Mount Wellington,also known askunanyi(/kuːˈnɑːnjiː/) inpalawa kaniandgazettedaskunanyi / Mount Wellington,[3]is a mountain in the south-east ofTasmania,Australia. It is the summit of theWellington Rangeand is withinWellington Parkreserve.Hobart,Tasmania'scapital city,is located at the foot of the mountain.
| Mount Wellington | |
|---|---|
| kunanyi | |
 Mount Wellington viewed fromLindisfarne Bayon the Eastern Shore of theRiver Derwent,with its seasonal snow cap visible | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,271 m (4,170 ft)[1] |
| Prominence | 693 m (2,274 ft)[1] |
| Isolation | 47.56 km (29.55 mi)[1] |
| Listing | 49thhighest mountain of Tasmania |
| Coordinates | 42°53′45.6″S147°14′14.3″E/ 42.896000°S 147.237306°E[2] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Wellington Location inTasmania | |
| Location | South EastTasmania,Australia |
| Parent range | Wellington |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Dolerite |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent |
|
| Easiest route | Hike, road |
The mountain rises 1,271 metres (4,170 ft)above sea level[1]and is frequently covered by snow, at times even in summer, and the lower slopes are thickly forested, but crisscrossed by many walking tracks and a fewfire trails.[4]There is also a sealed narrow road to the summit, about 22 kilometres (14 mi) from Hobart central business district. An enclosed lookout near the summit has views of the city below and to the east, theDerwent estuary,and also glimpses of theWorld Heritage Areanearly 100 kilometres (62 mi) west. From Hobart, the most distinctive feature of Mount Wellington is the cliff ofdoleritecolumns known as the Organ Pipes.
Geology
edit
The low-lying areas and foothills of Mount Wellington were formed by slow geological upsurge when the whole Hobart area was a low-lying cold shallow seabed. The upper reaches of the mountain were formed more violently, as aSillwith a tabular mass ofigneous rockthat has been intruded laterally between layers of older rock pushing upwards by upsurges of molten rock as the Australian continental shelf tore away fromAntarctica,and separated fromGondwanaover 40 million years ago. A small volcanic vent was active about 300m south of the Pinnacle during Tertiary times, between 50 and 10 million years ago.[citation needed]
Aboriginal history
editTheAboriginalpeople of the area referred to Mount Wellington askunanyi(orungyhaletta),poorawetter(orpooranetere,alsopooranetteri).[5]The Palawa, the surviving descendants of the original Aboriginal Tasmanians, tend to prefer the latter name.[clarification needed][citation needed]In 2013, the Tasmanian government announced a dual naming policy and "kunanyi / Mount Wellington" was named as one of the inaugural dual named geographic features.[3][6]
European history
editThe first recorded European in the area,Abel Tasman,probably did not see the mountain in 1642, as his ship was quite a distance out to sea as he sailed up the south east coast of the island – coming closer in near present-day North andMarion Bays.[7]
No other Europeans visited Tasmania until the late eighteenth century, when several visited southern Tasmania (then referred to asVan Diemens Land), including FrenchmanMarion du Fresne(1772), EnglishmenTobias Furneaux(1773),James Cook(1777) andWilliam Bligh(1788 and 1792), and FrenchmanBruni d'Entrecasteaux(1792–93). In 1793John Hayesarrived at the River Derwent, naming the mountainSkiddaw,after the mountain in theLake District,although this name never gained popularity.[citation needed]
In 1798Matthew FlindersandGeorge Basscircumnavigated the island. While they were resting in the area Flinders named the river the River Derwent (the name Hayes had given only to the upper part of the river),[8]Flinders referred to the mountain as "Table Mountain" (the name given to it by Bond and Bligh) for its similarity in appearance toTable Mountainin South Africa. d'Entrecasteaux's men were the first Europeans to sail up the river and chart it. LaterNicholas Baudinled another French expedition in 1802, and while sheltering in the River Derwent (which they referred to as "River du Nord" – the name d'Entrecasteaux had given to it) Baudin also referred to the mountain as "Montagne du Plateau" (also named by d'Entrecasteaux). However, the British first settled in the Hobart area in 1804, resulting in Flinders' name of "Table Mountain" becoming more popular. Table Mountain remained its common name until in 1832 it was decided to rename the mountain in honour of theDuke of Wellingtonwho, withGebhard Leberecht von BlücherdefeatedNapoleonat theBattle of Waterlooin present-day Belgium on 18 June 1815.[citation needed]
In February 1836,Charles Darwinvisited Hobart Town and climbed Mount Wellington. In his bookThe Voyage of the Beagle,Darwin described the mountain thus:
"... In many parts the Eucalypti grew to a great size, and composed a noble forest. In some of the dampest ravines, tree-ferns flourished in an extraordinary manner; I saw one which must have been at least twenty feet high to the base of the fronds, and was in girth exactly six feet. The fronds forming the most elegant parasols, produced a gloomy shade, like that of the first hour of the night. The summit of the mountain is broad and flat, and is composed of huge angular masses of naked greenstone. Its elevation is 3,100 feet [940 m] above the level of the sea. The day was splendidly clear, and we enjoyed a most extensive view; to the north, the country appeared a mass of wooded mountains, of about the same height with that on which we were standing, and with an equally tame outline: to the south the broken land and water, forming many intricate bays, was mapped with clearness before us...."
The first weather station was set up on Mount Wellington in 1895 byClement Lindley Wragge.
Mount Wellington has played host to some notorious characters over time, especially the bushrangerJohn "Rocky" Whelan,who murdered several travellers in the middle of the 19th century. The cave where he lived is known as "Rocky Whelan's Cave", and is an easy walk from the Springs.[9]
Development
edit
Throughout the 19th and into the 20th centuries, the mountain was a popular day-resort for residents of Hobart. To that end, many excursion huts were built over the lower slopes of the mountain. However, none of these early huts survive; they were all destroyed during thebushfires of 1967.Modern huts are open to the public at the Springs, the Pinnacle, the Chalet – a picnic spot about halfway between the Springs and the Pinnacle – and elsewhere.[10]Many of the more remote huts have suffered from vandalism, and some are virtually derelict.
The road to the summit was constructed in the early 1930s as a relief scheme for the unemployed, an idea initiated byAlbert Ogilvie,the premier of Tasmania of the day. While the road is officially known as the Pinnacle Drive, it was for some time also widely known among residents of Hobart as "Ogilvie's Scar" because at the time it was constructed "the Mountain" was heavily logged and almost bare, and the road was an all-too-obvious scar across the already denuded mountain. Today the trees have grown again, but the "scar" most people see today is not actually the road but a line of large rocks with no trees 50–100 m above the road, provided as an easement for power lines. The road itself was opened on 23 January 1937, after two years of work, by Governor SirErnest Clark.[11]
The road carries tourist traffic during the day, and sections may be closed at any time of the year due to snowfalls or icy conditions. Halfway up this road (at 720 metres) is a picnic area called "The Springs", near the site of a chalet/health spa that was destroyed by bushfire in 1967.
Broadcast tower
editMount Wellington was selected by many broadcasters as the site of radio and television transmitters as it provides line-of-sight transmission to a large area of Hobart and surrounding districts. Two steel lattice towers were erected in 1960 to deliver television services to Tasmania, these being a 104m tower known as thePost Master Generaltower (PMG tower) and another owned byWIN Corporation,the latter still present today.[12]The PMG tower faced significant issues with snow and ice, and in 1982 aradomewas added to protect the tower's antennas.[13]Planning for a replacement tower began in the late 1980s, and in 1993 plans were finalised for a new 131m concrete and steel tower to withstand the mountain's harsh weather conditions.[14] Between 1994 and 1995, the new concrete and steelBroadcast Australiatower (NTAtower) was constructed, leading to the PMG tower being demolished in January 1997.[15]The NTA tower broadcasts all of Hobart's high-power FM radio stations, plus the digital TV services for ABC and SBS. It also has a small accommodation area at its base, with a kitchen and workshop area. The WIN tower broadcasts the digital TV services forSouthern Cross,WIN Television, andTasmanian Digital Television.The site also contains some data links from local Hobart businesses. An amateur radio repeater is also installed on the mountain.
Cable car proposals
editAnaerial cable carhas been proposed for the mountain on four occasions. On 27 July 2022, theHobart City Councilrejected the planning application on 21 areas of non-compliance.[16]The council received over 16,500 public submissions on the proposal, of which 70% were against it.[17]The Mount Wellington Cableway Company (MWCC) then appealed to the Tasmanian Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which in November 2022 upheld the decision of the Hobart City Council, rejecting the proposal on 18 of 26 contested grounds of refusal.[18]The MWCC has not submitted an appeal to the decision.
Climate
editThe summit of the mountain has atundra climate(KöppenET;TrewarthaFtkk) according to the standardKöppen–GeigerandTrewartha climate classification systems,[19][20]as a maritime polar climate according to theAustralian Bureau of Meteorologyclassification system.[21]UsingOtto Nordenskjöld's alternative polar isotherm,[22]it could be considered to have asubpolar oceanic climate(KöppenCfc) or a maritime sub(ant)arctic climate (TrewarthaEo), though extreme winds—having been recorded at sustained speeds of over 157 kilometres per hour (98 mph), with rare gusts of up to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph)—prevent tree cover.
Its record low temperature is −9.1 °C (15.6 °F) recorded on 3 September 1993, low for Australia and Tasmania though not especially so, lying outside the top 10 readings and top 7 locations for the state[23]with its exposed, maritime aspect; its average yearly record low of around −6.4 °C (20.5 °F)[24]places it withinUSDA hardiness zone9a andAustralian National Botanic Gardens hardiness zone2.[25]It is one of a handful of Australian locations to have never recorded a temperature above 30 °C (86 °F); its highest temperature being 29.8 °C (85.6 °F), most recently recorded on 31 January 2020, automatically putting it withinAmerican Horticultural Society heat zone1;[26]the average yearly record high is around 26.4 °C (79.5 °F).[27]
The mountain significantly influences Hobart's weather, and intending visitors to the summit are advised to dress warmly against the often icy winds. Between May and October it frequently snows and the mountain is often snowcapped. Lighter snowfalls in late spring, summer and autumn are also common. A day on the summit can consist of clear sunny skies, then rain, snow, icy winds and clear again. Only in the months of January and February is it expected that fewer than 3 days will record anair frost;and its summit is one of the few sites in Australia to routinely experience sub-freezing daily maxima, with more than 1 in 10 days in both July and August expected to be ice days,[28]and recorded the coldest daily highs in Tasmanian history at −5.0 °C (23.0 °F) on 5 September 1995 and 11 August 2005.[29]
Very cold days may even occur at the height of summer, with a daily maximum of −2.7 °C (27.1 °F) having occurred on 18 February 1994, followed by a minimum of −7.4 °C (18.7 °F) the next morning. This was part of an extremely cold three-day spell that featured the following daily minima and maxima: low −4.9 °C (23.2 °F) / high −1.3 °C (29.7 °F) [17/02/1994], low −5.9 °C (21.4 °F) / high −2.7 °C (27.1 °F) [18/02/1994], low −7.4 °C (18.7 °F) / high −2.4 °C (27.7 °F) [19/02/1994].[30][31]
| Climate data for kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle, 1991–2020, extremes 1961–2024[note 1]); 1,260 m AMSL; 42.90° S, 147.24° E | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 29.8 (85.6) |
29.6 (85.3) |
28.4 (83.1) |
24.7 (76.5) |
15.0 (59.0) |
13.3 (55.9) |
11.4 (52.5) |
13.4 (56.1) |
19.5 (67.1) |
22.8 (73.0) |
26.2 (79.2) |
28.6 (83.5) |
29.8 (85.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) |
13.7 (56.7) |
11.5 (52.7) |
8.5 (47.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
3.9 (39.0) |
2.7 (36.9) |
3.0 (37.4) |
5.0 (41.0) |
7.5 (45.5) |
10.0 (50.0) |
11.6 (52.9) |
8.1 (46.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 9.5 (49.1) |
9.5 (49.1) |
7.8 (46.0) |
5.4 (41.7) |
3.5 (38.3) |
1.7 (35.1) |
0.7 (33.3) |
0.7 (33.3) |
2.1 (35.8) |
3.9 (39.0) |
6.1 (43.0) |
7.4 (45.3) |
4.9 (40.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) |
5.2 (41.4) |
4.1 (39.4) |
2.3 (36.1) |
0.9 (33.6) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
0.2 (32.4) |
2.1 (35.8) |
3.1 (37.6) |
1.5 (34.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −3.4 (25.9) |
−7.4 (18.7) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−7.7 (18.1) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
| Averageprecipitationmm (inches) | 98.5 (3.88) |
78.4 (3.09) |
84.2 (3.31) |
92.9 (3.66) |
74.1 (2.92) |
97.8 (3.85) |
61.7 (2.43) |
83.7 (3.30) |
80.8 (3.18) |
84.4 (3.32) |
93.6 (3.69) |
91.8 (3.61) |
1,021.9 (40.24) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 17.6 | 16.9 | 19.4 | 19.4 | 20.3 | 18.6 | 20.6 | 18.7 | 19.7 | 20.3 | 18.3 | 19.8 | 229.6 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%)(at 15:00) | 74 | 75 | 79 | 83 | 87 | 90 | 93 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 80 | 76 | 83 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[28] | |||||||||||||
See also
edit
Notes
edit- ^Temperature was recorded from March 1961 to May 1972 excluding November 1970, then from December 1991 on. Precipitation was recorded from March 1961 to May 1972 and June 1990 to May 1992, then sporadically from 1994 on.
References
edit- ^abcd"Mount Wellington, Australia".Peakbagger.com.Retrieved7 June2015.
- ^"Mount Wellington (TAS)".Gazetteer of Australiaonline.Geoscience Australia,Australian Government.
- ^ab"Tasmanian dual naming policy announced atop kunanyi".Australian Broadcasting Corporation.13 March 2013.Retrieved20 November2014.
- ^"Wellington Park – Bush walking".Retrieved24 October2013.
- ^Milligan, Joseph (1858). "On the dialects and languages of the Aboriginal Tribes of Tasmania, and on their manners and customs".Papers of the Royal Society of Tasmania:432.
- ^"kunanyi / Mount Wellington".Hobart City Council.Retrieved9 June2015.
- ^"The curious story of the Dutch explorer who found Tasmania, but missed Australia".The Telegraph.1 February 2019.Retrieved4 October2019.
- ^Flinders, Matthew(1801).Observations on the coasts of Van Diemen's Land, on Bass's Strait and its islands, and on parts of the coasts of New South Wales; intended to accompany the charts of the late discoveries in those countries.John Nichols. p. 5.
- ^"Mount Wellington – Rocky Whelan's Cave".Retrieved24 October2013.
- ^"Wellington Park – Sightseeing and facilities".Retrieved24 October2013.
- ^"The Pinnacle Road, Mt Wellington".Australian Bureau of Statistics.22 January 2013.Retrieved24 October2013.
- ^"Feature Article - Mt Wellington tower demolition (Feature Article)".13 September 2002.
- ^"Construction history of 131m high broadcasting tower". 2011.
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^Cooper, Erin (20 February 2019)."'Most hostile environment of any broadcasting site': Why put a transmission tower on kunanyi/Mount Wellington ".ABC News.ABC.Retrieved10 April2023.
- ^"Feature Article - Mt Wellington tower demolition".Australian Bureau of Statistics.Australian Bureau of Statistics. 13 September 2002.Retrieved10 April2023.
- ^"kunanyi/Mt Wellington Cable Car proposal".www.hobartcity.com.au.Retrieved15 March2023.
- ^"Hobart cable car plan rejected by council".7NEWS.27 July 2021.Retrieved15 March2023.
- ^"Hobart cable car project dealt another blow as company loses appeal over council refusal".ABC News.2 November 2022.Retrieved15 March2023.
- ^Beck, Hylke E.; Zimmermann, Niklaus E.; McVicar, Tim R.; Vergopolan, Noemi; Berg, Alexis;Wood, Eric F.(30 October 2018)."Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution".Scientific Data.5:180214.Bibcode:2018NatSD...580214B.doi:10.1038/sdata.2018.214.ISSN2052-4463.PMC6207062.PMID30375988.
- ^Belda, M; Holtanová, E; Halenka, T; Kalvová, J (4 February 2014)."Climate classification revisited: from Köppen to Trewartha"(PDF).Climate Research.59(1):1–13.Bibcode:2014ClRes..59....1B.doi:10.3354/cr01204.
- ^Stern, Harvey; Hoedt, Graham; Ernst, Jeneanne (June 2000)."Objective classification of Australian climates".Australian Meteorological Magazine.49(2):87–96.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^Nordenskjöld, Otto;Mecking, Ludwig;Antevs, Ernst;Hale, Marion (1928)."Chapter VI: The Delimitation of the Polar Regions, and the Natural Provinces of the Arctic and Antarctic".InJoerg, W. L. G.(ed.).The Geography of the Polar Regions, Consisting of A General Characterization of Polar Nature.Special Publication. Vol. 8.New York City:American Geographical Society.pp.72–3. Bib_id 28009518.Retrieved27 September2022– viaInternet Archive.
- ^"Official records (Lowest daily mimimum temperatures) for Tasmania".Daily Extremes.Bureau of Meteorology. 27 September 2022.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^"Lowest Temperature - 094087 - Bureau of Meteorology".Monthly lowest temperature Kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle).Bureau of Meteorology. 27 September 2022. Product Code: IDCJAC0008.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^Dawson, Iain (1991)."Plant Hardiness Zones for Australia".Australian National Botanic Gardens.Archivedfrom the original on 10 December 2010.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^"AHS Plant Heat Zone Map".American Horticultural Society.Archived fromthe originalon 16 May 2017.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^"Highest Temperature - 094087 - Bureau of Meteorology".Monthly highest temperature Kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle).Bureau of Meteorology. 27 September 2022. Product Code: IDCJAC0005.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^ab"Kunanyi (Mount Wellington Pinnacle)".Climate statistics for Australian locations.Bureau of Meteorology.22 September 2022.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^"Official records (Lowest daily maximum temperatures) for Tasmania".Daily Extremes.Bureau of Meteorology. 27 September 2022.Retrieved27 September2022.
- ^"Mt Wellington 1994 daily minima".
- ^"Mt Wellington 1994 daily maxima".
Further reading
edit- 208 Network. (1994)Mt. Wellington – Mountain Park resource management plan and master plan for the Corporation of the City of Hobart: final draft for public comment:Hobart: 208 Network. "The 208 Network is John Hepper, Jerry de Gryse, with assistance from Chris Sharples, Fred and Diana Duncan, Robert Taylor,Hilary du Cros,Lindy Scripps, Greg Hodge ".
- Curtis, Winifred M. (Winifred Mary)(n.d.)Forests and flowers of Mount Wellington, Tasmaniaillustrated by D. Colbron Pearse. [Hobart]: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.
- de Quincey, Elizabeth and Cannon, John (2005)The Companion to Tasmanian Historyp. 245 – entry "Mount Wellington"
- Hosier, Phoebe (26 April 2020)."'Something's happened up there': Why Aboriginal Tasmanians shun Hobart's mountain top ".ABC News.
- Barnes, Angus (1992), 'Mount Wellington and the sense of place', Honours thesis, University of Tasmania.https://eprints.utas.edu.au/31711/
External links
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