The Blackall Range is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The first European explorer in the area was

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (; 23 October 1813 – ), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's disappearanc ...

. It was named after Samuel Blackall, the second

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

. The Blackall Range dominates the hinterland area of the Sunshine Coast, west of

Nambour Nambour is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Nambour had a population of 12,145 people. Geography Nambour is north of the state capital ...

. Maleny, Mapleton, Montville and Flaxton are the main settlements located on the range. The Stanley River rises from the southern slopes. Baroon Pocket Dam is a reservoir on Obi Obi Creek which drains the north west slopes of the range. Mary Cairncross Reserve marks the site of the first settler's house on the Blackall Range. Curramore Sanctuary, Mapleton Falls National Park and Kondalilla National Park are also located on the range. A number of lookouts on the range provide views towards the coast. One of these is located at Howells Knob, a mountain which rises 561 m above sea level. Timber resources in the area attracted timber-cutters in 1860s. The last logging on the range occurred in 1939. The Blackall and

Bunya Mountains The Bunya Mountains are a distinctive set of peaks forming an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland. The mountain range forms the northern edge of the Darling Downs in the locality also called Bunya Mountains, Quee ...

ranges are the only two locations where the

bunya pine ''Araucaria bidwillii'', commonly known as the bunya pine (), banya or bunya-bunya, is a large evergreen coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae which is Endemism, endemic to Australia. Its natural range is southeast Queensland with two ver ...

species of tree is found naturally. Activities by community groups with the support of the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

succeeded in recognising the range with iconic status, meaning the area is given greater environmental protection. In mid-2008, iconic status was confirmed, making the Blackall Range the third such declaration in Queensland after

Noosa The Shire of Noosa () is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it w ...

and Port Douglas.

History

The Blackall Range is volcanic in origin and contains vast amounts of red

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

soils dating from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

period. It also takes its name from Samuel Blackall, the second

. Dalla (also known as Dalambara and Dallambara) is a language of the Upper

Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...

catchment, notably the Conondale Range. Dalla is part of the Duungidjawu language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

and Moreton Bay Regional Councils, particularly the towns of Caboolture, Kilcoy, Woodford and

Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...

Roads

A group of roads provide access to the mountain localities and towns from various lowland places, and enable travel between the mountain communities. These roads ensure continuity of access in times of flooding or other natural disasters, and during planned maintenance activities.

References

External links

Blackall Range: Nature, culture and history
{{South East Queensland Mountain ranges of Queensland South East Queensland

History

Roads

See also

References

External links