wildeco glass house mountains climb
A series of spectacular volcanic plugs rising dramatically from the coastal plain. The remarkable Glass House Mountains are a series of steep-sided volcanic plugs which dominate the landscape of the Sunshine Coast hinterland. They are formed of rhyolite and trachtyte, lavas which hardened inside the vents of tertiary volcanoes that have been greatly reduced by about 25 million years of erosion.
The first European to see the mountains was Captain James Cook. In his Journal on 17 May 1770 he wrote:
" ...however, if any future navigator should be disposed to determine the question whether there is or is not a river in this place, which the wind would not permit us to do, the situation may be always found by three hills, which lie to the northward of it, in the latitude of twenty six degrees fifty three minutes. These hills lie but a little way inland, and not far from each other: they are remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very much resembles a glass house, and for this reason I called them the Glass Houses: the northern most of the three is the highest and largest; there are several other peaked hills inland to the northward of these, but these are not nearly so remarkable..."
The next European to visit the area was Matthew Flinders who spent 16 days sailing around Moreton Bay in July-August, 1799. During his explorations he came ashore and climbed Mount Beerburrum from which he surveyed the whole of Moreton Bay. The excellent booklet Matthew Flinders in Moreton Bay 1799, published by the Redcliffe Historical Society, records Flinders visit to the Glasshouse Mountains:
"On the following morning Flinders took the boat up a small creek that pointed towards the peaks. About half past nine he left the boat accompanied by two seamen and a native. The country they passed through was swampy, covered with mangroves, they waded through rocky swamps. In observing the flat-topped peak (Tibrogargan) it was considerably nearer than the highest Glass-house (Beerwah) that he had first meant to visit, but seeing one of the round mount (Beerburrum) with sloping sides was nearer, he altered course for it and after walking about nine miles from the boat he reached the top.
"The view of the bay and neighbouring country was very extensive, to the south there were several distinct columns of smoke visible. The mount was a pile of loose stones of many sizes, which had made the ascent quite difficult."
Today the Glass House Mountains have become one of the premier tourist attractions on the Sugar Coast. Located inland from Caboolture and 61 km from Brisbane they are not only important to the European history of southern Queensland but play a major part in the Aboriginal culture of the area.
According to Aboriginal legend Tibrogargan (which is 364 m high) the father and Beerwah (at 555 m the highest of all the peaks) the mother, had a number of children of whom Coonowrin (377 m - the narrow and most dramatic of all the volcanic plugs) was the eldest, Tunbubudla were the twins (293 m and 312 m), Coochin (235 m), Ngungun (253 m), Tibberoowuccum (220 m), Miketeebumulgrai (199 m) and Elimbah (129 m).
The legend tells of Tibrogargan noticing that the sea was rising and calling out to Coonowrin to help his pregnant mother gather the young children together so that the family could flee from the rising sea. Coonowrin ran away in fear and Tibrogargan, incensed by his son's cowardice, followed and hit him so hard with a club that his neck was dislocated. When the seas retreated the family returned to the plains. Conowrin, teased about his crooked neck and ashamed of his behaviour, went to Tibrogargan and asked for forgiveness but the father just wept with shame. Conowrin then approached his brothers and sisters to ask forgiveness but they too could only weep with shame, thus explaining the area's many small streams.
Tibrogargan then called Conowrin and asked why he had failed to help Beerwah. He explained that he felt she was big enough to look after herself, though he did not know she was pregnant. Tibrogargan then turned his back on his son and still gazes out to sea today, refusing to look at his son who forever hangs his crooked neck and cries. Beerwah, the mother, is still pregnant, as it takes time to give birth to a mountain.
Today the area around the mountains produces tropical fruits such as papaws, strawberries, avocados and passionfruit, as well as vegetables, macadamia nuts and tobacco.
