History of Flinders Peak:

While exploring Moreton Bay in 1799, Matthew Flinders simply noted 'a high peak' on the south-western skyline. In 1828, explorer Allan Cunningham referred to 'the high peak of Captain Flinders'. Over time, the mountain became known as Flinders Peak. Indigenous people called it Booroongapah meaning 'meeting place' or 'a corroboree'.

The Peak district turned to timber milling in the 1870s after a cotton industry decline rapidly. Extensive forests in the Flinders Peak, Wooloman, and Milbong areas meant mills prospered. Teamsters worked the mountain. As many as 16 bullock teams hauled logs from Mount Blaine and Flinders Peak to mills in and around Peak Crossing. Rockton was the first big mill but in 1900 it was sold and moved to Beaudesert. The Peak Crossing mill, near the northern end of the Peak Crossing School grounds, prospered in 1889 under Richard Jackson and Charles O'Brien. From 1906, it was owned and managed by the Stacey family before it was moved to Brisbane in 1921. Then the industry declined and was not profitable again until World War II when seven mills produced timber for the defence forces and associated industries.

Flinders Peak, Mount Perry, and Mount Blaine, Ivory's Rock and other nearby prominent landmarks are remnants of major volcanic activity across the region about 25 million years ago. They are plugs and smaller dykes of intrusive trachyte, exposed over time by eroding of the surrounding Marburg sandstone. Some geologists believe the top of Flinders Peak may have been a small volcano.

Conservation Estates were purchased to protect the most significant environmental areas in the City. Contained within the parks are intact creek catchments, scenic backdrops and vistas, rare and threatened plants and animals and artefacts of indigenous and European cultural significance. Areas managed for nature conservation fulfil important environmental and social functions.

They provide safe homes for natives plants and animals.
They help keep air and water clean
They provide places for retention of historical and cultural sites and practices
They provide opportunities to interact and learn about the natural environment
They provide sustainable nature based recreation opportunities.

Animals of Flinders Peak:

The Brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) was adopted by the Ipswich City faunal emblem in 1998 to help raise awareness of this species. Once widespread in the mountain areas of eastern Australia, the brush-tailed rock wallaby now occurs only in a few scattered populations. The species is declared 'vulnerable' under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. Due to Voluntary Conservation Agreements (VCAs) and voluntary acquisition of habitat, under the Ipswich Enviroplan Progam, the remaining populations of this vulnerable species are being protected in Ipswich.

The Greater Glider (Petauroides volans) is an elusive nocturnal marsupial that feeds on eucalyptus leaves and nests in large hollows provided only by large eucalyptus. A mature eucalypt forest is therefore important to sustain a range of species such as the greater glider.

Micro-bats (Insectivorous bats) are insectivores feeding on up to 500 insects an hour - an average of one every seven seconds. By each such a large amount of food each night, these energetic mammals help maintain a balanced ecosystem. Four species of micro-bats are known to occur in our conservation estates. By ensuring these little bats have homes in our suburbs, we reduce the need to use insect spray.

The Common dunnart (Sminthopsis murina) is a mouse-sized marsupial that is found most commonly in woodland, open forest, and heathland. A nocturnal species, it rests during the day in a cup-shaped nest of dried grass and leaves built in a fallen hollow log, a clump of grass or a grass-tree (Xanthorrhoea). It eats only insects such as beetles, roaches, cricket larvae, and spiders.

The Black Flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) are commonly found feeding within Conservation Estates playing a vital role in regenerating native forests. Due to their nocturnal feeding habits and extensive feeding ranges, flying foxes are able to pollinate tree species that produce most of their nectar at night and are less likely to be pollinated by day-feeding birds and bees. Because they can carry large fruit from rainforest trees over considerable distances, flying foxes play an important part in seed dispersal, assisting our rainforests to stay healthy and viable. Flying foxes inhabit residential areas only when their habitat is reduced or gone. By conserving and extending remaining patches of favourable habitat, we can reduce the need for co-habitation between flying doxes and humans.

The Noisy PItta (Pitta versicolor) is an elusive bird about 17-20cm high, preferring to inhabit the patches of vine forest and eucalypt forest in and around Flinders Peak and Mount Goolman.

The Yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) is a bold, mouse-sized tree-dwelling marsupial that feeds mostly on insects but is happy to eat anything from flowers and nectar to small birds and even house mice.

The large nesting mounds of the Australian brush-turkey (Alectura lathami) are made by the male bird and can reach 1m high and 4-5m in diameter. The nest is kept at a constant 33deg.C while the varying number of eggs incubates. Females will visit several male nests and can lay up to three times her body weight in eggs in one season. A large egg allows for an advanced chick that claws its way to the surface of the nest over a day. After the chick emerges, it begins to search for food with no help from its parents.

Native plants of Flinders Peak:

The Eerwah plum (Pouteria eerwah) is an endangered tree that makes it home in drier rainforests and reaches a height of 15m. It produces edible red or black 5cm fruit in summer to winter. These were eaten by indigenous communities that travelled through the area. They may have played a major part in the species' distribution as many plants are found along known travelling routes.

Lloyd's native olive (Notelaea lloydii) is a shrub that grows up to 2m in well-drained slopes in the Boonah area. This tree was discovered in the 1980s by local botanist Lloyd Bird who has spent much of his life in Ipswich.

The Slender milkvine (Marsedenia coranata) is a slender twining wine that grows up to 3m on rocky hillsides and ridges. Pale yellow or greenish-yellow flowers 4mm across are produced in summer.

Introduced plants (weeds) of Flinders Peak:

Some ornamental and native plants introduced into the Ipswich district in the past for their beauty or resilience are now recognised by the State Government, local governments, and community conservation organisations to be adversely affecting our natural environment. Some plants spread very readily, have aggressive growth, and very few natural predators or controls. These become environmental weeds by invading areas of native vegetation, competing with native species for moisture, nutrients, light and space. This invasion is modifying the natural ecosystem and threatening local native plants and animals. Native plants become smothered and native animals lose their homes and food supply. Careful selection of alternative species will reduce this threat to our unique and beautiful natural environment.

Source: Ipswich City Council.

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This large timber store was erected in 1909 for Lionel Ainger Wiss of Wiss Bros, a prominent Engelsburg (Kalbar) general store and trading firm. It replaced a smaller store built in 1890.

LA Wiss had arrived in Queensland from Germany with his brothers Campbell and Alfred, c.1887. They were German-born sons of English parents. After a short time in northern Queensland, Alfred returned to England and Lionel and Campbell moved to Ipswich, where they worked for grocer W Siemon & Sons for about three years.

In mid-1890 the brothers acquired an acre of land at Engelsburg, in the heart of the Fassifern Scrub district, south of Ipswich, which had been settled in the 1870s by immigrant German farmers. At this time, the township of Engelsburg comprised a general store, two saddlers, a cabinetmaker and glazier, a hotel and store, a butcher's shop, timber yard and blacksmith. The Engelsburg State School had been established in 1885. There were two Lutheran churches in the district, a Baptist church, a Primitive Methodist church, a Catholic church, and a small Salvation Army meeting hall. Much of the brigalow scrub had been cleared, and the surrounding district was dotted with small farm selections of 60, 80 or 120 acres.

On their Engelsburg property, adjacent to Heinrich Welge's Fassifern Hotel on the principal road from Ipswich to the Fassifern head station, the Wiss brothers erected a small store and dwelling. In August 1890, Ipswich architect Henry Edmund Wyman called tenders for a store and dwelling to be erected at Engelsburg, and by September 1890, a store for Lionel Wiss was being constructed there.

Lionel married Danish immigrant Maria Elise Wiuff at Ipswich in late 1890, and in the same year joined Campbell in partnership as Wiss Bros, storekeepers, at Engelsburg. They established one of the most important businesses in the town, which was emerging as a district centre following the closer settlement of the Fassifern Scrub for dairying and agriculture. They provided a general store which not only sold a great variety of goods, but also traded farm produce, acted as agent for major farm equipment suppliers, and offered substantial credit, doing much to assist local farmers. As early as 1892, Wiss Bros were the local agents for the United, Fire and Marine Insurance Co., and from 1894 to 1897 held the Engelsburg postal receiving office, until construction of an official post office in 1897. Until the railway came to Kalbar in 1916, Wiss Bros transported local produce to the nearest railhead at Munbilla on behalf of the local farmers. The firm was a principal employer in the town, with 8 to 10 employees by the 1920s.

In 1903, their premises consisted of the small store and a separate dwelling fronting George Street, and bulk store and large stables at the rear. Lionel Wiss's property had been extended with the acquisition of an adjacent acre to the south in 1898, and a further adjoining 2 roods in 1901. Campbell Wiss had left the partnership by c.1904, but the name Wiss Bros was retained.

When the new store was erected in 1909, the original store was moved a little to the north in George Street, and operated for many years as Surawski's Fassifern Cafe. In the 1980s this building was shifted to the Cunningham Highway.

Lionel ('Daddy') Wiss was a highly respected local identity, who took a prominent role in the community and the local Methodist church. In 1910, he acquired 56 acres in the centre of Engelsburg. About half of this he subdivided in 1916 into residential allotments, thereby creating most of the western half of the town of Engelsburg (renamed Kalbar in 1916 when the railway reached the town).

Following Lionel Wiss's death in 1932, the business was managed by his family under the supervision of his daughter Adeline Wiss. In 1947 the business was sold to Holmes Bros, and remained a general store until 1966, when transferred to Chemical & Air Services Pty Ltd, who occupied the buildings for over twenty years.

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

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Mount Maroon was first gazetted in 1938 as Mount Maroon National park. In 1950 Mount Barney National Park was extended to include Mount Maroon and the nearby Mount May.

The mountain’s original indigenous name was Wahlmoorum, which means sand goanna in the Yuggera language.

In the early 1820s many of the mountains in the area were given European names by Captain Patrick Logan and botanists Alan Cunningham and Charles Fraser, who explored the region.

By the 1840s the surrounding foothills were opened up for cattle grazing. Logging began in the high ridges. Cut stumps can be seen in parts of the park and are a reminder of the times.

Source: Visit Scenic Rim.

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Local Aboriginal group, the Ugarapul, have named all of the peaks within Moogerah Peaks National Park. Mount Greville is 'Moogerah' (along with the area between the mountain peak and Cunningham's Gap also known as 'Moogerah') meaning thunder. Mount Edwards is known as 'Wummun' while Mount Moon takes its name from 'Moorm', which means 'old walkabout mountain'. It is said that when the local Aboriginal groups were searching for food along the creeks west of Minto Crags ('Whimpullin') 'old walkabout mountain' appeared to move along with them.

The two peaks of Mount French are known as 'Punchagin' (the southern peak) and 'Mee-bor-rum' (the northern peak).

For the Ugarapul, the area was rich in resources. Animals such as the goanna, kangaroo, wallaby and koala were hunted for food and skins. During kangaroo corroborees—which were attended by people from the Richmond River (New South Wales), the Brisbane River, Nanango, Killarney, Warwick and the Bunya Mountains—the Aboriginal group conducted wallaby drives where the women and children drove the macropods into the waiting spears of the men. Hundreds of wallabies and kangaroos were killed. During these corroborees, the much sought after brigalow spears, 'bonoorong', where traded (Steele, 1984).

The peaks of Moogerah are key landmarks for the Ugarapul—each hold links to the creation of their landscape; many hold important cultural stories. When the yellow butterflies appeared, the Ugarapul knew that the bunya nuts were ready to fall from the trees.

When the yellow flowers bloomed, it was a sign that 'nairrar' (bearded dragon) was full of eggs and the witchetty grubs were ready to eat.

During the early exploration of the mountain ranges south-west of Brisbane, the Fassifern Valley was identified as an area ideal for agricultural settlement. In June 1827, Captain Patrick Logan, Commandant of Moreton Bay Penal Settlement, set out from Ipswich to explore the mountain range that dominated the southern skyline. Logan thought the range was the 'Mount Warning Ranges' named by Lieutenant James Cook from the 'Endeavour' in 1770. It was only when he climbed a prominent feature in the range, which he named Mount Dumaresq after Governor Darling's son-in-law, that Logan realised it was not Cook's mountain range. Ironically, at the same time that Logan had named his peak Mount Dumaresq, the explorer and botanist Alan Cunningham had used the same name for a mountain he climbed on the western side of the Great Dividing Range that same month! Not until both Cunningham's and Logan's reports reached the Sydney authorities was the coincidence discovered. As Cunningham had named his mountain first, Logan renamed his mountain in honour of Dumaresq's, country of birth—Mount French (Pugsley, 1975).

Until 1842 it was illegal to occupy land within 80km of the Moreton Bay penal settlement. From this date on, station lessees began to arrive in the Fassifern area, setting up sheep and cattle runs. By 1857 three large station runs covered the whole district. Up until the 1880s, the peaks remained untouched with only a small amount of timber removed for fencing and yards. During the life of the area's timber industry, only the occasional stand of crows ash, rosewood, pine and red cedar were removed from the lower slopes of the peaks. The peaks' inaccessibility saved many undisturbed stands of timber and significant wildlife habitats. Seen as having very little agricultural, grazing or timber value, the peaks were largely left as monuments to pre-European settlement. Feral animals and inappropriate fire were the only impacts that altered the vegetation and animal populations of the peaks.

Mount Greville, named by Allan Cunningham in 1828 in honour of the Scottish botanist Robert Kaye Greville, was the first of the peaks to be gazetted as national park, in 1948. Mount Moon followed in 1953. Mount Edwards, originally named Mount Banister by explorer John Oxley in 1824 and renamed by Alan Cunningham in 1828 after Lieutenant George Edwards, was gazetted in 1966 (Pfeffer, 1991). After the original proposal for a national park in 1953, a small section on Mount French was gazetted national park because of its scenic and historic values in 1967. The park grew over the following years; in 1987 the internationally known rock-climbing cliffs on the north peaks were incorporated into the park. In 1991 the park almost doubled in size—from 119ha to 225.5ha. In 1994, all of the small national park peaks were amalgamated into Moogerah Peaks National Park.

Moogerah Peaks National Park was once beneath the belly of a volcano—the ancient Main Range volcano—which erupted some 24 million years ago. The eastern flank of this volcano once spread across the Fassifern Valley, probably as far as Mount Maroon, Boonah and even to Ipswich, while on the western side it spread to at least Warwick. It erupted mainly basalt lavas, which may have been as thick as 1000m near the volcano's crest.

The distinct peaks of the Moogerah Peaks National Park had their origins deep below the volcano. Composed of different rock types, separated from basalt magma at great depths, they formed as plugs, dykes or sills when magma entered numerous cracks and weaknesses in underlying older rocks, as well as moving up the main vents.

Prolonged erosion over 20 million years has removed mainly the eastern side of the volcano. The relatively steep slopes and greater power of the east-flowing streams rapidly eroded the volcanic lavas to create a retreating escarpment (long, cliff-like ridge), which is now the edge of today's Main Range. As the volcano and some of the underlying rocks were eroded away, any plugs, dykes or sills composed of resistant rocks—particularly those of rhyolite and trachyte—remained as steep peaks.

Mount Edwards is a large trachyte plug, which formed when magma filled vertical pipe-like fissures. The plug is cut by Reynolds Creek to form the mountain's distinctive two peaks. Mounts Greville and Moon are rhyolite plugs. The deep gorges of Mount Greville were caused by the erosion of basaltic dykes (magma that forces its way across older rock strata), which offered less resistance to weathering than the rhyolite. A large crevice cutting across Mount Moon is a prominent fracture enlarged by erosion.

The white rhyolite sill that is Mount French was formed when magma was forced between horizontal layers of sedimentary rock. These layers were then eroded over millions of years to leave a plateau surrounded on most sides by cliffs. Vertical columns formed from cooling and contraction of the sub-surface magma. Today rock climbers value these vertical columns for the numerous climbs of varying difficulty.

Brigalow, eucalypt open forest, lowland rainforest, heathlands and Araucarian vine forests once thickly covered the peaks and flats of this area. Clearing, logging and farming has tamed the 'bush', hemming in its growth to the peaks, gorges, cliff lines and rocky ridges. Today the mountains provide the only significant refuge in the landscape for numerous plant and animals, some now vulnerable to extinction and some restricted to a single mountain.

The last significant remnant of the once widespread 'Fassifern scrub' dry rainforest, dominated by Acacia harpophylla (brigalow), occurs at Mount French.

Two species of lichen occur on the rhyolite summit of Mount French and nowhere else on planet Earth. They are regarded (but not listed) as endangered.

Mount Moon is the only mountain within the national park to contain the vulnerable plant, Marsdenia coronata (slender milkvine). This vine's distribution has been restricted significantly since European settlement.

Small remnant populations of brush-tailed rock wallabies Petrogale penicillatea make their home on all of the park's four isolated peaks. Mount French has been known to support populations of black-breasted button-quail(external link) Turnix melanogaster since the turn of last century. This rarely seen, ground-dwelling bird is vulnerable and the fragmentation of the bird's habitat has exposed the bird to increased competition and predation. The powerful owl Ninox strenua is Australia's largest nocturnal avian predator and makes its home on some mountain peaks within the park.

The glossy black-cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami feeds exclusively on Allocasuarina (forest she oak) species, making them one of the most highly specialised birds in the world. Gregarious family parties of up to ten glossy black cockatoos have been observed feeding on Allocasuarina torulosa (forest she oak) cones on the eastern foothills of Mount Greville and on the eastern slopes of Mount Moon. Only the female trees bear cones.

Source: Department of Environment & Science, Queensland Government.

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Mount Maroon was first gazetted in 1938 as Mount Maroon National park. In 1950 Mount Barney National Park was extended to include Mount Maroon and the nearby Mount May.

The mountain’s original indigenous name was Wahlmoorum, which means sand goanna in the Yuggera language.

In the early 1820s many of the mountains in the area were given European names by Captain Patrick Logan and botanists Alan Cunningham and Charles Fraser, who explored the region.

By the 1840s the surrounding foothills were opened up for cattle grazing. Logging began in the high ridges. Cut stumps can be seen in parts of the park and are a reminder of the times.

Source: Visit Scenic Rim.

Tags:   lookout view views mountain mountains rock rocks stones cliff cliffs field fields sky skies tree trees bird birds bug bugs breeze wind rain rains rainy fog foggy mist misty cloud cloudy clouds nature natural native national park wilderness wild aboriginal indigenous jagera history historic heritage mount maroon scenic rim queensland australia

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