Mount Barker is a

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

in the Mount Lofty Ranges in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and namesake of the nearby town of Mount Barker. The mountain is the home to a transmission tower that services SAGRN and

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

transmissions throughout the area. Microwave radio equipment is also installed on the tower, providing various forms of communication such as broadband internet connections and voice services to Mount Barker residents and businesses.

History

Mount Barker was first sighted by Captain Charles Sturt in 1830, although he thought he was looking at the previously discovered

Mount Lofty Mount Lofty (, elevation AHD) is the highest point in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. It is located about east of the Adelaide city centre, within the Cleland National Park in the Adelaide Hills area of South Australia. The mountain's su ...

. Captain Collet Barker fixed this error when he surveyed the area in 1831. Sturt named the mountain in honor of Captain Barker after he was killed days later by local Aboriginal people. The first Europeans to ascend the mountain, on 27 November 1837, were a six-man party comprising

John Barton Hack John Barton Hack (2 July 1805 – 4 October 1884) was an early settler in South Australia; a prominent farmer, businessman and public figure. He lost his fortune in the financial crisis of 1840 and despite his best efforts, never regained anythin ...

, John Morphett, Samuel Stephens, Charles Stuart (South Australian Company's stock overseer), Thomas Davis (Hack's stockman), and John Wade (a "gentleman from Hobart Town"). A counterclaim that the first Europeans to scale the summit were Robert Cock, William Finlayson, A(dolphus) Valentine Wyatt and George Barton late in December 1837 is not credible. That is because Morphett had a letter published on 28 December 1837 in a Sydney newspaper reporting that the summit had been scaled one month earlier.

Culture

There are a few short walking trails available on the summit, beginning at the summit car park. There are picnic tables on the main walking trail halfway between the car park and the summit proper. There is an additional circuit trail at the base of the mountain.

References

Barker {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub