Mount Ainslie is a

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as Mountain, mountains. Hills ...

with an elevation of that is located in the northeastern suburbs of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

, in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

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 ...

. Mount Ainslie lies within part of the Canberra Nature Park.

Cultural significance

According to the

Ngunnawal The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Language Ngunnawal–Gundungurra language, Ngunnawal and Gundungurr ...

and

Ngambri The Ngambri, also known as Kamberri, are an Aboriginal clan or group who claim traditional ownership of the Australian Capital Territory area, but their connection to the land is contested. One reason for this is that Canberra, where Ngam ...

people, Mount Ainslie is a sacred place primarily for women’s business. Mount Ainslie and adjacent Galambary ( Black Mountain) are referred to as women’s breasts. Current community usage includes opportunities for wildlife spotting along the network of walking and fire trails in the nature park, notably grey kangaroos and gang-gang cockatoos. There is a heritage "Heroes Path" linking the Australian War Memorial with the summit, marked by signs and plaques describing the difficult campaign along the Kokoda Track during WW2. Regular community sporting events include the "Mount Ainslie Run-Up" and Mount Ainslie

parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

, held every Saturday morning along the bush trails marking the western edge of the nature park.

Location and features

Mount Ainslie borders on the inner suburbs of , and and is named in honour of James Ainslie, a 19th-century settler who was the overseer on ', a large property in the area. The Mount Ainslie tourist outlook, one of Canberra's most popular, provides excellent views of central Canberra and to the south and Black Mountain to the west, especially towards sunset. According to an article written in 1922, this outlook "will afford an ever changing bird's eye and panoramic picture of the city's buildings and beauty spots, as well as of the lovely plains that run to join the Yass Plains on the north." An air beacon located at the summit is part of the national capital's air navigation system guiding air traffic towards the nearby

Canberra Airport Canberra Airport is an international airport situated in the district of Majura, Australian Capital Territory. It serves Australia's capital city, Canberra, as well as the nearby city of Queanbeyan and regional areas of the Australian Capital ...

. A walking trail which leads from the back of the

Australian War Memorial The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial, war museum, museum and archive dedicated to all Australians who died as a result of war, including peacekeeping duties. The AWM is located in Campbell, Australian Capital Territory, C ...

, called the Mount Ainslie Kokoda summit trail, is well maintained with steps and is paved. The trail is used by around 200 people each day. It has a number of plaques commemorating the battles fought in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the Kokoda Trail in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, with the plaques set out as though it was on the Kokoda Trail. A quarry is located around from the peak. Mount Ainslie is the northernmost point of a land axis, planned by

Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and Leeton, New So ...

, that stretches through

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South Canberra South Canberra, or the Inner South, is a subdivision of Canberra Central in the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. South Canberra is separated from North Canberra by Lake Burley Griffin. The two subdivisions combined form the district o ...

. This axis takes in the Australian War Memorial and the old and new Parliament Houses. In 1912, Burley won the international design competition for the capital and called the area an "irregular amphitheatre". The design included his wife's inputs, and thus the view from the summit of Mount Aisle was named as Marion Mahony Griffin in 2013.

Summit design competition

In 2016 the ACT Government and the National Capital Authority ran a

design competition A design competition or design contest is a competition in which an entity solicits design proposals from the public for a specified purpose. Architecture An architectural design competition solicits architects to submit design proposals for a b ...

for, with the aim to produce a ten-year strategy for the Mount Ainslie summit. The competition winners were Sue Barnsley and Jane Irwin, who proposed new parking, signage, picnic areas, lawns and plantings.

References

External links

Mount Ainslie Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ainslie, Mount

Mount Ainslie Mount Ainslie is a hill with an elevation of that is located in the northeastern suburbs of Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Mount Ainslie lies within part of the Canberra Nature Park. Cultural significance Accordi ...

Mountains of the Australian Capital Territory Volcanoes of the Australian Capital Territory Silurian volcanism Sacred mountains of Australia