Mount Gibraltar
Encyclopedia
Mount Gibraltar is a small mountain
between Bowral
and Mittagong
in New South Wales
, Australia
, rather than an obvious conical peak
. The western extremity of the ridge is commonly pointed out as the mountain itself. 'The Gib' is primarily a residential area with a large nature reserve at its peak.
The first European to climb the mountain, in 1798, was explorer John Wilson. He learned from local Aborigines the name 'Bowrell', which meant 'a high place'. Surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell also climbed Mount Gibraltar.
skirts Mount Gibraltar at its western foothills, passing through a tunnel under Evans Street, Bowral. The original tunnel was single track, but it was replaced in the 1920s by a double track
tunnel.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
between Bowral
Bowral, New South Wales
-Attractions:Bowral is perhaps the best known of the towns and villages of the Southern Highlands, and in recent years has become the commercial centre of the Wingecarribee Shire. Bowral is known for its boutiques, antique stores, gourmet restaurants, and rich coffee culture.Bowral is home to the...
and Mittagong
Mittagong, New South Wales
Mittagong is a town located in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, in Wingecarribee Shire. At the 2006 census, Mittagong had a population of 7,460 people. The town can be seen as the gateway to the Southern Highlands when coming from Sydney. The town is close to Bowral, Berrima,...
in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
Facts and Figures
The mountain is locally known as 'The Gib', and is in the form of a ridgeRidge
A ridge is a geological feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for some distance. Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well, depending on size. There are several main types of ridges:...
, rather than an obvious conical peak
Summit (topography)
In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
. The western extremity of the ridge is commonly pointed out as the mountain itself. 'The Gib' is primarily a residential area with a large nature reserve at its peak.
The first European to climb the mountain, in 1798, was explorer John Wilson. He learned from local Aborigines the name 'Bowrell', which meant 'a high place'. Surveyor Sir Thomas Mitchell also climbed Mount Gibraltar.
- 'The Gib' is thought to have been formed from a collapsed volcanicVolcano2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
core, which pushed through the local Hawkesbury Sandstone beds about 150 million years ago. - The western slopes were previously the site of a granite quarryQuarryA quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
which mined the volcanic trachyteTrachyteTrachyte is an igneous volcanic rock with an aphanitic to porphyritic texture. The mineral assemblage consists of essential alkali feldspar; relatively minor plagioclase and quartz or a feldspathoid such as nepheline may also be present....
; the quarry closed in 1986. The site can be reached by a walking track beginning near Bowral Swimming Pool. - The peak is 863 meters above sea-level.
- The peak area includes the Mount Gibraltar Reserve.
- The Reserve was acquired by Alderman Joshua Stokes, in 1919. A large stone construction, bearing a memorial plaque to Stokes, is a feature of the Reserve.
- The Reserve vegetation is a rare remnant of a volcanic soil community. A prominent tree species is Eucalyptus fastigataEucalyptus fastigataBrown Barrel or Cut-Tail is a common eucalyptus tree of south eastern Australia.It can grow in excess of 60 metres in height, though is mostly seen between 30 and 45 metres tall. Brown Barrel grows in cooler areas of high rainfall with fertile soils...
(Brown Barrel). - The Reserve has been the subject of a Landcare Bush Regeneration Program since 1994, with the aim of eliminating introduced species such as PrivetPrivetPrivet was originally the name for the European semi-evergreen shrub Ligustrum vulgare, and later also for the more reliably evergreen Ligustrum ovalifolium , used extensively for privacy hedging. It is often suggested that the name privet is related to private, but the OED states that there is no...
, Barberry, IvyIvyIvy, plural ivies is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and across central-southern Asia east to Japan and Taiwan.-Description:On level ground they...
, HoneysuckleHoneysuckleHoneysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...
, Banana Passionfruit, Inkweed and others. - The Landcare group has also compiled a complete Site Species List.
- 'The Gib' has three lookout points over Bowral and Mittagong.
- On a clear day 'The Gib' can be seen from Echo PointEcho PointEcho Point was an Australian television soap opera produced by Southern Star Productions for Network Ten in 1995.The series was devised as an attempt by the Ten Network to rival the opposition soap Home and Away on the Seven Network...
in Katoomba which is approximately 70–80 km away, although many such viewers confuse it with the nearby, conical Mount Jellore. - The exposed, rocky area of the peak is the site of several telecommunications and broadcasting towersRadio masts and towersRadio masts and towers are, typically, tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. They are among the tallest man-made structures...
, including TelstraTelstraTelstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
microwave transmissionMicrowave transmissionMicrowave transmission refers to the technology of transmitting information or power by the use of radio waves whose wavelengths are conveniently measured in small numbers of centimeters; these are called microwaves. This part of the radio spectrum ranges across frequencies of roughly...
links. - The residential area of Mount Gibraltar includes some of the most highly-priced real estate in the Southern HighlandsSouthern HighlandsThe Southern Highlands could refer to:* Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia, a small geographical and wine region located between Sydney and Canberra.* Southern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea...
.
Railway
The Main South RailwayMain Southern railway line, New South Wales
The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and the Riverina regions.- Description of route :...
skirts Mount Gibraltar at its western foothills, passing through a tunnel under Evans Street, Bowral. The original tunnel was single track, but it was replaced in the 1920s by a double track
Double track
A double track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.- Overview :...
tunnel.