Mount Coot-tha, Queensland

Mount Coot-tha is a mountain and a suburb of the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census, there were no residents in the suburb.[4][1]

"Mount Coot-tha" redirects here. For the Queensland electoral division, see Electoral district of Mount Coot-tha.

Mount Coot-tha
Brisbane, Queensland
Mount Coot-tha and telecommunication towers
Population0 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density0.000/km2 (0.00/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4066
Area16.6 km2 (6.4 sq mi)
LGA(s)City of Brisbane
(Toowong Ward)
State electorate(s)Maiwar
Federal Division(s)Ryan
Suburbs around Mount Coot-tha:
Enoggera Reservoir The Gap Bardon
Brookfield Mount Coot-tha Toowong
Kenmore Chapel Hill Indooroopilly

Geography

The mountain is 287 metres above sea level and has the highest peak within the urban footprint of Brisbane. It forms the eastern extent of the Taylor Range and is a prominent landmark approximately six kilometres (4 mi) to the west of the Brisbane central business district. Visible from much of the city, Mount Coot-tha is a popular bushland tourist destination including the Brisbane Botanic Gardens and Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium, as well as a mountain drive, bike trails, parks including a waterfall, and television and radio towers.[5] Mount Coot-tha is the source of Ithaca Creek.

History

Before the Moreton Bay penal settlement, Mount Coot-tha was the home of the Yugara Aboriginal people.[6] The Aboriginal people came to the area to collect 'ku-ta' (honey) that was produced by the native stingless bee.

In 1839, surveyor James Warner and his team cleared the top of the mountain of all trees except one large eucalypt tree. Because this tree could be seen from many other locations, they used as a trigonometric station to take surveying measurements. This led to the mountain's former name One Tree Hill.[7][8]

Coot-tha meaning Honey Mountain is a derivative of the indigenous term which replaced the name One Tree Hill when the area was declared a park in August 1883.[9] It was suggested by Henry Wyatt Radford, the Clerk of the Queensland Legislative Council.[2]

During World War II, the mountain was used as a military base by the RAAF and the US Navy. It was converted to a vast explosives depot and at one stage held more than 120,000 tonnes of explosive weapons. When darkness fell the lookout bristled with search lights in an amazing display as soldiers kept an eye out for enemy planes.anti-aircraft guns and searchlights were located on the lookout.[10] Mount Coot-tha was also the site of US Naval Ammunition Depot (Navy 134) supplying submarines at the Capricorn Wharf at New Farm (Teneriffe) in Brisbane.[11][12]

In 1970 the Brisbane City Council established new botanic gardens at the base of the mountain with the intention of replacing the then Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Gardens Point in the Brisbane CBD (now known as the City Botanic Gardens) which was prone to flooding and lacked space for expansion. The new gardens were originally called the Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens and were officially opened in 1976, becoming the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. The new gardens cover 52 hectares (130 acres).[13]

On 24 May 1978 Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium officially opened in the grounds of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens.[14]

The Mount Coot-tha Library opened in 1975 at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens.[15] Unlike most branches of the Brisbane City Libraries, this library specialises in botany, horticulture, gardening and landscape design.[16]

Brisbane community television channel 31 Digital broadcast from the mountain from 1994 to 2017, after which it shifted to internet streaming under the new name of Hitchhike TV.[17]

On 20 November 2005, one of the Mount Coot-tha trails, the Currawong trail, was renamed the Kokoda trail in honour of the Australian soldiers who marched the Kokoda Track during World War II.

In 2017 It was proposed to build Australia's longest zip-line from the summit of Mount Coot-tha down to the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. Despite initially being approved by the Brisbane City Council, in April 2019 the new Mayor of Brisbane Adrian Schrinner decided to cancel the project due to the public protests.[18]

Heritage listings

Mount Coot-tha has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

The Lookout
Main article: Mount Coot-tha Lookout

Mount Coot-tha is one of Brisbane's most popular tourist destinations and is a popular stop with bus tours. Of particular note is the Lookout, which includes the Kuta Cafe, Summit Restaurant, and Gift Shop.

360-degree view of Brisbane City from the Lookout
Brisbane at night from the Lookout

The lookout, restaurant and cafe allow for panoramic views of the City. A function centre adjoins the restaurant. Well-known British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore gave a night-time public lecture about the stars of the southern hemisphere at the lookout in 1988, in conjunction with Patrick Moore being a guest speaker at a dinner of the Southern Astronomical Society at Toowong in Queensland.[21][22]

Sir Samuel Griffith Drive

Sir Samuel Griffith Drive is a tourist drive circling the peak, providing access to the lookout, cafe, gift shop and restaurant. The scenic drive, from the base of Mount Coot-tha to the lookout, is a winding, climbing journey that has views of the greater Brisbane area and of the mountains and coastline that disappear into the horizon.

The Mount Coot-tha Reserve
Kuta Cafe (left), and Summit Restaurant (right), at the Mount Coot-tha lookout

The Mount Coot-tha Reserve contains more than 1,500 hectares of natural bushland, including J C Slaughter Falls along Ithaca Creek, as well as native wildlife.[6] Mount Coot-tha Reserve also shares a border with Brisbane Forest Park, which adds a further 25,000 hectares.[6]

Television and radio towers

On a ridge near the summit on the other side of Mount Coot-tha, are the television transmission towers for the Brisbane television stations and their respective studios; Ten (TVQ-10), Nine (QTQ-9), Seven (BTQ-7). The transmission tower for (ABC Brisbane) is located on the mountain, which also broadcasts television for multicultural station SBS. Most of the FM Brisbane radio stations also transmit from Mount Coot-tha.

Part of the Brisbane suburb of The Gap is located on the foothills beneath the television towers.

Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens
Japanese Gardens at Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens

At the base of Mount Coot-tha are the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, which has a tropical plants hothouse and also the Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium within its grounds.

Walking tracks

There are several popular walking tracks around Mount Coot-tha, one of which includes an art display comprising works produced by local Aboriginal artists. The tracks vary in difficulty, with most involving some uphill sections or steps. Tracks around Mount Coot-tha are often used by hikers training to walk the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea as the terrain and climate are considered similar.

Mountain bike trails
View of the cityscape from the
Mount Coot-tha Lookout

The Western side of Mount Coot-tha Forest or Gap Creek Reserve as it is known to the locals is a haven for Brisbane mountain bike riders. The establishment of a world class mountain bike trail network by the Brisbane City Council has created a diverse range of recreational experiences for off-road cyclists.

The mountain bike trails at Mount Coot-tha have been assigned a grading under the International Mountain Bicycling Association, Trail Difficulty Rating System. The multi-use trails in Mount Coot-tha provide the least degree of technical challenge to mountain bike riders, however many of them are steep and loose. Riders are advised to pay special attention when riding over the erosion control banks (water bars) which have been the downfall of many a novice rider. The trail ratings provide a guide to the relative difficulty of each trail.

The multi-use tracks are used by horses, pedestrians and mountain bikers. Each year orienteering events are held in the area.

Transport

Mount Coot-tha can be reached by Brisbane Transport Bus 471 (Translink). Between 2014 and 2016 the Brisbane City Council ran a CitySights Bus that included Mount Coot-tha.[23] A short taxi ride from Toowong is also possible as well as Uber and such. Parking is limited at the peak.

Facilities

Mount Coot-tha has a public library on Mt Coot-tha Road in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens operated by the Brisbane City Council.[24] Unlike most public libraries in Brisbane which have general collections, this library holds a specialist collection about botany and astronomy and related topic reflecting its locations within the botanic garden and the Brisbane Planetarium also on the site.[25]

See also

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mount Coot-tha (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  2. "Mount Coot-tha – mountain (entry 8326)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  3. "Mount Coot-Tha – suburb in City of Brisbane (entry 46114)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
  4. Katherine Feeney (2 August 2012). "Brisbane booming in the middle and round the edges". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  5. Visit Mt Coot-tha Archived 22 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Brisbane Tourist Guide. Retrieved on 7 November 2013.
  6. Mount Coot-tha Forest track map — (Brisbane City Council)
  7. One Tree Hill (exhibit). Museum of Lands, Mapping and Surveying.
  8. Unidentified (1880), James Warner Photographs, 1880s, retrieved 10 March 2020
  9. "SHIRE OF TOOWONG". The Brisbane Courier. Queensland, Australia. 14 September 1883. p. 3. Retrieved 10 March 2020 – via Trove.
  10. Dunn, Peter. "ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS AND SEARCHLIGHT UNITS ON MOUNT COOT-THA, BRISBANE, QLD DURING WW2". Australian @ War. Archived from the original on 29 April 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  11. Dunn, Peter. "US Naval Base Headquarters (Brisbane), Navy 134, in Australia during WW2". Australian @ War. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  12. "US Navy Submarine Base, Capricorn Wharf, Macquarie St., New Farm, Brisbane during WW2". Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  13. Hogan, Janet (1982). Living History of Brisbane. Spring Hill, Queensland: Boolarang Publications. pp. 126–127. ISBN 0-908175-41-8.
  14. "Visiting Mt Coot-tha". Brisbane Australia. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  15. "Public Libraries Statistical Bulletin 2016-17" (PDF). Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. November 2017. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  16. "Mt Coot-tha Library". Brisbane City Council. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  17. Clun, Rachel (8 March 2017). "Briz 31 ceases television broadcast, but online future has 'huge potential'". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 10 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  18. Swanston, Tim (11 April 2019). "'A debacle from the start': Plans for Australia's longest zipline dumped". ABC News. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  19. "Mount Coot-tha Forest (entry 602446)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  20. "Mt Coot-tha Lookout & Kiosk (entry 601564)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
  21. Southern Astronomical Society — Astronomy Astronomical Events Archived 3 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  22. Taylor Range Observatory Archived 7 June 2001 at the Wayback Machine. P.E. Anderson. January 2000.
  23. "Brisbane Explorer bus leaves the city after more than two years". 21 April 2017. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  24. "Mount Coot-tha Library". plconnect.slq.qld.gov.au. State Library of Queensland. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  25. "Mt Coot-tha Library". Brisbane City Council. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.

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