Mount Warning

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Mount Warning
Mount Warning at sunset.
Elevation	1,156 metres (3,793 feet)
Location	North-eastern New South Wales,Australia
Range	Great Dividing Range
Coordinates	28°23′50″S 153°16′15″E / -28.39722, 153.27083
Type	Shield volcano
Easiest route	Walking track

Mount Warning

Location in New South Wales

Mount Warning (originally Wollumbin (Bunjalung)^[1]) is a mountain in New South Wales, Australia, near the border with Queensland (Parish of Burrell, county of Rous), close to Murwillumbah.

Mount Warning is the central remnant (volcanic plug) of an ancient shield volcano, the Tweed Volcano, formerly twice the height of the current mountain, which erupted 22 million years ago. The erosion caldera formed since this eruption is easily visible around the summit and forms the rim of the Tweed Valley. One of the mountains that were formed by its eruption was Tamborine Mountain

Due to Mt Warning's proximity to the Australian mainland's easternmost point, Cape Byron, it is known as the place on the mainland that first sees the sun rise.

1 Aboriginal significance
2 Colonial History
3 Protected area
4 Climbing the mountain
5 Gallery
6 See also
7 References
8 Other Sources
9 External links

[edit] Aboriginal significance

Mt Warning (aka Mount Wollumbin) is a natural monument recalling, and the parish in which it was located was named after Ngarakwal Nganduwal's great 'fighting chief' Wollumbin Johnny who fought on Mt Wollumbin to repel the invaders from his ancestral lands. Wollumbin Johnny's burial is situated on Mt Wollumbin^{[citation needed]}. .

The two small peaks to the west of the central plug are gazetted and known as the Two Sisters - from the mythological association of the Fairy Emu Dreaming Lore - an important mythological songline traveling from Byron Bay to the East Kimberleys^{[citation needed]}. .

One of the peaks is gazetted as Mt Uki which is also the traditional name of a significant lagoon at Byron Bay^{[citation needed]}. .

The Fairy Emu Lore has been recorded by many noted anthropological and musicologist experts both locally and on route to the western shores of Australia.

The Two Sisters peaks have often been mistakenly associated as the Two Dingo's Ninergoongun and Barrajanda which are actually located at the top of Mt Widgee waterfall in SEQld another important creation Bootheram [Dreaming lore] of the 'Meebin' moiety [Ngarakwal Nganduwal Aborigines] and these ancestral mythological lores have also been extensively recorded and studied by noted academics nationally and internationally...much of this traditional mythology bears witness to the impressive significance of the central peak of the Wollumbin Volcano complex, Mt Warning^{[citation needed]}. .

[edit] Colonial History

The name 'Mount Warning' was given to the mountain in May 1770 by Lieutenant James Cook who sailed past it in the Endeavour's voyage along the eastern coastline. He named it and Point Danger for a dangerous shoal about 5 miles off Point Danger, from which the mountain bore "South-West by West" ^[2].

In 1871, a James Bray was appointed Enumerator of the Census collecting data over an extensive area which stretched southward to Brunswick Heads, north to the New South Wales/ Queensland border, east to the coast and west as far as settlement (it is this census which holds the original figures of the Aboriginal Protections Board). Four census collectors were appointed by James Bray to work the allotted areas, three of whom were James Rowland [step brother of Joshua and James Bray], and Arthur and Louis Nixon – both brothers in law of Joshua Bray. James Bray fixed on march 27 1871 a the commencement date of their duties^{[citation needed]}. .

It is this census that is the precursor to the creation of Aboriginal missions to the west of the converted Tweed Volcano and the dispossession of the people of Wollumbin from their ancestral home

James Bray, who was also the Government Land Agent had made the earlier selection of his land at Byangum in the parish of Dunbible in the name of his eldest daughter, as his appointment prevented his selection himself. The skirmish with Wollumbin Johnny occurred shortly after this. The people of Wollumbin were being 'dispersed' at this point in the settlement of the region, from a small village named Byangum [Tweed Junction] located in the newly claimed Wollumbin Parish was within the fresh water zone [an essential to survival] and became a converted habitation site of the Pastoralists and Pioneer Settlers - James Bray and Nixon amongst them...Byangum [meaning snail in ngarakwal -nganduwal dialect] was on the Brunswick Coach road. The only road between the sea and the new settlements of the Tweed River^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Protected area

The mountain is presently protected by the surrounding Mount Warning National Park, and access is regulated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Mount Warning is part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves, which are in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

[edit] Climbing the mountain

The mountain remains a place of cultural and traditional significance to the Bundjalung people, however it lies in the traditional lands of the Ngarakwal Nganduwal moiety, and is the site of particular ceremonies and initiation rites. The Bundjalung are imposing cultural and traditional restrictions which forbid the uninitiated from climbing the mountain, and generally request that others do not attempt to do so. The government National Parks and Wildlife Service advertise this request and do not encourage climbers, but it is not expressly forbidden by park regulations. An ascent of the mountain takes approximately 2 to 3½ hours (one way) and requires a good level of fitness.