher.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Many more stories exist that are not in the public record.
The name Wollumbin refers to the whole of the central vent and its surrounding ring dykes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The government National Parks and Wildlife Service do not encourage climbers to hike the Mt. Warning/Wollumbin Trail up the mountain, but it is not forbidden by park regulations.<ref>Park Brochure Park Brochure. Retrieved on 4 November 2015.</ref>
Name confusionEdit
In 2005 the name "Mount Wollumbin" was removed from a peak nearby to Mount Warning by the Geographical Names Board. This mountain is also referred to as Mount Ivy and Mount Dum Dum and was believed to be named Mount Wollumbin in error.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2006 the Geographical Names Board assigned dual naming to Mount Warning, to also be known by its indigenous name of Wollumbin. The name Wollumbin refers the whole of the central vent and its surrounding ring dykes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
EtymologyEdit
On 16 May 1770, Captain James Cook was the first European to record seeing "… a remarkable sharp peaked Mountain lying inland…"<ref name ="Cook"/> from a point of land he named Cape Byron. Just five hours later while sailing North, Cook was forced to change course to the East after encountering the dangerous reefs that run 3 miles to the East from Fingal Head, now named Danger Reefs (Inner, South, and Outer reefs).<ref>Australian Hydrographic Chart "AUS 813"</ref>
The next morning, Cook recorded:<ref name="Cook"/>
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Protected areaEdit
The mountain is now protected by the surrounding Wollumbin National Park, and access is regulated by the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service. Mount Warning is part of the United Nations World Heritage-listed Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.
Walking trackEdit
Over 100,000 people a year make the Template:Convert, five-hour round-trip trek to the top from Template:QLDcity.<ref>Introducing Mt Warning National Park Template:Webarchive. Lonely Planet. Retrieved on 17 December 2012.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref>
An ascent of the mountain takes approximately 1½ to 3½ hours (one way) and requires a good level of fitness. There are also viewing platforms at the summit. The total journey is 8.8 km (5.5 mi).<ref name="discover">Template:Cite book</ref>
In March 2020 the summit track was closed by National Parks NSW citing safety concerns, to be reviewed in May 2021.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, in February 2021 documents obtained through Freedom Of Information revealed that the track and surrounding area has actually been secretly scheduled to be permanently closed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of August 2022 park authorities had placed a barrier on the access road several kilometres from the trailhead. This would add a forty minute uphill walk to the ascent for anyone attempting to climb the mountain; and the path on the mountain itself had deteriorated badly in places.
In late October 2022 NSW authorities did go ahead and ban public access to Wollumbin National Park, to be enforced with heavy fines. This was soon followed by a video posting showing a hiker flouting the ban.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There has been significant backlash in the community surrounding the closure. Many have argued that the track was closed primarily due to complaints from some in the Aboriginal community, not due to safety concerns and the track was in fact still usable.
In 2024, Libertarian politician John Ruddick led a petition to reopen the track which garnered over the required 10,000 signatures to trigger a debate in the New South Wales Legislative Council on 9 May 2024.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On 31 October 2024, the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Network posted to X boasting of their recent hike to the summit where while wearing balaclavas they unfurled a banner advocating for white supremacy. NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe described the actions as "vile" and "utterly disgusting". The matter has been referred to the police by the National Parks. No one has been charged over the incident.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Sister project Template:Wikivoyage
- UNESCO World Heritage Listing
- Mount Warning National Park
- Mount Warning Map includes driving directions.
- Northern Rivers Geology blog Mount Warning.
- [1] The Caldera of the Tweed Volcano - original source.
Template:New South Wales mountains Template:1stVoyageCookAus Template:Wikivoyage-inline