Mount Gibraltar
Aboriginal: Bowrell
Mount Gibraltar seen from the west
Highest point
Elevation	863 m (2,831 ft)
Coordinates	34°27′55.20″S 150°25′41.76″E / 34.4653333°S 150.4282667°E / -34.4653333; 150.4282667
Geography
Mount Gibraltar Location in New South Wales
Location	Southern Highlands, New South Wales, Australia
Geology
Age of rock	150 million years
Climbing
First ascent	(by European), John Wilson, 1798

Mount Gibraltar (Aboriginal: Bowrell) is a mountain with an elevation of 863 metres (2,831 ft) AHD that is located in the Southern Highlands region, between Bowral and Mittagong, in New South Wales, Australia. Further west is Berrima.^[1]

Location and features

The mountain is locally known as 'The Gib', and is in the form of a ridge, 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.

'The Gib' is thought to have been formed from a collapsed volcanic core, which pushed through the local Hawkesbury Sandstone beds about 150 million years ago.
The western slopes were previously the site of a granite quarry which mined the volcanic trachyte; the quarry closed in 1986. The site can be reached by a walking track beginning near Bowral Swimming Pool.
The peak is 863 metres above sea-level.
It is part of the range forming the watershed between the Wingecarribee/Wollondilly and Nattai rivers. The range to the north of Mt Gibraltar was formerly called the Merrigong Range^[2] and the range to the south-east, the Mittagong Range.
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 fastigata (Brown Barrel).^[3]
The Reserve has been the subject of a Landcare Bush Regeneration Program since 1994, with the aim of eliminating introduced species such as Privet, Barberry, Ivy, Honeysuckle, Banana Passionfruit, Inkweed and others.^[4]
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 Point in Katoomba which is approximately 70–80 km away, although many people confuse it with the nearby, conical Mount Jellore.
On a clear day you can make out the Sydney skyline.
The exposed, rocky area of the peak is the site of several telecommunications and broadcasting towers, including Telstra microwave transmission links.
The residential area of Mount Gibraltar includes some of the most highly priced real estate in the Southern Highlands.

The former Mount Gibraltar Trachyte Quarries Complex was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 December 2013.^[5]

Railway

The Main South Railway skirts Mount Gibraltar at its western foothills, passing through a tunnel under Evans Street, Bowral.^[6] The original tunnel was single track, but it was replaced in the 1920s by a double track tunnel.

Gallery

Mount Gibraltar images
Western extremity, looking eastwards from Welby.
Inner Bowl Picnic Area
Dense stands of timber, Inner Bowl
Telecommunications towers
Igneous rock exposed at peak
Memorial to Joshua Stokes
Mount Gibraltar trachyte quarry

References

External links

Mountains in New South Wales, Australia

Coastal mountain ranges
(not part of the
Great Dividing Range)

Mid North Coast	Middle Brother (554 m or 1,818 ft) South Brother (487 m or 1,598 ft) North Brother (476 m or 1,562 ft)
Allyn, Barrington & Mount Royal	Brumlow Tops (1,586 m or 5,203 ft) Polblue (1,575 m or 5,167 ft) Barrington (1,555 m or 5,102 ft) Careys Peak (1,544 m or 5,066 ft) Eremeren Point (1,537 m or 5,043 ft) Royal (1,185 m or 3,888 ft) Allyn (1,125 m or 3,691 ft) Cabrebald (1,000 m or 3,281 ft) Ben Bullen Gunama Lumeah
Gibraltar and Sugarloaf	Summit (1,170 m or 3,839 ft) Sugarloaf (412 m or 1,352 ft) Bulahdelah Manning
Blue Mountains	Coricudgy (1,255 m or 4,117 ft) unnamed peak (1,189 m or 3,901 ft) Pomany (1,109 m or 3,638 ft) Piddington (1,094 m or 3,589 ft) Boyce (1,093 m or 3,586 ft) York (1,061 m or 3,481 ft) Victoria (1,059 m or 3,474 ft) Banks (1,049 m or 3,442 ft) Tomah (1,016 m or 3,333 ft) Wilson (1,008 m or 3,307 ft) Kings Tableland (1,000 m or 3,281 ft) Narrow Neck Plateau (1,000 m or 3,281 ft) Bell (998 m or 3,274 ft) Castle Cliff (986 m or 3,235 ft) Solitary (950 m or 3,117 ft) Hay (944 m or 3,097 ft) Podgers (890 m or 2,920 ft) Irvine (850 m or 2,789 ft) Debert (840 m or 2,756 ft) Camp Cave (800 m or 2,625 ft) Warrigal (760 m or 2,493 ft) Notts (750 m or 2,461 ft) Harris (736 m or 2,415 ft) Centre (620 m or 2,034 ft) Hall (617 m or 2,024 ft) Gibson (608 m or 1,995 ft) Scorpion (558 m or 1,831 ft) Linda Rock (599 m or 1,965 ft) Cookem (569 m or 1,867 ft) Gospers Bedford Cameron Coriaday Erskine Mistake Monundilla Whaite Wirraba Pearces Wedding Cake
Illawarra	Bells (803 m or 2,635 ft) Knights Hill (709 m or 2,326 ft) Noorinan (663 m or 2,175 ft) Saddleback (600 m or 1,969 ft) Wanyambilli Hill (564 m or 1,850 ft) Kembla (534 m or 1,752 ft) Burelli (531 m or 1,742 ft) Kembla West (512 m or 1,680 ft) Brisbane (469 m or 1,539 ft) Keira (464 m or 1,522 ft) Warra (464 m or 1,522 ft) Brokers Nose (440 m or 1,444 ft) Nebo (252 m or 827 ft)
The Budawangs	Budawang (1,129 m or 3,704 ft) Currockbilly (1,087 m or 3,566 ft) Wog Wog (893 m or 2,930 ft) Cole (876 m or 2,874 ft) Sturgiss (858 m or 2,815 ft) Fosters (857 m or 2,812 ft) Barneys Hill (855 m or 2,805 ft) The Castle (831 m or 2,726 ft) Shrouded Gods (809 m or 2,654 ft) Donjon (786 m or 2,579 ft) Clyde (781 m or 2,562 ft) Quiltys (775 m or 2,543 ft) Wirritin (674 m or 2,211 ft) Pigeon House / Didthul (720 m or 2,362 ft) Bushwalker (640 m or 2,100 ft) Byangee (500 m or 1,640 ft) Coolangatta Tarn

Great Dividing Range

Tweed

Warning (1,156 m or 3,793 ft)
Bar (1,130 m or 3,707 ft)
Glenugie (316 m or 1,037 ft)
Chincogan (260 m or 853 ft)
Gladstone
Goobergooberyam
Moombil

McPherson and Nightcap

Barney (1,359 m or 4,459 ft)
Burrell 933 m or 3,061 ft)
Neville (919 m or 3,015 ft)
Nardi (812 m or 2,664 ft)
Matheson (804 m or 2,638 ft)
Peates (604 m or 1,982 ft)

Mid North Coast

Banda Banda (1,258 m or 4,127 ft)

Nandewar

Kaputar (1,489 m or 4,885 ft)
Dowe (1,457 m or 4,780 ft)
Mount Coryah (1,409 m or 4,623 ft)
Lindesay (1,373 m or 4,505 ft)
Grattai (1,301 m or 4,268 ft)
Bushy (1,260 m or 4,134 ft)
Round (1,250 m or 4,101 ft)
Yulludunida (1,225 m or 4,019 ft)
Castle Top (1,120 m or 3,675 ft)
Gins (1,120 m or 3,675 ft)
Ningadhun (1,013 m or 3,323 ft)

Liverpool and Watagan

unnamed (1,300 m or 4,265 ft)
Pandoras Pass (788 m or 2,585 ft)
Warrawolong (641 m or 2,103 ft)

New England and Moonbi

Round (1,585 m or 5,200 ft)
Point Lookout (1,564 m or 5,131 ft)
Ben Lomond (1,512 m or 4,961 ft)
Grundy (1,463 m or 4,800 ft)
Barren (1,437 m or 4,715 ft)
Hyland (1,434 m or 4,705 ft)
Duval (1,393 m or 4,570 ft)
Black Jack (1,300 m or 4,265 ft)
Gulligal (1,230 m or 4,035 ft)
Oaky (1,070 m or 3,510 ft)
Cooee (1,020 m or 3,346 ft)
Flaggy (984 m or 3,228 ft)
Big Billy (884 m or 2,900 ft)
Dorrigo (762 m or 2,500 ft)
Burning (520 m or 1,706 ft)
Yarrowyck

Central Tablelands

Canobolas (1,395 m or 4,577 ft)
Shooters Hill (1,394 m or 4,573 ft)
Bindo (1,363 m or 4,472 ft)
Trickett (1,362 m or 4,469 ft)
Blaxland (901 m or 2,956 ft)
Hopeless (1,056 m or 3,465 ft)

The Brindabellas and Scabby

Bimberi (1,913 m or 6,276 ft)
Gingera (1,857 m or 6,093 ft)
Kelly (1,829 m or 6,001 ft)
Ginini (1,762 m or 5,781 ft)
Franklin (1,646 m or 5,400 ft)
Aggie (1,421 m or 4,662 ft)
Coree (1,421 m or 4,662 ft)
Bramina (1,392 m or 4,567 ft)
Bulls Head (1,375 m or 4,511 ft)
Black Bottle (1,356 m or 4,449 ft)
Lickhole (1,188 m or 3,898 ft)
Brindabella (972 m or 3,189 ft)

Monaro

Big Badja (1,363 m or 4,472 ft)
Brown (1,243 m or 4,078 ft)
Gibraltar (Bungendore) (887 m or 2,910 ft)
Gibraltar Hill

Snowies

Main

Kosciuszko (2,228 m or 7,310 ft)
Townsend (2,209 m or 7,247 ft)
unnamed peak on Etheridge Ridge (2,180 m or 7,152 ft)
Alice Rawson Peak (2,160 m or 7,087 ft)
Byatts Camp (2,159 m or 7,083 ft)
Carruthers (2,145 m or 7,037 ft)
Abbott Peak (2,145 m or 7,037 ft)
Mount Northcote (2,131 m or 6,991 ft)
Muellers Peak (2,120 m or 6,955 ft)
Clark (2,100 m or 6,890 ft)
Lee (2,100 m or 6,890 ft)
Gungartan (2,068 m or 6,785 ft)
Tate (2,068 m or 6,785 ft)
Jagungal (2,061 m or 6,762 ft)
Perisher (2,054 m or 6,739 ft)
Stilwell (2,040 m or 6,693 ft)
Watsons Crags (2,020 m or 6,627 ft)
Back Perisher (2,014 m or 6,608 ft)
Anton (2,000 m or 6,562 ft)
Anderson (1,997 m or 6,552 ft)
Blue Cow (1,994 m or 6,542 ft)
The Granite Peaks (1,980 m or 6,496 ft)
Dicky Cooper Bogong (1,980 m or 6,496 ft)
Gills Knobs (1,940 m or 6,365 ft)
Guthega Peak (1,924 m or 6,312 ft)
Blue Calf (1,905 m or 6,250 ft)
Sentinel (1,900 m or 6,234 ft)
Mount Piper (1,830 m or 6,004 ft)
Round (1,756 m or 5,761 ft)

Ramshead

Rams Head (2,190 m or 7,185 ft)
Twynam (2,178 m or 7,146 ft)
Rams Head North (2,177 m or 7,142 ft)
Little Twynam (2,120 m or 6,955 ft)

Other mountains in the GDR

Yengo (668 m or 2,192 ft)

Inland mountain ranges

Barrier	Lewis Peak (297 m or 974 ft)
Warrumbungles	Exmouth (1,206 m or 3,957 ft) Woorut (1,165 m or 3,822 ft) Needle
Other inland mountains	Grenfell Gibralter Hill

Island mountain ranges

Lord Howe	Gower (875 m or 2,871 ft) Lidgbird (777 m or 2,549 ft)

Mountains not within
a specific range

Gibraltar (863 m or 2,831 ft)
Gulaga (806 m or 2,644 ft)
Ulandra (761 m or 2,497 ft)
Tilga (329 m or 1,079 ft)
Oxley (307 m or 1,007 ft)